104 episodes
Smoke Screen: The Greatest Scam Ever Written The Binge
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- True Crime
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4.0 • 2.6K Ratings
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Smoke Screen is an investigative documentary series on people with complex motives and morals. Follow characters on the fringes of society — con artists, cult leaders, corrupt politicians — as they seduce their marks and bend communities to their will. Join us as we unravel their stories and bring justice to the people they’ve deceived.
SEASON 10: The Greatest Scam Ever Written - Coming August 1st
What would you do if one handwritten letter promised to change your life forever? All of us want magic, to feel like there is some sort of exterior force guiding our next steps, to believe our fate is written in the stars. This is the story of 1 million hopeful Americans, the global scam that took $200m from them, and the mastermind who managed it all by sending out thousands of letters a week.Investigative journalist Rachel Browne takes us through the facts of the fraud, from its brilliantly simple conception to the revelation and imprisonment of the fraudster themselves. Speaking through letters from behind bars, the con artist maintains their innocence, saying: ‘Maybe it's not moral, maybe it's bullshit, but it doesn’t mean it's fraud.’ And that is the question at the heart of The Greatest Scam Ever Written: What happens if you want to believe that sending $50 to a psychic will change the course of your destiny? Are you a victim, or a willing participant?
SEASON 9: My Friend, the Serial Killer
In the 1970s, Steve Fishman was an intern at his local newspaper, when one day he hitched a ride back from Boston with Robert Carr III, better known as “Red.” Red seemed trustworthy enough, but he was hiding a secret: by the time he had picked up Steve, he had already killed three people—and all of his prior victims were hitchhikers themselves.
Unlock all episodes of Smoke Screen, ad-free, by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month. Just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you listen.
SEASON 8: My Fugitive Dad
Ashley’s Dad was her favorite person in the world. He drove fast cars and sold them for a living. He was a scratch golfer and the love of her Mum’s life. Ashley thought she knew him better than anyone. But at 38, she found out he wasn’t who he said he was. Inspired by his favorite movie the Thomas Crown Affair, he had pulled off a robbery in Cleveland then disappeared. It turns out he evaded the authorities for half a century, living in their sleepy Massachusetts town.
His secret upended his family’s life, but another family’s too. Because from the moment this 20-year-old vault teller escaped with $215,000 in 1969, Deputy U.S. Marshal John Elliott made it his life’s mission to bring him to justice. After he retired, his son even took up his mantle. For this six episode podcast, host Jonathan Hirsch teams up with Ashley Randele to unravel the mystery of how her Dad got away with it, and ultimately, why he left behind everyone and everything to start over.
SEASON 7: Betrayal on the Bayou
For almost two decades, DEA Special Agent Chad Scott ruled the streets just North of New Orleans. He controlled a network of snitches by convincing people he arrested to work for him as informants. Chad would stop at nothing to put drug dealers behind bars. His successes won awards at the DEA, but his willingness to bend the rules earned him a terrifying reputation on the streets. Some called him the Golden Boy. Others called him the White Devil. But when one of guys on Chad's team is caught dealing drugs, Chad’s life is overturned. His right-hand men betray him and confess everything to the FBI. Investigators go over his career with a fine-toothed comb, asking the question: is Chad Scott the greatest DEA Agent in the South, or is he a criminal?
SEASON 6: Just Say You're Sorry
SEASON 5: Deadly Cure
SEASON 4: Puppy Kingpin
SEASON 3: The Sellout
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The Greatest Scam Ever Written | 1. Your Devoted Friend
What would you do if you got a mysterious letter promising to restore your health and vitality? Doreen Robinson wrote back and sent money to the French psychic named Maria Duval who’d written to her. As their relationship deepened, Doreen had no idea that she wasn’t the only one. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people had gotten a Duval letter, and gave an estimated $175m. How was this possible?
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
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The Greatest Scam Ever Written | 2. Psychic to the Stars
Who was Maria Duval? Her son says she had a gift, an ability to see people’s futures. She helped locate missing people and worked with the French elite, befriending Jacques Chirac and Brigitte Bardot. In the late 80s, when two businessmen approached Maria Duval with a life-changing deal, her name becomes synonymous with one of the greatest scams ever written.
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
The Greatest Scam Ever Written| 3. One Man's Trash
The Maria Duval letter scam began in Europe—so how did it make its way to America? U.S. Postal Inspector Clayton Gerber begins to unravel the threads of the scam when he discovers an address on Long Island, where victims are sending their replies to Duval. They also send intimate items like locks of their hair, hoping for the psychic’s help. Clayton’s team goes dumpster diving on Long Island and finds bags of return letters – proof Duval herself wasn’t getting the replies. Why were their replies ending up here, of all places? And who’s responsible?
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. -
The Greatest Scam Ever Written| 4. The Swiss Swindlers
To find out how the scheme is operating in the present, we go back to how it all started. We know that two Swiss businessmen had bought Maria’s name and image to add legitimacy to their mailing scheme and launch letters across Europe. But who were these men? What motivated them to cheat hundreds of thousands of people out of their life savings? And where are they today?
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. -
The Greatest Scam Ever Written| 5. The Runner
U.S. Postal Inspector Clayton Gerber discovers that the letters are entering the country via Albany, NY, and that they’re originating from a company in Montreal. Locating criminals across the border for extradition is no simple task, but eventually Clayton finds two of the scam’s top lieutenants. Can he get them to give up the name of their boss, the true mastermind of the scheme?
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. -
The Greatest Scam Ever Written| 6. DNA of a Scammer
The mastermind behind the Maria Duval scam is revealed. Who is he and how did he operate one of the biggest scams in U.S. history? Investigative reporter Rachel Browne discovers this wasn’t his first mail-order operation and that Terry Polevoy, an amateur scam-buster, had helped expose that scheme. Rachel discovers the mastermind’s M.O.
Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.
Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.
An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
Customer Reviews
Tough to get into
While the topics are interesting, some of the hosts/reporters (Jonathan Hirsch, in particular) are borderline unlistenable. He comes across as snarky…VERY snarky. Add to that the number of times he uses the phrase, “I could not independently verify this” and you begin to question the credibility of the reporting. All of this made it very difficult to stick with the story or become as engaged as I would’ve liked.
Fascinating & Expertly Crafted
Just finished the first episode & I’m hooked!
Psychic scam
So terribly sad how many people fell for this scam. Binged it to find out who was actually pulling the strings.
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