WEBVTT - Hardcore Con: Ep. 1 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:06.920 It's late October now in twenty twenty three in New 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:11.360 York City. It's a cool sixty five degrees outside, just 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:15.680 past six pm, and thirty nine year old Charlotte Coals 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:19.880 is nervously standing in front of her Brooklyn apartment building. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:25.000 She looks like she's seen a ghost, and she's clutching 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:30.800 a shoe box containing fifty thousand dollars in cash, her cash, 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:34.479 her entire life savings she had just come from her 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:40.080 bank after withdrawing it all. When all of a sudden, 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:47.440 a man in a white Mercedes suv pulls up and 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:51.199 Charlotte places that shoe box with her life savings in it, 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.200 on the back seat of that Mercedes and slams the 0:00:55.240 --> 0:01:01.720 door shut and watches as it drives away. At this 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:05.640 very moment, even though Charlotte Coles is an Ivy League 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.080 educated financial journalist for the New York Times and New 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:13.080 York Magazine, she has no idea that she has just 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:18.160 fallen for an elaborate confidence trick, orchestrated by a team 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:23.679 of sophisticated con artists working in unison with surgical precision 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:29.440 to scam her. How did these people, these scammers infiltrate 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:31.880 her life to begin with, And what could they have 0:01:32.000 --> 0:01:36.400 possibly said and done to convince Charlotte Coles to fork 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:46.880 over her entire life savings behind her husband's back Listen, 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:49.680 I know you think there's just no way that you'd 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:52.480 ever hand a stranger all the money in your bank account. 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:55.480 And I know you think Charlotte Coles must be a 0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:59.760 gullible idiot for doing that. But a similar thing happened 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:05.280 to me. I got conned out of close to one 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:08.639 hundred thousand dollars and I managed to turn the tables 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:11.720 and put my con artist in jail. And I've since 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:16.600 investigated hundreds and hundreds of concases and scams and wrote 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:20.359 a book, Anatomy of a Con Artist, about the psychology 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:24.480 of how these elaborate scams work and how these mfforts 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:28.440 know the exact way to hack your brain to get 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.600 you to do what they want. You think you'd never 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:35.600 fall for a scam like this, Well, that belief actually 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:39.680 makes you so much more likely to. In each episode 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.640 of Hardcore Con, I'm not just going to tell you 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:45.720 a crazy con story. I'm also going to pull the 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:50.160 curtain back and expose the dark psychology and the mental 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:54.320 tricks these scammers use to manipulate you while at the 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:58.880 same time making you completely unaware that you're being manipulated. 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:02.760 Because the the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:06.680 convincing the world he didn't exist. Then that's the reason 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:10.000 you won't know you're getting scammed until it's all over. 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.920 That's what happened to me, and that's what's happening to 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:17.919 Charlotte Cole's right now. And my sole mission in life 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:21.280 until the day I die is to make sure it 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:31.800 never happens to you or anyone you care about. I'm 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:38.920 Jonathan Walton and this is Hardcore Con Episode one, the 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:43.440 Shoe Box. If you like this episode, you'll find more 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:47.120 episodes of Hardcore Con at my new home at Jonathan 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:51.040 Walton Media. Just tap that magnifying glass on your podcast 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:55.400 app and search Jonathan Walton Media to listen to all 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:59.680 my new shows Cocaine Air, The Quarterback and The Con Artist, 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:04.120 The Handyman of West Texas and this one Hardcore Con. 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.640 Back to episode one now about Charlotte Coles losing her 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:12.760 life savings to a team of sophisticated con artists who 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:14.640 are ganging up to scam her. 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:23.599 Long time. 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:30.359 Twenty years earlier, in two thousand and three, a nineteen 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.280 year old Charlotte Coles is sitting on the campus of 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:39.400 Columbia University outside Lerner Hall. She's a creative writing major, 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:43.000 and as she opens a bag of potato chips and 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:46.479 pops a couple into her mouth, the news of the day, 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:50.080 spreading all over campus, is about a con artist named 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:52.800 Christophe Rocincourt, a Frenchman. 