Whenever a new scam makes headlines, it’s not uncommon to hear people ask, “How did anyone fall for this?” This may be easy to say in hindsight. But even when a con is outrageous—or downright obvious—unsuspecting targets keep getting duped, from wealthy individuals to government officials to experienced journalists.
This edition of Flash Points tells the story of some of the world’s greatest scams and the people behind them. It also explores why we keep falling for con artists and how they (sometimes) get away with it.
John Ackah Blay-Miezah smokes a cigar in the London office of the Oman Ghana Trust Fund in the 1980s.
The Man Who Conned the World
Yepoka Yeebo examines how one of the greatest scam artists of all time used Ghana’s colonial past to get rich.
Then-U.S. Senator John Kerry addresses reporters at the U.S. Capitol about the release of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Terrorism’s report on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International’s illegal financial dealings in Washington on Oct. 1, 1992.ROBERT GIROUX/AFP via Getty Images
The Dictator-Run Bank That Tells the Story of America’s Foreign Corruption
BCCI was a kleptocratic institution whose influence reached the White House—and a model for today’s global crooks, Casey Michel and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira write.
A Bhutanese refugee woman washes dishes in the Beldangi refugee camp in Damak, some 200 miles southeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, on Aug. 10, 2018. Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images
Nepal Shaken by Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam
A weary Nepali public hopes for a rare victory against corruption, Bibek Bhandari writes.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at Manhattan Federal Court in New York on March 30, 2023. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Why Did America’s Elite Keep Falling for Crypto Frauds?
Even experienced journalists got suckered by Sam Bankman-Fried, Stan Veuger writes.
The downtown district of Wilmington, Delaware, is seen on Aug. 19, 2016.Denis Tangney Jr./Istock Photo
How Delaware Became the World’s Biggest Offshore Haven
Kleptocrats, criminals, and con artists have all parked their illicit gains in the state, Casey Michel writes.