Conned

In 2003 Hannah Milbrandt was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. Her small Ohio hometown were devastated and people donated thousands to cover the cost of her care. However, it later tanspired Hannah had no illness whatsoever. The entire town had been conned. Notes: Real Stories Documentary 'A Mother's Love': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuOJpikr5hQ

In 1917 two schoolgirls in Cottingley, Yorkshire managed to take some photographs that clearly showed fairies. The images became famous around the world and were used as 'evidence' of the existence of fairies for over 60 years. They convinced even some of the greatest academics and philosophers, including Sherlock Holmes' author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. How did the girls take the ph

Everyone will remember where they were on September 11th 2001. Unbelievably, one person saw the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York as an opportunity to achieve respect, sympathy and profile. Tania Head was not there. In fact, she wasn't even in the country. However, her claims to have been a victim that day arguably helped those who genuinely had survived. Wh

In 1994 Nicholas Barclay was 13 years old. He was walking home from playing with his friends when he vanished without a trace. He wasn't seen again until 3 years later when he incredibly reappeared... however not everything was as it seemed. The person who returned to the Barclay family was not Nicholas, but rather an imposter. Why was this stranger pretending to be a boy who had b

Paul Bint was a chameleon. Throughout the 80s and 90s he adopted the persona of many highly qualified people and performed jobs all over the UK, including regularly walking into hospitals and practicing as a doctor. Bint craved prestige. Morphing himself into the role of respected, educated and even celebrity figures enabled him to quickly earn people's trust, whilst often using h

'Ponzi Schemes' are sadly not uncommon. They are one of the biggest and most serious forms of corporate fraud, but what are they? And who is 'Ponzi' that they have come to be named after? In the early 1900s Charles Ponzi was a charasmatic Italian desparate to get rich by any means possible. After a few failed businesses (and a few stays in prison) Ponzi discovered a genuinely clev

A master manipulator and misogynist, one man managed to convince a number of victims to go into hiding fearing imminent attacks from terrorists. The con man controlled every aspect of their lives for 10 years, claiming to be an MI5 agent. Robert Freegard was a serial conman who convinced his victims that he was a super spy. They were under threat, but he could keep them safe. To do

When financial difficultly was leading to likely divorce, Howard Warmsley panicked and told a lie in a bid to save his marriage: 'I'VE WON THE LOTTERY'. This lie quickly snowballed as all his friends and family found out about his newfound fortune - for months after Howard was forced to live the lifestyle of a multimillionaire, all whilst being heavily in debt. Fast cars, big hou

Many people dream of retiring overseas. Imagine emigrating half way round the world, leaving your friends, and family behind only to find that the place you were promised does not exist. Image this, many years before the invention of air travel... Today's con artist dreamt up an overseas paradise, sold land there, chartered ships and encouraged people to emigrate. For many of the t

One of the most audacious con artists of all time was undoubtedly Victor Lustig. Throughout the early 20th century he pulled off scams across Europe and the US including, successfully, selling of the Eiffel Tower... as scrap! Follow us: Twitter // Instagram // Online