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:54.599 Who claimed to be a member of the wealthy Rockefeller 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.039 family in order to con the rich and famous out 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:58.640 of one point two million dollars. 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:02.000 And at this point in charlott life, she's a teenager 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:05.920 and elaborate con stories like this are just something she 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:09.640 sees on the news or in Hollywood movies, like the 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:10.839 usual Suspects. 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:15.719 You think youth kaisa, I don't know verbal kaisus sos 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.240 is a shield like you said a spook story. 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:22.159 The idea that Charlotte Coles would one day fall hook 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:26.400 line and sinker for an elaborate Cohn herself and lose 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:30.240 her entire life savings in one fell swoop is just 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:34.160 so far removed from her realm of thinking at this point, 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:41.679 and that's the problem. Lord Flynn Gold Michael Aesop Smith, 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:48.960 Adam David Ryback, Charlotte Carla Coles. Charlotte graduates from Columbia 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:52.599 University in two thousand and seven with a bachelor's degree 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:56.839 in English Language Literature and Letters. A year later, she 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:00.039 lends a pivotal job as an assistant editor at The 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:04.440 New York Sun, and over the next decade, Charlotte's career 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:09.240 in journalism takes off, and she quickly moves up writing 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:15.200 for Harper's Bazaar, New York Magazine, and The New York Times. 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:20.760 And by the time Charlotte is introduced to that motley 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:23.840 crew of con artists who'd go on to scam her 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:28.039 out of fifty thousand dollars, she's freelancing for both The 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:35.200 New York Times and New York Magazine as a financial columnist. 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:44.160 It's Halloween now, October thirty, first, twenty twenty three in Brooklyn, 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:49.960 just past noon, and some of the neighborhood kids are 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:53.479 getting a jump on their trick or treating. Charlotte's working 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:56.400 from home, trying to finish her latest piece for New 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.560 York Magazine while her two year old son is playing 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:05.760 in the next room. At around twelve thirty pm, Charlotte's 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:10.000 phone rings. She glances down at her caller ID. It's 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:14.760 Amazon calling. Immediately, Charlotte thinks maybe this is about a 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:18.040 grocery order or a package she's been waiting on, so 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:19.480 she answers. 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.720 Hello, Am I speaking to Charlotte Coles. 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:25.120 Now, if you've ever spoken to Amazon over the phone, 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.160 then you know they employ call centers in India and 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.760 other far flunk places to handle their customer service calls. 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:35.000 So Charlotte thinks nothing of the woman on the phone 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:39.160 with the thick accent, and she confirms that yes, she is. 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:43.160 In fact. Charlotte colls and politely asks what the purpose 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:44.080 of the phone call is. 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.880 I'm calling from Amazon Customer Service to verify some unusual 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:50.280 activity on your account. This call is being recorded for 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:51.280 quality assurance. 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:55.840 Right off the bat, this call seems legit. After all, 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.520 it's being recorded, right and remember it came up as 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:04.480 Amazon on Charlotte's caller ID. But it most certainly is 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:09.160 not Amazon at all, just a clever scammer who knows 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:12.600 how to spoof phone numbers. Word, do the wise, never 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:14.920 trust your caller ID. 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:18.120 We wanted to confirm a few recent charges totaling eight 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:20.400 thousand dollars for a MacBook Pro and an ibag. 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:27.040 Charlotte immediately gets scared because those are not her charges. 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:31.080 She didn't buy a MacBook Pro and an iPad. Could 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:34.600 someone have hacked her Amazon account? And here's where the 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:39.400 manipulation starts. Con Artists don't actually outsmart you. They're not 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:43.679 smarter than you. Con Artists outfeel you, and then they 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:48.199 weaponize your feelings against you. They make you emotional, which 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:51.559 gets you to bypass your intellect altogether, and that's how 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:56.720 they manipulate you. Right now, Charlotte's scared, and that fear 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.960 is a powerful feeling, and it's only going to grow 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:02.920 and get her to do all kinds of things she 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.400 would never do in her right mind, especially after this 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:09.520 fake Amazon customer service rep tells her it. 