http://www.conman.com.au Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:53:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In my dealings with con artists, police and victims, the number one obstacle I come across is people's reculance to talk about their experiences. Police are tight lipped about the cases they've work on for risk of affecting the outcome of a trial. Con artists are, not suprisingly, less than forward with ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/a-scamnesty/ "There is no such thing as Cotswold Cider. There never was, Cider fruit is not grown in the Cotswolds; it never had been and it is doubtful it ever will. Cotswold Cider was an invention. It was invented in Wandsworth Prison by a man who knew the value of a ... http://www.conman.com.au/quotes/quote-of-the-day-2/ Coney Island, New York's home of carnies, sideshow and fairy floss, has performed a fantastic swindle on the national media. Reports came out of the boardwork amusement precint of a 140 year old fossilised hot dog. The hot dog had supposedly been frozen in ice below a restaurant for more than ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/coney-island-swindle/ I posted this scam on my previous blog over a year ago. While I had a lot of guesses, no one found the answer. Let's see if the new year has some new answers... The con man and his victim each put five coins of varying amounts into a pile. The ... http://www.conman.com.au/things-to-do/a-scam-from-the-archives/ This week on statewide drive with Kathy Bedford we discussed: Casino Conjuring: The  Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation spent $25,000 being Las Vegas magician Barron Stringfellow (best. name. ever.) to Australia to teach investigators how to spot a cheat. A good investment of taxpayer money? UPS Scam: A caller asked whether an email ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/this-week-on-abc-statewide-drive/ "In jail the criminals, most of them, only make a dishonest living out of other people's fortunes, while these gentlemen [debt collectors] make a so called honest living out of other people's misfortunes. I find this more despicable." - Micheal Karoly aka Baron Hajdu aka Charlotte Bath http://www.conman.com.au/quotes/criminals-and-debt-collectors/ John Scarne had an encyclopedic knowledge of gaming and cheating as well as an incredible brain for figuring out odds and percentages. His books on dice, cards, three card monte and gaming are in the libraries of all good card cheats and gambling aficionados. Throughout his career he was often hired by ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/scarne-and-the-wire/ io9, perhaps the nerdiest website on the internet, has reported on new technology that allows neuro-scientists to spot art forgeries. Scientists can use the unique way in which our brain creates and reads information to tell which paintings are real and which are forgeries. You can read the whole science heavy geek ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/forgers-vs-robots/ "There aint no such thing as a friendly game when there's money involved." - Titanic Thompson http://www.conman.com.au/quotes/quote-of-the-day/ I had an email this morning from a TV show in the UK wanting some history on the Melon Drop. The Melon Drop is a classic scam perpetrated against Japanese tourists. The tourist is tricked into accidentally breaking a melon which they are forced to pay for. Since Melons are often ... http://www.conman.com.au/travels/nice-melons/