“Kota Youngblood told his neighbors there were hits out on their lives — and only he could save them.”
scams
Posted inEditor's Pick
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive.
“A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Student Behind a Phishing Empire
“£100m stolen across Europe . . . How did Ollie Holman do it?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Scammer Next Door
“In India, an era of glaring inequality is also a golden age of fraud.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Smells Like American Spirit
“In my life, I’ve witnessed three elite salespeople at work. You won’t like their secret.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Squatters of Beverly Hills
“Or maybe he saw the empty home and realized that, with a little cunning, he could simply move in.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Pill Messiah
“Douglas Randall Smith would have you believe he’s on the verge of a medical breakthrough that could end the opioid epidemic and keep millions of people alive.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Great Zelle Pool Scam
“All I wanted was a status symbol. What I got was a $31,000 lesson in the downside of payment apps.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Vigilantes for Views: The YouTube Pranksters Harassing Suspected Scam Callers in India
“Los Angeles-based Trilogy Media took ‘scambaiting’ to a new level, but some claim they’re gaining viral fame at others’ expense.”
Posted inCuration, Nonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, our editors recommend stories by Seth Harp, Alanna Mitchell, Cezary Podkul, Alex Vuocolo, and Loren Grush.