BEWARE THE PODCAST SCAMMER
If you are trying to promote something, you may want to be interviewed on podcasts. This can be an easy way to get out your message with a phone or video call connection. However, sometimes, the podcast may turn out to be another way to conduct a scam, reveal personal and privacy information about you that listeners can use, or be a kind of a crank or prank call with callers in on the joke.
I just experienced one such podcast after a producer called me to set up a call about one of the books I was trying to promote for a publisher — Women with Partners in Prison, originally called Love and Sex in Prison published by American Leadership Books. Though I had given the show producer who called me the correct title and my website, the host immediately announced the wrong title, and though I corrected him, he repeated the wrong title two more times during the program. And he gave out the wrong website twice, too.
Soon after I was introduced, the podcast interview devolved from there. I answered what seemed like a reasonable question, “Why do women enter into relationships with men in prison when they could have relationships with men not in prison?” with some usual explanations — the women are lonely, have been in abusive relationships, like feeling in control in the relationship, and enjoy the attention they get, since the man has little else to do. But then the host opened the phones, and I got some truly wacky comments from listeners.
One man wanted to know how he could get into prison to have a relationship with women, and after I said I didn’t condone someone committing crimes to get into prison, he called back asking “What kind of crime is it better to commit?” He thought murder was too serious, but he thought he might hit a baby or rob someone.
Another man said he wasn’t in prison now, but he wondered how he could meet these women who wanted to meet prisoners if he was in prison. After I mentioned that prisoners often meet women by signing up with prison pen pal sites, he not only asked for the names of some of these websites, but he wondered what he could say to convince the women he contacted he was a prisoner so he could meet them. I said I couldn’t condone lying, though I suggested he might try a search on Google, after he said he wanted to be prepared should he end up in prison.
Then, after one woman called praising me for a book that I wrote How AI Is Transforming Prisons and Jails, also from American Leadership Books, and I mentioned using AI to track contraband in prison, the host turned the discussion around to describing a sexual toy that could be sold through the contraband network. He even began describing what this device might look like, as if to create an erotic picture for his listeners, before I said I had never heard of the device and switched the conversation to something else related contraband. I began describing how both men and women in prison had connections with networks of criminals outside of prison, and how women in relationships sometimes became couriers for these networks to bring the contraband to a partner in prison.
At this point, since I was growing concerned about the unusual callers and a host who seemed to be using the show as a kind of prank, I probably should have ended the podcast and hung up. Yet I felt I had committed to a 15–20-minute interview, so I stayed on the call — though in retrospect, I should have dropped out. But sometimes feelings of being polite and keeping commitments can keep us involved in some activity or event, although we suspect it isn’t what we initially agreed to be part of.
Then, the last few minutes of the podcast became even weirder. The host apologized for saying the wrong name of my book and giving out the wrong website, explaining that the error was because his producer was under the weather and recovering from Covid. So he advised her on air to be more careful next time. Then, he announced that if anyone wanted to get in touch with me, they should call my phone number and he gave it out. I said I didn’t give them permission to give out my phone number and I didn’t want anyone calling me, to which he replied “Sorry, no one should call that number,” but he again announced my number that no one should call.
After I said I wouldn’t answer any of these calls, he announced, “Instead of calling, go to her website.” But he again stated the wrong site, and after I corrected this again, he said that the producer of his show had authorized him to pay me $500 for upsetting me by giving out my number and wrong information. Though I thought it a weird offer, I replied, “Fine. You can send a check.”
But he said he couldn’t do that. “The show always makes a direct deposit in a guest’s account.” When I said I wasn’t about to give him my account number, he replied, “So we can’t send you the $500. Can you confirm that you don’t want the check?”
“No, I don’t,” I said. “I’m not going to give out my account number.”
“Good choice” he replied and added, “So if you want to contact our guest or order her book, you can go to her website (giving the wrong site again) or call her at (giving our my phone number again).
“No, it’s on Amazon,” I said, “and I don’t want anyone calling me. I won’t answer the phone if anyone calls.”
So once more the host acted as if he was sorry for the mistake, followed by another weird offer, saying, “I’m sorry I have the wrong information from my assistant, so my producer has said I can offer you $1000 because of our two errors. Do you want us to make the deposit in your bank?”
