http://www.conman.com.au Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:32:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Did you that if you block your nose and close your eyes, it's impossible to tell the difference between  apple and potato? For one man in a Yorkshire car park, it's also difficult to tell the difference between an Apple iPad and a sack of potatos. The man was approached by a ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/ispud/ Usually, con artists working the Advance Fee Fraud angle will promise untold wealth. This one, from Thea in Maryborough, promise something a lot more valuable...your life. I felt very sorry and bad for you, that your life is going to end like this if you don't comply, I was paid to eliminate ... http://www.conman.com.au/internet/assassins-scam/ Everyone knows how to play solitaire. It's the second most fun thing to do by yourself with a computer. Hundreds upon thousands of people have wasted time playing the somewhat pointless game. Mathematicians have figured that between 82% and 92% of solitaire games are winnable. Surprisingly, mathematicians have figured out how to beat ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/how-to-beat-solitaire/ I hate the advertisment above. First and foremost, I don't need to be reminded I need to lose a few kilograms by a crudely drawn animated gif. Secondly, the ad links to a scam. According to website Gawker, the scam plays out like this. An animated ad, featuring an inflating and defalting stomach, catches ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/lose-weightfrom-your-wallet/ [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="435" caption="xkcd Password Reuse"][/caption] http://www.conman.com.au/news/password-reuse/ You've probably heard now about the woman from Spartenburg, South Carolina who paid $180 for an iPad in a McDonald's car park. When she got home, she opened the package to find it was made from wood and she'd been scammed. When the con artists felt the need to make the ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/wooden-ipads-and-paper-laptops/ Imagine you've been chatting with this nice Nigerian gentleman who would like your help cleaning several million dollars in black money that he claims has been treated with dark ink for 'security purposes.' If you pay a few thousand bucks to the men, they'll clean the money and give you half. You're ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/google-makes-money-from-internet-con-artists/ Ever wondered why it is that people keeping on throwing money down on the roulette wheel, even when they've already lost? Can't understand why suckers keeping sending money to Nigerian swindlers even though they never deliver. The answer could be found in economist Martin Shubik's Dollar Auction game. Imagine an auction where ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/good-money-after-bad/ The first review of Rob Mond and my documentary on the classic scam Three Disk Monte is in over at TMC. Steven Conner writes: The documentary is very good IMO and Nicholas has done an amazing job. The wait was long and sometimes seemed uncertain but the result is excellent. I ... http://www.conman.com.au/the-monte/three-disk-monte-first-review/ Remember It's A Wonderful Life? When Jimmy Stewart offered to lasso the moon for Donna Reed? If you love that saccharine stuff, you're going to love the latest swindle to rear its head in Australia. Swindlers are claiming they can sell you a chunk of the moon, offering lunar land packages at ... http://www.conman.com.au/news/bring-me-the-moon/