In the ’80s and ’90s, fraudulent telemarketing is booming, often bleeding senior citizens dry. Law enforcement is nearly powerless to stop it, until Tim Healy, a zany young FBI agent out of Salt Lake City, comes up with an ingenious undercover plan to scam the scammers and beat them at their own game. Scamtown is an Apple Original podcast, produced by FunMeter. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. http://apple.co/Scamtown
We are calling you from the Department of Social Security Administration.
The reason you received this telemarketing calls, Phone scams.
We all get them.
That robot lady telling you once again that the IRS is out to get you or the car you don't own is out of warranty.
You hang up in disgust.
These calls interfere with all aspects of life.
Dinner time, lunch time, study time, work time, sleep time.
Pretty much all the time.
Back in the early 90s, telemarketing fraud was exploding, creating challenges for law enforcement.
It was like the Wild West, a rampant problem.
That is until one lone FBI agent went undercover with a brilliant scheme to scam the scammers.
The result, a nationwide bust three years in the making, which later paved the way for one of the largest fraudulent telemarketing undercover operations in history.
Sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected.
Welcome to Scam Town, an Apple original podcast produced by Fun Meter.
I'm Brian Lazarte.
And I'm James Lee Hernandez.
We're filmmakers who've been trading stories now for quite some time.
Obsessed and compelled to bring some of our favorites to life.
We love a surprising heist, an intricate scam, or just pulling back the curtain on something you think you know.
Entering a world that's stranger than fiction and writing that line between comedy and tragedy.