How Hacks Happen

Scams touch every part of life, including the movies. In this episode, we talk about three scammers from the land of the silver screen: Alison Gu, a convicted fraudster who tried to hire Chinese-speaking actors as witnesses for her case; Zach Horowitz (aka Zach Avery), an actor who conned his friends and major investors out of millions of dollars with fake contracts; and Mary Carole McDonnell, a TV producer who pretended to be an heiress to a huge fortune so she could borrow millions and disappear before the bill came due. 
Resources:
Alison Gu: Defendant hires 7 actors for her fraud trial
Zach Avery: Actor Pleads Guilty to $650 Million Ponzi Scheme, Faking Netflix and HBO Deals
Mary Carole McDonnell: The 73-year-old ‘fake heiress defrauding banks out of millions’
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Glitch or fraud? Let's explore "money glitches" popularized on social media, and the consequences faced by people who used them. 
Resources:
The Chase Money 'Glitch': How a Viral Fraud Scheme Backfired
What you need to know about "Klarna method" posts on social media
Ringleader sentenced in multimillion-dollar fraud operation which saddled victims with crushing debt
 
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AI is undoubtedly the technology of the year for hacks and scams. While scammers are busy using AI to make scams more convincing, scam baiters are fighting back with ingenious grandma-style AIs that keep scammers busy for hours on end. There have also been some spectacular busts of scam centers. What’s next, AI scammers chatting with AI scam baiters? Now, that would be entertaining.
Resources
Meet Daisy, the AI 'granny' chatbot that wastes the time of phone scammers
SpaceX disables thousands of Starlink devices being used by Myanmar scam centers
China sentences 5 to death for building, running criminal gang fraud centers in Myanmar's lawless borderlands
Myanmar has declared a 'zero tolerance' policy for cyberscams, but the fraud goes on
Content creators, banks use AI to waste scammers' time
Kitboga on YouTube: I Built a Bot Army that Scams Scammers

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Ever get your hair cut and wonder, "Is my barber part of an international scammer ring?" In November 2025, the FBI arrested Victor Marion, the owner of Mecca Barber Shop in San Diego, and eighteen of his buddies for scamming elderly victims out of $40 million with the classic tech support and refund scams, and for laundering the funds through the shop. Come along and find out how the scams worked, and learn what's next for Marion and his friends.
Resources:
22 charged in elder scam targeting over 500 seniors: FBI San Diego
Feds: Barbershop owner led California-based laundering cell in $40 million elder fraud scheme
Case Number 25CR4061-TWR-01, reviewed via Pacer

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If Facebook has seemed scammy for the past few years, it's not your imagination. A leaked internal document shows that Facebook, and its parent company Meta, are well aware that many of their ads and posts are scams, but they make too much money off of them to do anything about it. Get all the details on this scathing report from Reuters that has rocked the scambuster world.
Resources
Reuters report: Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Maggie McGaugh on YouTube
Pleasant Green on YouTube

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