Scams

The Definition: First, a word about the name Melon Drop Scam. You may or may not have been aware that at one time, melons were selling for more than £40 each – in Tokyo. Armed with this knowledge, enterprising British scammers, while holding a melon, would orchestrate an accidental-on-purpose “bump” into a sightseeing Japanese tourist. To the mark, the value of the melon that just fell to the ground and shattered was….£40! They would, of course, accept responsibility for the “accident” and compensate our hustler accordingly.

That scam has morphed itself into a much broader hustle. Now, a lovely lady scammer practices her nefarious trade using more common valuables, and on a much wider sample of folks walking the streets.

The Mark: Usually a male (remember, our scammer is a fetching female) who is well-dressed, walking in an up-market part of the city. He looks like he would want to avoid a scene, and he looks like he has a few pounds in his pocket as well.

The Scam: There are three distinct phases to this scam: the “bump”; the “apology”; and the “appeal.” Here’s how it works:

While walking in an area of high-end shops, our scammer is carrying a wrapped present, which ostensibly contains an expensive vase. In truth, the present contains nothing but broken glass, which has been packaged and festively wrapped during the set-up phase of the sting.

When an appropriate mark is spied, she positions herself so that she is walking in front of him, and at a slower rate of speed. As the mark comes to a position just behind and to the side, our scammer abruptly stops and turns – forcing the mark to bump into her.

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The Definition: The ATM Scam is costing citizens of the U.K. £75 million per year - it is a high-tech hustle wherein the scammers attach a device over the slot of an ATM machine. This device will read all the information from the magnetic strip on the back of your card, and record for future use by the thieves. It still allows the genuine ATM reader to accept your information and dispense money, so the mark has no clue that he has just been the victim of an electronic rip-off.

The Mark: Nobody is immune, and no individual is more or less susceptible than another - with the exception of those visiting this site, that is. Armed with the lessons that shining a bright light on this hustle will teach you, you have a much better chance of avoiding this swindle.

The Scam: Our thieves have for the moment morphed into a “geek squad,” putting their technical talents to work fabricating a magnetic-strip reader. This will be fitted to a slot that will overlay the actual slot on an ATM machine. When it is in place, only careful examination will reveal that it is not an original part of the machine, but a nefarious add-on designed to steal sensitive information. The device is called a “skimmer.” Also built into this fabricated piece is a pin-hole camera, which will capture your PIN as you punch it into the keyboard.

Our scammer finds a likely cash point location, and when alone, casually performs what looks like a normal ATM transaction. But what he has really done is the equivalent of a highwayman setting up an ambush on a country road – he has installed a device that will ambush the precious information on your ATM card’s magnetic strip.

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The Definition: The Pinch-Push Pocket Pick is an excellent description of this snatching technique. It describes the actions taken by the dip to setting up the mark for a smooth and undetectable pick.

The Mark: Usually a male. Always a male who has not heeded advice that he has probably heard countless times before: NEVER carry your wallet in your back pocket. Remember the dips credo – out of sight, out of mind, out of pocket.

The Scam: This simple little hustle requires two hustlers; one to do the dip, and one, called the “runner” to handle the getaway. Naturally, any crowded street or public place is ideal for these scammers. In a typical shopping center situation, the runner will position himself at the top of a bank of escalators, casually reading a newspaper, while the pick-pocket will linger near the bottom waiting for an appropriate mark. Sadly, there are probably many to choose from – carelessness abounds.

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A Proposition Bet

A proposition bet is basically “I can bet you I can do something when you bet against me that I cannot do this”. You talk about something that sounds absolutely impossible to do so most people will tell you “Well, there’s no way that can be done”. But if you turn to them and say “Yes, there is a way…” by this time they are so curious just to see how this is going to work that usually they’ll just pay a fiver (5 pounds or dollars) just to see what happens!

A proposition bet, is a great way to hustle a few free drinks in a meal. Have a look at the video!

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The Definition: The Bluetooth Hack. You may have never heard of the term “blue-jacking”, and you certainly hope you are never its victim. When your phone is blue-jacked, a scammer can take control of your mobile and use it to make himself quite a handsome payday, indeed.

The Mark: Any owner of a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone – if he has forgotten to disable the Bluetooth when he is not using it. As is typical, a mark is someone who is too lazy, or too careless, or too just-plain uninformed. Visitors to this site have no such excuse.

The Scam: The piece of equipment that is key to pulling off this scam is a mobile pocket PC, set up to hunt for a blue-tooth connection. Due to a flaw in many Bluetooth enabled mobile phones, a remote mobile looking for a signal can actually pick up the signal of another nearby mobile. This defect is the only crack in the armor our modern-day cons need to exploit your phone, and your wallet.

Our scammer works in any crowded public place, seemingly intent on his pocket PC, but in reality searching for a signal to blue-jack. When he finds one, he has two jobs: one is to stay in range so he can control the hijacked phone; the other is to use his PC to make a call on the hijacked line. This is where the hustler stuffs his pockets.

