Scam Secrets
Scam Secrets
Podcast Description
It might look like a perfectly ordinary message. It could come from someone you thought you trusted. Or it could be a phone call that catches you off guard. Whatever the method, the goal is the same. They want your money.But if you know their secrets, you can spot the red flags before it is too late.Shari Vahl, who has investigated fraud for the BBC for 20 years, is joined by the criminologist and forensic linguist, Dr Elisabeth Carter, and Alex Wood - a former criminal who now tries to stop scams - to dissect the shadiest techniques criminals use to steal your cash. In each episode, they dig deep into a different scam, with first-hand accounts from the people targeted, forensic analysis of the techniques and mind games being used - and even secret recordings of the scammers themselves.
Scam Secrets will publish weekly from 31 July. Subscribe on BBC Sounds so you never miss an episode.
You can also email the Scam Secrets team - tell them which scams you want them to unpick: [email protected]
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on the mechanics of fraud and specific scam tactics, exploring themes such as dating scams, celebrity impersonation fraud, and phone scams. Episode examples include breakdowns of devastating romance scams and the psychological manipulation behind them, as well as firsthand accounts from victims and analyses of audio recordings from criminals.
It might look like a perfectly ordinary message. It could come from someone you thought you trusted. Or it could be a phone call that catches you off guard. Whatever the method, the goal is the same. They want your money.
But if you know their secrets, you can spot the red flags before it is too late.
Shari Vahl, who has investigated fraud for the BBC for 20 years, is joined by the criminologist and forensic linguist, Dr Elisabeth Carter, and Alex Wood – a former criminal who now tries to stop scams – to dissect the shadiest techniques criminals use to steal your cash.
In each episode, they dig deep into a different scam, with first-hand accounts from the people targeted, forensic analysis of the techniques and mind games being used – and even secret recordings of the scammers themselves.
Scam Secrets will publish weekly from 31 July. Subscribe on BBC Sounds so you never miss an episode.
You can also email the Scam Secrets team – tell them which scams you want them to unpick: [email protected]
Getting an unexpected phonecall can be unnerving. If it’s from a bailiff saying he’s coming to take your possessions and is 40 minutes away, it can be terrifying.
In this episode, Shari Vahl and the Scam Secrets team hear from two people who were subjected to this scarily plausible scam. Linguistics expert Dr Lis Carter and former fraudster Alex Wood pick apart the language used, and explain how the tactics are all designed to manufacture a ‘fight or flight’ response that plays into the hands of the criminals.
As ever, red flags will be waved – so you’ll end up better informed about this sophisticated and manipulative scam.
And on this last episode in our first series of Scam Secrets, we’ll even hear exactly what happened when a scammer tried similar tactics on Shari.
If there’s a scam you want the Scam Secrets team to look at, you can get in touch: [email protected]
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
Disclaimer
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