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.640 Appears you've been the victim of identity theft. Someone has 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.440 used your credentials to open an Amazon business account in 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:17.880 your name and is making purchases as we speak. 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:23.440 Charlotte is now in full freak out mode. And then suddenly, 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.680 this con artist on the phone, posing as an Amazon 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:31.200 rep does what all con artists do to firmly establish 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:35.959 a stranglehold in their victims' lives. They offer to help, 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:39.840 and right now Charlotte feels like she can use all 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.960 the help she can get, which is exactly how the 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:46.520 con artist wants her to feel. The rep tells her 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:50.920 that Amazon has been experiencing a sudden deluge of identity 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:54.640 theft cases just like hers, and that they're working with 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:59.440 investigators right now from the Federal Trade Commission the FTC 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.800 in Washington, d C. And that at the end of 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:06.160 this phone call, Charlotte can either call and report this 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.880 to the FTC herself, which will take god knows how 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:12.640 long to get one of these FTC agents on the phone, 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:17.640 or if Charlotte prefers, the Amazon customer service rep can 0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:22.640 transfer her to an FTC investigator they're working with right now, 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:26.560 which sounds great to a scared and now desperate for 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:31.480 help Charlotte Coles. Remember, con artists don't outsmart you, They 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:36.079 outfeel you, and at this very moment, Charlotte's feelings are 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:43.520 being played like a violin concerto by a con artist virtuoso. 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:49.640 She didn't stand a chance. You're listening to my new 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:53.680 series Hardcore con for more episodes like the one explaining 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:55.800 how falling in love with a con artist is what 0:10:55.880 --> 0:11:00.640 actually killed Hollywood actress Britney Murphy. Search Jonathan Walton Media 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:04.520 on whatever podcast platform you're listening on. We'll be right back. 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:11.200 Welcome back to hardcore con. Charlotte Coles just got transferred 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:15.040 to a legit sounding FTC agent over the phone. She 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:19.360 has no idea she's falling victim to an elaborate scam. 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:22.080 Hi, Charlotte, this is Agent Calvin Mitchell with the Federal 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:24.560 Trade Commission. I've been in touch with Amazon. I'm looking 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:25.640 into your case right now. 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:30.280 Agent Mitchell immediately gives Charlotte his badge number and a 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.800 phone number she can call him back on in case 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:36.480 they get disconnected, and that phone number has a two 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:40.840 to two area code, which is in fact a Washington 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:46.000 DC number. And then he actually tells Charlotte the last 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:50.400 four digits of her social Security number, just to confirm 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.480 he has to write Charlotte Coles on the phone. At 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.840 this point, it's obvious to Charlotte that Agent Mitchell has 0:11:56.920 --> 0:12:01.200 all her information social security number included on his computer 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.439 screen in his office down there at the Federal Trade 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:08.240 Commission in Washington, DC. And the idea that this is 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:12.559 all an elaborate ruse never even occurs to Charlotte, I mean, 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:18.640 why would it. But here's the thing. All of our 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:23.080 social security numbers and all of our personal information is 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:33.120 out there on the dark web right now, and professional 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:37.360 scammers buy and sell bundles of this information to each 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:42.040 other in order to scam us. You might be wondering, 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:45.959 how on earth do scammers in say India or Nigeria 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:50.880 or China get their hands on your social Security number? Well, 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.200 the answer is simple data breaches. 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.520 Word of a massive data breach for AT and. 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:00.720 T, lots and lots of data breaches. 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:04.280 That cyber attack on JP Morgan Chase Tonight's Flagstar is 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:08.760 warning customers their personal information, including social security numbers, may 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:11.479 have been stolen in a ransomware breach crime. 