Fraud schemes always seem obvious after they are exposed, but victims seldom figure out the scheme while it is in progress. Some are so huge, they are simply unbelievable. Here are five of the biggest ones.
Enron
This scheme was so complex, it is still hard to understand today. Basically, the company used hidden accounts to keep investors from knowing about the company’s borrowing practices. People invested in the company thinking it was doing fine when in fact it was drowning in debt. When the scandal was exposed, the result was $78 billion in losses for investors.
The President of the company at the time, Jeff Skilling, is still serving a 24-year sentence.
Bernie Madoff
Madoff started a scheme where he used new investors’ money to pay old investors, in the most sophisticated version of the ponzi-scheme in financial history. He wasn’t actually making any money for anyone. He simply took the money people gave him, paid part of it to investors who were expecting returns on their investments, and kept the rest for himself. This scheme has gone down as one of the most infamous white collar crimes in history.
He is serving 150 years in prison right now.
The Culture-Kit Scheme
A company convinced people to purchase milk-growing kits to keep in their refrigerators. The buyers were told the “lactic cultures” would be used in a perfume called “Cleopatra’s Secret.” The company would buy the cultures when they were mature, and the buyers would make a profit.
There was never any perfume. Investors lost $10 million.
Michael Danilovich
Danilovich set up hundreds of fake car crashes and filed insurance claims for whiplash. It was the largest no-fault insurance scam in history. He paid Russian immigrants to pretend they were hurt. He bought junk cars that were damaged and pushed them together as if there had been an accident.
Danilovich is now serving 25 years in prison.
The Tech Support Scam
This is one of the most unbelievable scams that is currently happening. Computer owners receive a call from a company that does “tech support.” This call most likely originates in India or Pakistan. The caller informs the victims that their computers are infected with viruses and malware, and that they tech firm wants to remove it.
This is a double scam. First, when victims allow the technician to remotely control the computer, viruses are actually added. The computer begins to malfunction. The scammer then charges to remove the virus that was just put in.
Second, the victims give out their credit card information to pay for the virus removal. The result is identity theft.
These scams seem unbelievable, but they worked. As long as there are people who can be persuaded by greed, scammers will be ready to take advantage.