Scamtown
Welcome to Scamtown! It’s a place where the true crime is stranger than fiction and the stories are filled with quirks and moral ambiguity. Join the mayors of Scamtown, Emmy-nominated filmmakers and Signal Podcast Award winners James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte (McMillion$ and The Big Conn), as they take you through stories ranging from the strange to the unbelievable. Wild scams, surprising heists, forbidden love, and massive explosions are just a little taste of what’s in store.
Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.
Episodes
What the Puck? | 11
In 2002, the Underwater Hockey World Championships were taking place in the largest city in Alberta, Canada. Teams from across the globe were set to compete in the niche sport that was gaining popularity worldwide, including a new team from Moldova. But on opening day, the Moldovan team is nowhere to be found, and what's uncovered is an elaborate ploy that shocks the sports community. Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
14/10/24•31m 38s
Knit to Death | 10
An indie yarn maker’s popularity skyrockets on social media platforms in the mid-2000s and her online store is booming—until customers start to complain about diminished quality and delays in orders. Then her shop sends an email claiming she's died. But … has she? Take a peek into the world of “pseudocide”—faking one's own death—and the lengths people will go to in order to disappear.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
07/10/24•33m 5s
The Book Thief | 9
In the late 1980s, university libraries start to notice items missing from their rare book collections and suspect they’ve been robbed. That's when a lone university police officer takes the case, helping to lead the FBI to a mansion in Ottumwa, Iowa, where they make a shocking discovery of more than 23,000 stolen rare books and manuscripts. In a heist spanning 20 years, hundreds of libraries across the United States and Canada had been hit by the most prolific book thief in world history.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
30/09/24•40m 48s
Threatin | 8
In 2018, a band in Bristol, England, is asked to open for Threatin, a successful hard rock group from Los Angeles that's on a European tour. But once the tour begins, things turn strange. When some in the rock community start to investigate Threatin’s frontman, they unravel a host of lies and schemes that leaves everyone confused and wondering if it was all just performance art. Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
23/09/24•36m 6s
Extra Virgin Hustle | 7
In 2017, Italian authorities uncovered a multimillion-dollar scheme as part of a big Mafia bust. But it has nothing to do with broken legs or hard drugs. Follow the trail as investigators uncover and take down a fake olive oil export empire, designed to fleece unsuspecting American shoppers.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
16/09/24•39m 46s
The Rikers Island Dalí | 6
An original drawing by famed artist Salvador Dalí is donated to the Rikers Island jail inmates in the 1960s. It survives years bouncing around the prison—displayed in a mess hall, shunted into deep storage, and finally locked behind glass near a lobby soda machine—until 2003, when it suddenly goes missing. Strap in for a heist and an ongoing mystery that’s almost as surreal as the artist himself. Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
09/09/24•34m 36s
Born to Break In | 5
Police respond to a burglary call at an Iowa state courthouse on a brisk September night in 2019 and are alarmed by what they discover. What should have been a normal call turns into a shocking scandal.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
09/09/24•35m 3s
Sparkies | 4
In the early ’80s, Boston is nicknamed the arson capital of the world. Hundreds of fires crop up across the city, terrifying citizens and firefighters alike. ATF Agent Wayne Miller must crack the code and figure out the motive so he can stop “Mr. Flare” before more of the city burns.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
02/09/24•40m 35s
The Dog Lady & The Inmate | 3
Toby Dorr is a middle-aged mom trapped in a loveless marriage—until a cancer diagnosis changes her from someone who’d never jaywalked into a scheming, lovelorn lawbreaker who smuggles her inmate crush out of prison in a dog crate, leading to one of the biggest car chases in Tennessee history.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
02/09/24•39m 47s
Harvey’s Casino Bomb | 2
In the summer of 1980, Harvey’s Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, prepares for the busy Labor Day weekend. But when a new photocopy machine turns out to be a 1,000-pound bomb, a wild series of events ensues as the FBI races against time to deactivate the explosive and stop a criminal mastermind.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
26/08/24•43m 58s
Disconnected | 1
In the ’80s and ’90s, fraudulent telemarketing is booming, often bleeding senior citizens dry. Law enforcement is nearly powerless to stop it, until Tim Healy, a zany young FBI agent out of Salt Lake City, comes up with an ingenious undercover plan to scam the scammers and beat them at their own game.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
26/08/24•43m 6s
Introducing Scamtown
Welcome to Scamtown! It’s a place where the true crime is stranger than fiction and the stories are filled with quirks and moral ambiguity. Wild scams, surprising heists, forbidden love, and massive explosions are just a little taste of what’s in store.Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.http://apple.co/Scamtown
19/08/24•1m 19s