“No,” I said, feeling this was a clear attempt at a scam, not just a bumbling, incompetent host with weird guests.
“Then you’re turning down the $1000,” the host said.
“Yes,” I said firmly.
“All right, so noted. And now many thanks to our guest whose phone number is (again giving out my phone number) and whose website is (again announcing the wrong one).”
After I quickly restated the correct name of my book that was on Amazon and gave my correct website, I hung up.
Afterwards, thinking back about the interview, it had been about 20 minutes of weirdness, and I’m still not sure if the host just had a combative joking style that attracted weird listeners and had a poor memory or lack of attention to details, so he got things wrong. Or perhaps he used the podcast as an intentional scam to get personal information from the guests in order to access their banks and computers and give listeners this information, too.
At least, I didn’t fall for his information request. And then, as I reflected on the experience, it reminded me of the need to be careful when you are trying to promote a product, service, or yourself by doing podcasts or other types of interviews. Sometimes the host or interviewer may actually be a scammer using the podcast to get personal information from you. While podcast interviews can generally be a good way to get your message out from the comfort of your home or office, they can also be used to lure you into thinking this is a great promotional opportunity. But in reality, it’s designed to get information from you that can be used in a future scam using this information from the interview.
Based on my experience, some of the signs to look for to see if the podcast is a scam, do you can sign off and leave are the followinge:
1) A host that announces incorrect information about you, your product or service, even after being corrected.
2) A host that lets callers with inappropriate questions continue to ask them and even encourages them, rather than shutting them off as a responsible host would do.
3) A host that gives out personal information about you, even after being told not to share this.
4) A host that offers an incentive for you to give out your personal identity or financial information that might open you up to identity or financial fraud.
5) And anything else that seems strange or makes you feel uncomfortable on the show.
Then, should you feel that the host is not behaving responsibly or appropriately and might be trying to set you up for a scam, probably the best response is to say you have to leave and do so.
For example, after I decided I no longer wanted to be part of the show, I said, “I have to get back to work.” Though the host tried to convince me to stay, telling me, “Why do you have to work? It’s 4 p.m. on a weekend,” I simply repeated that I did have to work, because I had several books to write for clients. And this reason was close to the truth, since I was working on several books as a ghostwriter, though I could have done my work later.
Then, I hung up, and I was glad when I didn’t get any calls that day, other than a single call from another number, and when I picked up the call, the caller hung up, which happens anyway from time to time.
Yet the effects of the podcast weren’t over, since two days later, I got a call from one of the callers on the show. He claimed he was calling from prison and said he recognized my voice from the show. So I quickly told him, “My number was given out inappropriately without my permission over the air, so I’m not taking any calls. Goodbye.” Then I hung up. Almost immediately, he tried calling back, and when I didn’t respond, he called four or five more times, and about two hours later, he called again. But I didn’t answer that call either. Not responding was my way of setting up a wall of protection by having nothing to do with anyone connected to that podcast.
In short, if you are trying to promote something, you may get podcast invitations. Just be cautious to check out that it’s real — perhaps check out their website, YouTube account, or other information to show this is a legitimate podcast. Plus get their phone number which you can call yourself before the day of the show to see if that’s real. Or should you find yourself on a suspicious podcast, simply end the interview. Offer a reason that sounds reasonable, such as having an unexpected emergency or having some work to do, and hang up. And if weird callers try calling you after the show, hang up if you answer or don’t take the call.
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Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. is the author of over 50 books with major publishers and has published 200 books through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing (http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com). She writes books, proposals, and film scripts for clients, and has written and produced 18 feature films and documentaries, including AI Evolution, Conned: A True Story, and Con Artists Unveiled¸ distributed by Gravitas Ventures. (http://www.changemakersproductionsfilms.com). Her latest books include What’s Type of Dog Are You?, The New American Middle Ages, and How to Find and Work with a Good Ghostwriter published by Waterside Productions; The Big Con, I Was Scammed, Women with Partners in Prison, and Women in Prison, published by American Leadership Press; and Ask the AI Wizard, published by J. Michael Publishing.