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:14.240 Of our times. So the fact that this scammer on 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.360 the phone with Charlotte, who's posing as an agent for 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:21.480 the Federal Trade Commission in DC, has her social Security 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:25.480 number and all her personal information on his computer screen 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:30.040 goes a long way in making him seem legitimate to Charlotte. 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:33.440 And then this agent Mitchell, tells her. 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:35.920 Your personal information is linked to a case that we've 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:38.800 been working on for a while now, and it's quite serious. 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:45.200 According to Agent Mitchell, the people that stole Charlotte's identity 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:49.600 belong to a sophisticated crime syndicate who in a very 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:53.640 short amount of time managed to open twenty two bank 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:58.880 accounts in Charlotte's name in multiple states and then used 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:03.320 those various bank accounts to launder more than three million 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:08.520 dollars that they quickly wired two other banks overseas. Charlotte 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.280 suddenly feels all the blood drain out of her face. 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.960 Agent Mitchell then texts her a picture of a woman's 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:18.840 driver's license, a woman by the name of Stella Kwan. 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:21.680 Do you know this woman? Have you ever seen this 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:23.960 woman before? If you know her, you better tell me 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.320 the truth, because if I find out later you're lying 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:27.840 to me, you will be in so much more trouble. 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:28.560 I can assure you. 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.640 Agent Mitchell tells Charlotte that the driver's license for this woman, 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:36.480 Stella Quang, was found in a rental car that had 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:40.400 been abandoned near the Texas Southern border, and that that 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:47.560 car was rented in Charlotte's name, and police later find 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:51.400 drugs and blood in the trunk evidence of foul play, 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.640 and when they execute a search at the rental car company, 0:14:56.040 --> 0:15:00.560 they find reams of bank statements also in charlott Its name, 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:06.160 with her social Security number attached, and Charlotte nearly faints 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:08.920 when Agent Mitchell reveals. 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:11.440 There actually have been arrest warrants issued in your name 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.320 in Texas and in Maryland, and you're facing multiple felony 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.200 charges for cybercrimes, money laundering, and drug trafficking. 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:27.200 Now, there are two very powerful scamming techniques that I 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.760 write about in Anatomy of a con Artist that are 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:34.440 being used on Charlotte very successfully here. Number one, stories 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:45.400 from far away places, the overseas bank accounts, the southern border, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:50.920 rental car, the blood, the drugs, the felonies in Texas 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:56.880 and Maryland. Human nature is unreliable and easily influenced. That's 0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:01.520 why advertising is a billion dollar industry is blowing again. 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:05.160 And why when someone tells you these kinds of stories 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:08.720 from far away places, they're hard to prove false off 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.200 the top of your head. And the minute you can't 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.640 prove something is false the way the human brain works, 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:17.480 you are that much more likely to just accept it 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:25.440 as true. The other psychological trick the scammers are employing here, 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:29.640 using all those exquisite details in their stories from far 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:33.680 away places. Tons of minute details have a tendency to 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:38.200 immediately convince someone that what they're hearing is true, Otherwise 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:42.640 there wouldn't be so many details. Add to that. At 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:48.560 this point, Charlotte is scared, terrified actually, and she believes 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:51.560 this FTC agent in DC on the phone with her 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:55.480 is trying to help, so she is that much more 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:59.280 primed to just accept whatever he says as true. From 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:03.320 this point on, as Charlotte is talking to Agent Mitchell, 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:07.040 she texts her husband telling him that someone has stolen 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:12.680 her identity, and suddenly Agent Mitchell, sensing Charlotte is distracted, 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:16.000 commands her full attention by asking. 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:19.000 Have you recently used public WiFi anywhere? A coffee shop 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:20.960 or an airport or any place like that. 