ScamWow

Scammers, swindlers, con artists: unethical rogues who should be brought to justice? Or brilliant players in the game of capitalism that can help you get a free mattress? Comedian and author Caitlin Brodnick can’t always decide. Each week, join Caitlin and a special guest as they dive into current and historic scams, from skillful mobsters to Real Housewives fraudsters, from MLMs to YouTube grifters. Together, they’ll explore the thin line between swindle and survival, between fleecing an easy mark and just launching a startup. Listen and embrace the art of the dupe with true crime’s less-disturbing sister: the true con. 

Comedy
True Crime
Society & Culture
126
S01E65. Bitcoin Boi: Cryptocurrency w/James Coker
Noted scamspondent, James Coker, is back! This time he’s telling us all about cryptocurrency. BitCoin, OneCoin, LiteCoin, all the coins. Are they all scams? Plus, we touch on OneCoin scammer, Ruja Ignatova. Where is she, you guys??? AND we get an update about James’ scammy family
65 min
127
S01E64. We Stan Caitlin!
We’re giving you a peek at More Banana’s newest show. Caitlin joins Lauren Brickman and Caitlin Bitzegaio of the We Stan Together podcast to talk about her deep love of Love. Jennifer Love Hewitt, that is.
57 min
128
S01E63. Fake Bags, Real Talk w/ Claire Downs
Today, writer and comedian Claire Downs joins us to talk about fake bags. Claire went deep into the subreddit RepLadies for Elle magazine to uncover the underground world of high-end luxury purse and bag replications. We are talking about women in America who are coordinating their whole experience directly with people in Chinese factories to get fake Birkins, Chanel bags, YSL stuff, and way more. And, yet again, all roads lead back to Caroline Calloway. This is simply a must listen!
67 min
129
S01E62. Belle Gibson & The Grammys: Research Yo...
59 min
130
S01E61. Houston Astros Sign Stealing & Scam Rap...
52 min
131
S01E60. Mailbag: The Chicken Pot Scam Will Neve...
Thanks for your emails and messages! We’re doing another mailbag episode in which we find out that the legendary chicken pot scam has been around since we were just mere children, suckling our mother’s teat. That’s disgusting, sorry. Not breast-feeding. That’s beautiful. The word “teat.” Patently offensive. Makes my skin crawl. Also, we hear about those weed lollipops in New York (we all knew those were too good to be true) and DoTerra partnering with an ACTUAL HOSPITAL in Kentucky. Dear Lord, please save us from the Huns before we all turn into a bunch of lavender-scented, sickly robot drones. Yi boy.
49 min
132
S01E59. Politics & The Scammer In Chief
Gentle reminder: there’s a literal scammer controlling the White House. Yes, politics are upsetting and the world is probably going to burn in our lifetime if things don’t change. Yes, you are completely inundated with news about our scammy administration. We get that! We also think that it’s our duty to point out scams whenever we see them. The American President is not immune to being called out as a scammer! That’s why we forced ourselves to do this episode. We’re documenting all of the major scams that Donald Trump has been part of so that we don’t forget them. Hopefully, this info mobilizes us to fight for change. This episode is like getting your wisdom teeth out: it hurts and it’s unpleasant, but it’s so necessary and your mouth will be much healthier afterward.
50 min
133
S01E58. Have Yourself A Scammy Little Christmas
Happy Holidays, fam! We’re taking a few minutes to catch up and bring you the miniest of mini episodes today. I suppose they could get mini-er but then we’d be living in Marwen and no one even saw that movie, I don’t think. Except Steve Carell, and even he probably didn’t watch the whole thing. Marwen sounds a lot like My Wife - ever think about that? I was watching old Borat episodes on YouTube last week and, I’ll tell ya what, they still hold up! Very much cringe! Did I ever tell you the time we made our pastor say, “I now pronounce you husband and MAH WIIFE,” at our wedding? That was wonderful. Anyway! We have a mini this week and are taking next week off because we deserve it. But, of course, we get antsy if we aren’t working hard enough, so we’re going ahead and launching our first exclusive Patreon episode. It’s so fun and good. Caity and I just walked through the West Hollywood, whispering to each other about the products. It doesn’t have much to do with scams, but it’s wonderful. Subscribe to our Patreon if you want to hear it. I guess that’s it. I’m about to spend a week with my family so please #pray4me. Love you! -Sue
23 min
134
S01E57. Baby Formula and An Emotional Baby
Merry Impeachment morning, everyone! In honor of this special day, we’re talking about a guy with a GoFundMe, one leg, and a dream. It’s Brian Kolfage and his personal quest to build a wall along the southern border of the United States and he’s a NOTED SCAMMER, folks! Also, we’re taking a look at the depressing stuff that Nestle does to scam people into buying its products, especially mothers in developing countries. Also, that Bill Gates documentary is a wild ride! This is a political episode so if you’re not that, keep it moving.
58 min
135
S01E56. James Coker’s Dad Was A Scammer
Comedian and friend of the show, James Coker, is in the UCB studio sharing his family secrets! You’ll have to listen to hear all the juicy tea, but let’s just say his parents drove a British Rolls Royce when he was growing up and it confused the other drivers to see a child in the driver’s seat. Before there was Baby Driver, there was James Coker.
60 min
136
S01E55. Shane Dawson, Jeffree Star, and YouTube...
Pop culture correspondent Mackenzie Thomas is back to talk about her favorite scammy guilty pleasure: YouTube. Together with Producer Cait Moldenhauer, Sue and Mackenzie carefully analyze the problematic influencers, Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star. They talk about Shane Dawn’s most recent Jeffree Star documentary, the Conspiracy Palette, algorithms, and whether these YouTubers are scamming themselves most of all. Plus, Mackenzie is writing a scholarly paper on Trisha Paytas and we can’t wait to read it!
