Tell me what's on your mind.

Fear gets your attention. It throws you off-kilter. It corrupts your judgement.

You recover quickly when surprised by a spider. The impact is greater if you awaken in the night and see a stranger standing at the foot of your bed.

In this episode, we tell you how scammers use fear to get us to do things that interfere with our ability to reason and recognize the scam for what it is.

Tell me what's on your mind.

The basics of romance scams haven't changed all that much. Find someone who is lonely, gain their trust and affection, then bleed them dry of all the money and assets they have.

In this update to season one's story, we tell you how scammers are using new techniques and technology to make their efforts more effective and dangerous.

Tell me what's on your mind.

Why would a good scammer give up their trade just because they are in prison where those skills could be used to escape?

If they are bold enough, they wouldn't.

This is the tale of the Maze Prison Break. Maze is a prison within a prison within a military base. It took a lot of planning and a lot of cons, but they got out. We'll tell you how.

Tell me what's on your mind.

Nearly all scams are impersonation scams. They need you to believe they are someone else in order to get you to hand over your money.

In this episode, we tell you about some of the new ways scammers are using impersonation techniques to rob you and why it's only going to get worse in the future.

Tell me what's on your mind.

In our last episode, I told you about social engineering -- how a con artist's patter can convince you to do anything. But sometimes props are needed to make that tale seem more real.

In this episode we talk about the devices and distractions tricksters use to keep you from noticing your money is slipping from your fingers.

Tell me what's on your mind.

Nearly all scams are built around the technique of social engineering. Con artists know how to manipulate you, what buttons to push and allow you to believe you made a choice you never had.

In this episode, we explore the techniques of social engineering and why we're all vulnerable to them.

And you'll hear a scammer confess to her crime and said she took advantage of an elderly couple because they were "good people."

Tell me what's on your mind.

We're ready to go back to school with Scams & Cons classes that begin Sept. 11.

Enjoy the long weekend, then it's back to the fun!

Tell me what's on your mind.

It's time for our summer break so I can prepare new episodes for season 9. Listen in as I give you the details and respond to some listener notes.

Have a great summer and make some time away from the news to have some fun. You deserve it!