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:25.840 Charlotte did, in fact use public WiFi recently at the airport, 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.400 and she feels really stupid now for doing it, as 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:33.560 she tells Agent Mitchell, and Agent Mitchell, seizing on a 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:38.120 sudden opportunity to make Charlotte blame herself for what's happening, 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:42.960 piles on telling her that her recent public WiFi use 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.199 at the airport is the reason this crime syndicate was 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:49.119 able to hack into her phone and into her life 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:53.600 and is now using her identity to commit all these 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:58.280 crimes all over the country. And he says they're probably 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:07.000 monitoring her phone right now, so she shouldn't be calling 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:12.320 or texting anyone about anything, especially about this current FTC 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:18.600 fraud investigation into her case. Panicking now, Charlotte quickly deletes 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.440 the text she just sent to her husband, even though 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.720 he already saw it, and she agrees not to call 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:29.800 or text anyone else about this open FTC investigation. Agent 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:32.399 Mitchell then tells Charlotte. 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:33.919 We've been working with the CIA on this case for 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.400 the past few months. If it's okay with you, I'd 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:38.120 like to transfer you to the agent in charge. 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:42.720 So now Charlotte is being transferred to a third person, 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:47.280 which just makes this scam feel even more credible. And 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:51.480 then to really juice up the credibility here, this third person, 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:56.120 this CIA agent, speaks with a British accent. 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.840 Charlotte, I'm special Agent Michael Serana. I'm pleased to finally 0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:02.359 be talking to you. We've been working on your case 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:03.479 for the past six months. 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:07.520 Agent Serrano gives Charlotte his badge number, and later, to 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:11.000 assuage any concern she has, he texts her a picture 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:14.240 of his ID and tells Charlotte from this point on 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:18.080 she's not to talk about this case, this open investigation 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:23.520 to anyone, including her husband. Charlotte box and tells Agent 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:27.520 Serrano that her husband can be trusted. He's a good man, 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:32.280 honest and hard working, and Agent Serrano firmly reminds her, 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:33.040 you are. 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:37.400 Being investigated for major federal crimes. By keeping your husband 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:39.399 out of this, you are protecting him. 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:43.520 So Charlotte reluctantly agrees not to tell her husband anything 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:47.640 until the investigation is over, and Agient Serrano explains that 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:51.879 with Charlotte's help, the CIA wants to catch the perpetrators 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.159 in the act, and to do that, they need to 0:19:55.480 --> 0:20:00.840 deactivate her Social Security number and freeze all her bank accounts, 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:04.800 the fraudulent ones and the real ones, because in the 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:07.960 eyes of the law, he says, there is no difference. 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:12.080 Charlotte asks, how would she be able to pay her 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:19.040 bills if her bank account is frozen? And now we 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:24.440 get to the meat of the con Agent Serrano offers 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:28.720 to help Charlotte. Are you sensing a theme here? He says, 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:31.679 he can hold off on freezing her bank accounts to 0:20:31.760 --> 0:20:35.080 give her enough time to withdraw all her money that 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:37.840 she can then use to live on until she's issued 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:41.040 a new Social Security number and would be able to 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:44.360 open up a new bank account at that point, completely 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:48.399 separate and independent from the fraudulent bank accounts that that 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:51.600 crime syndicate opened in her name with her old social 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:56.480 Security number, and Agent Serrano again implores Charlotte not to 0:20:56.560 --> 0:20:59.840 breathe a word about this investigation to anyone. 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:02.520 You need to go to the bank and get that 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:05.320 cash out now. You cannot tell them what it is for. 0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:08.200 In one of my last cases, the identity fee for 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:09.560 someone who worked at the bank. 0:21:09.880 --> 0:21:14.360 Shockingly, this actually rings true to Charlotte because she's been 0:21:14.440 --> 0:21:17.760 working as a financial journalist for the past ten years 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:20.600 in New York City, and she knows for a fact 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:25.040 that half of all bank fraud cases are perpetrated by 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:29.480 someone on the inside, by someone who actually works at 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:33.520 the bank. You're listening to my new series Hardcore con 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:37.159 for more episodes like the one explaining how a fifty 0:21:37.240 --> 0:21:40.480 four year old man hides the corpse of his dead 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:44.040 mother and dresses up like her to collect her pension 0:21:44.119 --> 0:21:49.280 checks for years. Search Jonathan Walton Media on whatever podcast 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:53.879 platform you're listening on. Search Jonathan Walton Media. We'll be 0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:59.800 right back. Welcome back to hardcore con Charlotte Coles is 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.720 one hundred percent certain she's on the phone with a 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:06.000 bona fide CIA agent who is right now in the 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:09.679 process of convincing her to go to her bank and 0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:15.119 secure all her money. So Charlotte leaves her apartment and 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:20.480 walks to her bank. She keeps CIA agent Michael Serrano 0:22:20.560 --> 0:22:23.159 on the phone with her, how can you help me? 