“I’m 84 and I still do this.” That’s the caption on a video of a silver-haired woman perched on the edge of a bench, legs lifted, arms toned, not a wobble in sight. Her skin glows. Her hair is in a perfect messy bun. She looks better than most 40-year-olds I know. She doesn’t exist. … Read more
The email gave me seven days. Respond in writing, it said, “or our client may pursue appropriate legal remedies.” It had a law firm letterhead. A reference number. My name and email address. It even quoted real sections of U.S. law. And at first glance, I’ll be honest, it looked real. It was a scam. … Read more
OK, I need to tell you about the sweetest man I’ve never met, and the absolute mess of a scam network that’s been wearing his face. His name is Charles Ray. He’s 85 years old, and he’s got a TikTok channel where he puts on a different silly hat for every video and tells corny … Read more
Now, I usually spend my time here warning you about fake boutiques and sob-story animal rescues. Today I want to talk about something different. Bigger, honestly, and a little harder to wrap your arms around. It’s about artificial intelligence. Not the “robots are going to take over” version Hollywood’s been selling us for decades. Something … Read more
Scammers are the cockroaches of the internet, and their latest infestation is online clothing boutiques dressed up to look exclusive, personal, and trustworthy. I’ve been digging into these for about three days now, and I’ve already found almost 40 of them. Most follow the exact same pattern: two women’s names, an ampersand in the middle, … Read more
I was doing one last reverse image search before recording a video about a single scam Facebook page selling “handmade” purses. That search didn’t end with one page. It ended with 33. What I found is something I’m now calling the Purse Mafia, a network of storefronts across Facebook and Instagram, all presenting mass-produced bags … Read more
Meet Nonna. She started her leather handbag boutique in Florence in 1972. Brought to America in 1997. Spending her days hand-checking every stitch on leather bags meant to be passed down for generations. It’s a lovely story. Every word of it is false. Prefer to watch? Here’s everything I found. A Page With a Completely … Read more