Schemes
“Money mule”: where the phrase comes from — and why it matters
A mule carries someone else’s load. In fraud, the load is stolen money — and the carrier is often next in line for blame.
Feed
Every report in chronological order — newest first.
Explainers
Shannon’s chess number and “too complex to question” sales
Claude Shannon’s ~10¹²⁰ game-tree estimate is real science — and a favourite mood for bad pitches.
Explainers
The Big Short: when complexity hides who takes the loss
Adam McKay’s crisis film is a reminder that products nobody can explain still get sold.
Explainers
Nightmare Alley and the old craft of the confidence trick
Guillermo del Toro’s noir is fiction — the cold-read toolkit it shows is not.
Explainers
Wine cheaper than water — pricing stories versus money pitches
Restaurant mark-ups can look absurd; investment offers that sound like a bargain need the same cool look.
Explainers
Impressive numbers: when science-speak sells a pitch
A litre of broth really does hold absurd molecule counts — and sales copy loves that feeling.
Explainers
The Wizard of Lies: how a Ponzi sells trust
Barry Levinson’s Madoff film is drama — and a clean lesson in borrowed reputation.
Explainers
Why fish can be pricey — and how scarcity talk sells scams
Quotas and export markets can raise a menu price; fake “last chance” coins use the same emotion.
Crypto
NFT boom and crash: what the numbers quietly taught
When monthly volumes fall by most of a peak, “floor price” stories need colder reading.
Crypto
Cloud mining “passive income” with instant payouts
A dashboard that pays you for clicking “mine” is usually just a balance drawn in pixels.
Explainers
The Secret and the risk of “just believe” investing
Visualisation is not a payment rail — and blaming bad thoughts for losses helps the next pitch.
Crypto
NFT scams: rug pulls, fakes and support impostors
A jpeg on a blockchain is easy to mint; getting your ethereum back after a fake mint is not.