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.880 And she agrees not to mention the real reason she's 0:22:26.880 --> 0:22:33.200 withdrawing fifty thousand dollars from her savings account. As she's 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:36.679 withdrawing fifty thousand dollars from her savings account, which is 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:38.800 all the money she had in there to begin with. 0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:46.000 Now you have to understand Charlotte's mental state at this point. 0:22:46.400 --> 0:22:50.359 She's in fighter flight mode. Her stress hormones and cortisol 0:22:50.440 --> 0:22:55.320 levels are through the roof. She's desperate, and she's not 0:22:55.520 --> 0:23:07.720 in her right mind at all. She's also petrified, and 0:23:07.760 --> 0:23:11.159 the only lifeline she feels she has right now is 0:23:11.200 --> 0:23:17.199 that CIA agent Michael Serrano. So she's doing exactly what 0:23:17.240 --> 0:23:22.760 he tells her to do. As Charlotte is walking home 0:23:22.800 --> 0:23:26.240 from the bank with fifty thousand dollars in hundreds in 0:23:26.320 --> 0:23:31.040 her purse, she's still on the phone with Agent Serrano. 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:36.959 It's Halloween and costume trick or treaters are scurrying everywhere, 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:41.119 when all of a sudden, Charlotte notices a man in 0:23:41.200 --> 0:23:45.200 a hoodie and sunglasses who appears to be following her 0:23:49.560 --> 0:23:55.359 block after block after block, and when she mentions this 0:23:55.480 --> 0:23:59.359 man to Agent Serrano, he says it's probably a member 0:23:59.400 --> 0:24:03.520 of that crime syndicate and that they're onto her now. 0:24:03.960 --> 0:24:08.200 They know that she knows about them, and they're following her. Well, 0:24:08.560 --> 0:24:12.920 Charlotte freaks out and starts running far ahead and ducks 0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:17.919 into a nearby parking garage and loses the guy that 0:24:18.040 --> 0:24:22.960 was following her. The truth of the matter is no 0:24:23.000 --> 0:24:27.119 one was actually following her, but in Charlotte's frazzled and 0:24:27.200 --> 0:24:31.320 fearful state of mind, everything just feels like an imminent threat. 0:24:31.880 --> 0:24:36.200 Everything feels like an emergency, and the scammer posing as 0:24:36.280 --> 0:24:39.200 a CIA agent on the phone with her just keeps 0:24:39.240 --> 0:24:44.280 stoking the flames of her fears. Charlotte gets back home 0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:57.080 and she's shaking. Now. Her adrenaline is pumping, but she's 0:24:57.240 --> 0:25:01.000 unsure what to do next. Asient Sarah tells her. 0:25:01.080 --> 0:25:04.199 Tonight, we will closed down your social Security number and 0:25:04.280 --> 0:25:07.000 you will lose access to your bank accounts. Tomorrow, you 0:25:07.119 --> 0:25:09.480 need to go to the Social Security office and get 0:25:09.520 --> 0:25:12.280 a new social Security number. Will secure this money for 0:25:12.400 --> 0:25:15.120 you in a government locker and hand deliver a treasury 0:25:15.200 --> 0:25:17.760 check for the same amount. You can cash the check 0:25:17.800 --> 0:25:21.280 and use it for your expenses until the investigation is over. 0:25:21.720 --> 0:25:24.439 Charlotte asks why she can't just hang on to the 0:25:24.480 --> 0:25:28.480 cash she just withdrew from her bank account. It's her cash, 0:25:28.520 --> 0:25:33.000 after all, why can't she keep it? Agent Serrano explains 0:25:33.000 --> 0:25:34.360 to her that all of. 0:25:34.320 --> 0:25:38.480 Your assets under your current identity are part of the investigation. 0:25:38.680 --> 0:25:41.960 You are being charged with money laundering. If we secure 0:25:42.000 --> 0:25:44.520 this cash and then issue you a government check under 0:25:44.560 --> 0:25:47.440 your new social Security number, then that will be considered 0:25:47.520 --> 0:25:48.200 clean money. 0:25:48.880 --> 0:25:52.439 At this point, Charlotte is falling victim to a psychological 0:25:52.480 --> 0:25:57.720 phenomenon called sunk cost fallacy. It's the reason we all 0:25:57.720 --> 0:26:01.040 continue to watch a bad movie until the end, and 0:26:01.119 --> 0:26:05.320 the reason gamblers will lose everything in a casino before 0:26:05.359 --> 0:26:08.720 they walk away. Charlotte has been on the phone now 0:26:08.880 --> 0:26:13.840 for five hours, and she's believed so many lies and 0:26:13.960 --> 0:26:17.880 so many dramatic stories up until this point. So one 0:26:17.920 --> 0:26:22.680 more lie, one more story, was that much easier to accept, 0:26:23.280 --> 0:26:34.480 and so she did. That's sunk cost fallacy. Agent Serrano 0:26:34.600 --> 0:26:37.640 tells her to put the fifty thousand dollars in cash 0:26:37.840 --> 0:26:42.840 in a box. Charlotte digs around in her closet and 0:26:43.000 --> 0:26:46.800 finds a colorful shoebox and she sticks the cash in it, 0:26:48.000 --> 0:26:51.280 and she labels that shoebox with her name and the 0:26:51.320 --> 0:26:55.160 CIA case number Agent Serrano had given her. Yep, there 0:26:55.280 --> 0:27:04.639 was a case number, and Charlotte is then instructed to 0:27:04.880 --> 0:27:08.560 hand the box to an undercover CIA agent who will 0:27:08.560 --> 0:27:12.760 be driving by in a white Mercedes Suv. Very shortly. 0:27:13.280 --> 0:27:17.520 Agent Serrano warns Charlotte that she is in fact being 0:27:17.600 --> 0:27:21.840 watched by members of that crime syndicate who stole her identity, 0:27:22.280 --> 0:27:25.760 and this cash handoff needs to fly under the radar 0:27:26.040 --> 0:27:30.200 as not to expose that CIA agent's cover. She's told 0:27:30.240 --> 0:27:32.480 to put the box on the back seat of that 0:27:32.560 --> 0:27:37.199 Mercedes Suv, making the exchange look like she's selling something 0:27:37.400 --> 0:27:39.919 and the buyer came to pick it up. And here's 0:27:39.960 --> 0:27:44.719 the craziest part of this whole story. As Charlotte is 0:27:44.800 --> 0:27:48.760