Gullible suburban mother of four regularly duped in her half-century life. Exploring hoaxes and schemes as the ExSCAMiner, she attempts answering the nagging question: Should I have fallen for that? Got scam tips, email Karin at ScamExaminer@gmail.com.

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Movie prophets for profit

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May 17, 7:43 PM

by Karin Malchow, Scam Examiner

A sampling of films where scammers manipulate victims' religious faith:

Marjoe (1972): Oscar-winning documentary following former child evangelist star Marjoe Gortner during the waning days of the tent revival circuit.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962): Maybe a stretch to include this classic, but Oscar nominee/Evil Communist Mom Angela Lansbury instructs Laurence Harvey's brainwashed mole to masquerade as a priest during his mission. Who would suspect a religious figure at a political convention?
The Man Who Would Be King (1975): Oscar-winning John Huston screenplay reveals the high price impersonating another culture's god.
Rasputin (1996): Con artist or crazy or both? Alan Rickman won an Emmy in HBO's version of the influential Russian monk.
Elmer Gantry (1960): Oscar win for Shirley Jones (later TV's Partridge) as the prostitute who brings evangelist conman Burt Lancaster down.

Topics: Con artists , movies , religion

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Hurricane damage continues with recovery fraud

1 comment

October 9, 7:19 AM

Pre-Hurricane Gustav and Ike, scammers opened their usual bag of tricks: sending phishing e-mails to area residents under the guise of confirming bank information and setting up fake relief charity websites. Post-hurricane, the scammer deluge... Read More
Topics: fraud , FBI

He did what?!? Presidential campaign smears

4 comments

October 6, 9:32 PM

Whether presidential campaign smears come from pamphlets, letters, chants, television advertising, telephone push polls, internet rumors, campaign officials or supporters, people keep falling for them. According to rumors or accusations, which presidential... Read More
Topics: politics

Male enhancement matters to scammers

1 comment

October 4, 4:26 PM

MSN Health reported a preliminary Italian study suggesting an ancient Chinese herbal aphrodisiac could be a natural alternative to Viagra and other pharmaceuticals treating Erectile Dysfunction. Spamming internet scammers are likely to latch onto... Read More
Topics: E-mail

Best (also worst) inheritance scam

1 comment

October 1, 2:10 PM

Tales of estates snarled by bureaucracy still flood e-mail inboxes; a share of the vast fortune only requires immediate cash to either cheated heirs or estate locators for money transfer fees or bribes. The internet version of the inheritance scam... Read More

Does your city rank on reporting fraud?

Add a Comment

September 30, 12:12 AM

The Federal Trade Commission maintains a Consumer Sentinel database collecting complaints from 125 organizations, including the Better Business Bureau, the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the US Postal Inspection Service. The individual consumer... Read More
Topics: fraud , Identity Theft , FTC

Life after death

2 comments

September 26, 11:48 AM

A recap of insurance fraud items in the September 2008 news:Dead men don't go to the doctor.When Ahmad Akhtary's British ex-wife attempted to claim £300,000 insurance after reporting his death in Afghanistan, a couple items tripped up the scheme. ... Read More
Topics: fraud

Famous people confess badly kept secrets

3 comments

September 24, 3:36 PM

AP/People In honor of Clay Aiken's sexual orientation confirmation and Lindsay Lohan-Samantha Ronson dating relationship acknowledgement, here are some other not-so-startling celebrity revelations. Whether those in the public eye... Read More
Topics: suspicion

Keeping your head during economic strife

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September 21, 9:13 PM

Whether one believes the U.S. economy is a house of cards or undergoing a cyclical correction, a Ponzi scheme facsimile or fundamentally sound, a dose of Frank Capra is always fun. According to an MSN-Zogby poll, most people are taking recent economic... Read More
Topics: movies

Moving company pirates hold stuff hostage

1 comment

September 19, 9:33 PM

Unscrupulous moving companies and drivers are hijacking people's belongings and demanding ransom. The scam goes like this:After entering into a contract with a moving company for interstate relocation, possessions are loaded into a truck. ... Read More
Topics: fraud