Holiday Special: The 1920s Santa Claus Scam
The Perfect Scam22 Nov 2019

Holiday Special: The 1920s Santa Claus Scam

Journalist Alex Palmer tells the story of his great-granduncle, colorful conman John Duval Gluck, who created the Santa Claus Association. Before Gluck started his charity, letters from New York City children to Santa were destroyed, unopened, by the U.S. Post Office. Gluck saw an opportunity, and created the Santa Claus Association in 1913. The organization claimed to use the donations it collected to answer children's letters to Santa and deliver them Christmas gifts. For a time, the charity did just that. For 15 years money and gifts flowed to the association, and Gluck became a Jazz Age celebrity. But efforts to crack down on corruption in New York ultimately resulted in the uncovering of irregularities that would lead to the charity's downfall.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(321)

Archive Episode: Million Dollar Movie Ponzi Scheme, Part 1

Archive Episode: Million Dollar Movie Ponzi Scheme, Part 1

Malcom "Mac" Parker aspires to be a filmmaker. In Vermont, Mac is known as a beloved children's entertainer, appearing on public television and performing around the state. Mac is so well respected in...

5 Juni 18min

Scammers Use AI to Make Lost Pet Scams More Believable

Scammers Use AI to Make Lost Pet Scams More Believable

Bill and Allison are devoted to their dogs, so when they discover their 11-year-old beagle mix Archer missing one evening, they are distraught. They spend hours searching the neighborhood and start pu...

29 Maj 45min

LA Fire Survivor Faces PayPal Impostor Scam

LA Fire Survivor Faces PayPal Impostor Scam

After escaping the Palisades fire in January of 2025, Ellen doesn't know if she and her husband Steve will have a home to return to. Miraculously, their house is still standing, but it needs extensive...

22 Maj 55min

Crossed Wires: Utility Scams Target Consumers

Crossed Wires: Utility Scams Target Consumers

Fed up with the rising cost of electricity, Steve shops around and switches to a new provider in his Boston neighborhood. The process is simple, and Steve thinks the matter is settled until a week lat...

15 Maj 50min

Vermont Woman Recoups $1.3M 4.5 Years After a Scam

Vermont Woman Recoups $1.3M 4.5 Years After a Scam

Jeanette moves back to Vermont, expecting a peaceful retirement in a beloved community, but a tech support scam upends her life. She reaches out to her local police, who advise her to report the incid...

8 Maj 54min

Bonus: Meet the Fraud Fighters Taking on Crypto Kiosk Scams

Bonus: Meet the Fraud Fighters Taking on Crypto Kiosk Scams

In this bonus episode, Bob meets some Fraud Fighters working to make their Nebraska community a little bit safer from scammers. When Omaha passes a city ordinance requiring all crypto kiosks to displa...

1 Maj 47min

Deepfake Doctors: AI-Generated Medical Ad Scams

Deepfake Doctors: AI-Generated Medical Ad Scams

Dr. Maurice Sholas, a pediatric rehabilitation specialist based in New Orleans, discovers that his likeness is being used in an ad when a friend sends him a TikTok clip that looks convincingly like hi...

24 Apr 50min

California Woman Warns of Facebook Job Scam

California Woman Warns of Facebook Job Scam

After taking a break from her tech career to care for her aging mother, Dawn is reentering the workforce in her mid-50s, and she isn't having much luck. She takes a chance on an offer for a new kind o...

17 Apr 53min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

podme-dokumentar
gynning-berg
svenska-fall
p3-dokumentar
en-mork-historia
aftonbladet-krim
skaringer-nessvold
spar
mardromsgasten
hor-har
killradet
aftonbladet-daily
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
kod-katastrof
flashback-forever
p3-historia
vad-blir-det-for-mord
historiska-brott
rss-mer-an-bara-morsa
rss-expressen-dok