63 min
137
S01E54. Thank You, Listeners!
61 min
138
S01E53. Polygamist Con Artists w/ Web Crawlers
Wow, wow wow! It’s a piping hot one today, folks. Sue and Caitlin are doing a deep dive into the many scams of the polygamist cult, The Kingston Clan, with Melissa Stetten and Ali Segel from Web Crawlers! They’re talking about energy scams, Turkey (the country), creepy Bountiful Babies, and way more. Plus, Sue almost gets scammed by her insurance company. Buckle up: it’s gonna be a wild ride.
41 min
139
S01E52. Live Show That Ruins Your Childhood
Sorry to ruin your childhood but the guy who created all your favorite boy bands - the Backstreet Boys, N’SYNC, and LFO - is a total scammer. That’s right: at their first live show at the UCB Sunset, Sue and Caity talk about legendary boy band scammer, Lou Pearlman. Turns out, he also conned people with blimps, banks, and butts. He liked any scam that started with a B! Hope you enjoy it!
54 min
140
S01E51. Dispatches From An Italian Honeymoon: T...
Sue is reporting live on everything from TikTok’s CandyKen to which horror films you should walk out of. Then Sue breaks brings us some shady Airbnb booking scams. Caitlin is on her way to California for the first ever ScamWow Live Show (Come to our live show!!) on Sunday, November 10 at UCB Sunset in LA. Finally, Scam-spondant and past guest, Danielle Gibson, calls in from Italy, because she was just scammed on her honeymoon! Find out if an “Italian mama’s boy can out drama a Leo Bride?!” THESE SCAMS DON’T SLEEP! Come to our live show! Sunday, November 10 at UCB Sunset. Further Reading: Danielle’s Honeymoon Insta Story Seth Meyers w./ Jeremy O. Harris Slave Play Anna Delvey book Bad Batch Podcast TikTok CandyKen Brunchella AirBnb Scam Vice Article Send us your scams! scamwowpodcast@gmail.com Or call: 347-509-9414 DISCLAIMER: We are comedians and this is satire. C’mon.
39 min
141
S01E50. The Bad Girls of The Wedding Industry w...
Sue and Caity are chatting with Rebecca and Lisa from The Secret Life of Weddings podcast to break down everything that may or may not be scammy in the bridal industrial complex. For example: wedding photography is not a scam. Unless it is. Wedding dresses, bridal shops, and wedding venues can also be scammy, but also somehow worth every penny. And don’t even get them started on The Knot!
38 min
142
S01E49. 90 Day Fiancé w/ Katie Not Holmes
This week, internet sensation Katie Not Holmes joins Sue and Caitlin to share her professional expertise and opinions on 90 Day Fiancé. They talk about secret brides, DMs from cast members, and the complicated emotions. Also, Katie fills them in on Instagram scams by 90 Day cast members and The Family Chantal! Caitlin explains that she’d forge a signature to impersonate a fake person. Also, how long you should take to respond to a DM request before people think you're dead?
46 min
143
S01E48. Hot Takes & Radical Transparency w/ Dan...
YouTube makeup drama, Darwinism, and even the Titanic!
50 min
144
S01E47. Why The Opioid Epidemic Is A Scam w/ Er...
And, also, 16 year-olds shouldn't be selling Canadian Oxy.
59 min
145
S01E46. The Scam Is Coming From Inside the House
29 min
146
S01E45. Gold Is A Scam? w/ Yuri Beckelman
Right after the financial collapse, everyone thought the world was going to end and they all dealt with their fears in different ways. Some people made fruit cellars, some people bought seeds, and some people, like Glenn Beck, told everyone to invest in a scammy company called Goldline and buy fake gold coins. We all have different coping mechanisms! Professional politician and the actual government, Yuri Beckelman, joins Caity and Sue in the studio to talk about his love of scams and break down this gold stuff. Enjoy!
49 min
147
S01E44. Mini-Ep. Caity Got Scammed!
Surprise! Here’s a quick little story for ya. Sometimes you might get to the airport in a random city and think it’s fun and quaint to take a cab instead of a rideshare app. Ya gotta support small businesses after all. But let Caity be a lesson to you: always use technology and never trust actual people.
11 min
148
S01E43. Poop Tea Is A Scam w/ May Wilkerson
We all know that pooping is a healthy bodily function, but poop tea? Now that’s a scam. (Unless you’re Sue and your bowels aren’t quite right.) May Wilkerson of the Crazy; In Bed podcast swings by to talk to Caity and Sue about body positivity, weight loss, and scammy advertising. If you deal with weight stuff, then this episode might be kind of triggering for you, but it’s honestly a very fun one, despite the heavy subject matter! Adam And Eve Discount Code: SCAMWOW
45 min
149
S01E42. The Jonestown Massacre w/ Odd From Frau...
Cults are scams! Odd from the Frau Pow podcast joins Sue and Caity to talk about their obsession with the Jim Jones, the Jonestown Massacre and The Peoples Temple. They learn to always question their religious leaders and that faith healings are a total scam. Here are some signs that you’re in a cult: the leader makes you call him father, you black out and wake up with a sudden cast on your leg, and he shoots you if you leave. Also, daddy fucks. xoxo
68 min
150
S01E41. Chrisley CLEARLY Doesn’t Know Best
Sue and Caitlin said they were going to take the week off for Labor Day, but they just can’t stop laboring. They’re too addicted to scams! Today, they’re bringing you a mini-episode about one of their favorite subjects: reality television. Specifically, Todd Christley and his family of blonde-haired Stepford robots. Hope you love it because these people are truly nuts.
21 min