Prior to instituting the scam, our con men have set up a premium-rate telephone line, which will charge those who call the line £1.50 per minute of call time. So all our hustler has to do, whilst in range of the mark’s phone, is dial up the premium-rate line using the mark’s connection and keep that connection going as long as possible. Every minute that goes by makes him a little richer.

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The Definition: The Counterfeit Cash Scam involves some deft sleight-of-hand to put the dip on shopkeepers and clerks. Though trained to spot counterfeits, these clerks are badly fooled by our resourceful con, and are duped in accepting notes from the scammer that were printed by, shall we say, less than reputable sources.

The Mark: Any shopkeeper or clerk can become a victim of this scam. If you handle money and operate a cash register, hustlers see you as a potential mark.

The Scam: Loaded with a pocketful of phony £20 notes, our hustler takes to the street in search of a likely mark; a clerk in a convenience store or any small shopkeeper. He casually picks up some small items at the counter – gum perhaps, or mints. But he also picks up something a bit larger, like a cheap DVD so frequently positioned right near the register as an impulse purchase.

The purchase of the DVD is a key step, because it will eventually serve to conceal the actions of the con.

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The Definition: Breathtakingly devious, The Hire-Car Scam is a straight greed play. When an almost-brand-new car is offered at a deep discount, the marks line up to hand over their cash; but if this car was going to be their ride, they may as well start walking right now.

The Marks: They just cannot resist this bargain. The car is so underpriced that they should have been suspicious from the outset – but greed blinds a man to reason, and they wind up with no car – and quite a bit lighter in the pocket as well.

The Scam: Our scam begins with our team of professional hustlers renting a sleek new car for a day. Quickly, they begin removing all vestiges that the car is a hire; documents come out of the glove box, rental agency tags are removed from the key chain and all decals are peeled off the body.

Bringing the car to a vacant house that they have acquired for the day, they proceed to make the house look lived in by scattering toys about and leaving a tricycle in the driveway. It is important that the marks feel a sense of permanence about the place, and there’s no better way to accomplish this than to portray the place as home to a young family.

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The Definition: The Poker Scam requires some sleight of hand, but nothing so difficult that a small gang of determined hustlers couldn’t pull it off with a moderate amount of practice. When a rigged deck of cards is smuggled into the game, the odds against you go off the charts. Then your chips go off the table – right into the scammers’ pockets.

The Mark: Anyone that likes to sit down for a few hands of cards with a bit of high wagering could be a victim. If you’re not suspecting anything, and our hustlers have a deft touch, you haven’t got a chance.

The Scam: Our scammers have taken what is called a “cold deck”, and set it up so that it deals a winning hand to the player of their choice; this is done in secret, before the other players arrive. First, the hands are created, face up, around the table. The cards are carefully arranged to achieve the desired result, with certain players dealt bad cards so that they will fold, and others dealt cards just good enough to keep them in the hand and betting generously. Of course, the winning hand is reserved for one of the two scammers sitting at around the table. The cards are then restacked to achieve the desired result and placed in the possession of a female “smuggler” - this can be done with more than one deck, but not so many as to raise suspicions.

Our two scam artists play their regular brand of poker for the better part of the evening; maybe winning a bit, maybe losing a bit, but all the while angling for the fantastic run of “luck” that they know is yet to come. Our female hustler is playing a role too, most frequently as a cocktail waitress, regularly walking into the poker den with her notepad in hand to take orders. It is imperative that the players become quite comfortable with her movements in and out of the room, since she is also playing the role of the aforementioned “smuggler” – and special attention is the last thing she wants.

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The Definition: The Postman Scam is merely a clever twist on the normal workings of a ring of pickpockets. The primary goal of our gang is simple: NEVER GET CAUGHT! Elaborate schemes to divest themselves of stolen property lowers the odds of them getting pinched – so that they can continue to put the pinch on other unsuspecting marks.

The Mark: A man or woman standing in a queue at a public place, perhaps daydreaming about last weekend’s activities, tonight’s dinner, or next month’s holiday. Sadly, because our mark is not paying attention to her surroundings, it may not only cost her a purse or wallet, it may cost her dearly in time, money and aggravation. Not to mention the frustration attached to knowing she was the victim of a very preventable crime.

The Scam: Three scammers are working today’s mark, an unsuspecting woman standing in line at a bus stop. Our first hustler is directly behind the victim, wearing an overcoat against the chill, with her hands thrust firmly into her pockets. But wait – are they both really in her pockets? An examination will reveal that her coat is set up to facilitate the “dip,” since one of the arms and hands in her coat is phony, leaving her a free hand hidden safely within the coat next to her body. Done correctly, nobody will see anything unusual – our hustlers “hands” never leave the warmth of the coat pocket.

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A Proposition Bet

A proposition bet is basically “I can bet you I can do something when you bet against me that I cannot do this”. You talk about something that sounds absolutely impossible to do so most people will tell you “Well, there’s no way that can be done”. But if you turn to them and say “Yes, there is a way…” by this time they are so curious just to see how this is going to work that usually they’ll just pay a fiver (5 pounds or dollars) just to see what happens!

A proposition bet, is a great way to hustle a few free drinks in a meal. Have a look at the video!

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