You never really know someone…especially online. In today’s world, the power of influence can be the quickest path to money and fame, and it often ends in ruin. These are the stories of the world’s most insidious Scamfluencers. And we are their prey. On Wondery’s new weekly series, join co-hosts Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi as they unpack epic stories of deception from the worlds of social media, fashion, finance, health, and wellness. These influencers claim to be everything from charismatic healers to trusted financial insiders to experts in dating. They cast spells over millions. Why do we believe them, and how does our culture allow them to thrive? From Black Swan Murder to a fake social media influencer to an audacious Hollywood Ponzi schemer, each season will take the listener along the twists and turns, the impact on victims, and what’s left when the facade falls away.Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: Who is Billy Mitchell and why is he significant?
On Scam Factory, we uncover the people who bend the rules, the ones who break them entirely. But sometimes, the biggest deception comes from the very person enforcing the rules. Billy Mitchell wasn't just any gamer. He was a legend, the first person to achieve a perfect score in Pac-Man.
the reigning Donkey Kong champion, and a self-appointed guardian of integrity in the video game world, helping to expose players who faked their high scores. But when the documentary King of Kong, A Fistful of Quarters came out, cracks started to form in his carefully built image. The film showed a different side of Mitchell, one that used intimidation and manipulation to maintain his reign.
And when accusations surfaced that some of his own Donkey Kong scores were achieved using edited footage, the gaming world turned on its king. Was Billy Mitchell a true champion? Or was he playing a different kind of game? I'm about to play a clip from Scamfluencers. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Chapter 2: What controversy surrounded Billy Mitchell's gaming achievements?
Like the people in Scam Factory, today's scammer also moved to a new country for the promise of a better life, but she actually worked her way up to running an illegal rideshare empire. She was giving immigrants like her a chance to make a living, but it wasn't without risk, both for her workers and for their customers.
Chapter 3: Who is the rideshare entrepreneur in Scam Factory?
We sometimes have scammers on this show who we empathize with because at least at the beginning, their hearts are in the right place.
Chapter 4: What moral dilemmas do scammers face?
Yeah, but they always lose the plot at some point. Like the line between selfless and selfish is a lot greater than you might think.
Well, Sarah, today's story is about what lengths people will go to in order to survive and who they're willing to sell out in order to thrive. That's right. It's time for another Hashtag Girlboss. It's late May 2020, and Priscilla Barbosa is at a park in Los Angeles. She's wearing a short white sundress and a flower crown and standing under a tree of purple blooms.
Chapter 5: Who is Priscilla Barbosa and what is her story?
Priscilla is in her mid-30s and barely five feet tall. She's Brazilian with long brown hair and lots of curves. And right now, she's gazing up into the eyes of a man named Mario Medrano. A reverend stands between them in a mask. It is the height of the pandemic, after all. And he's here to officiate their wedding. It's an intimate ceremony.
Priscilla's family is back in Brazil, so she has only one friend with her. And on the groom's side is his girlfriend.
I mean, that's every girl's dream to go to your boyfriend's wedding.
Well, Sarah, this is not a polycule situation. This whole wedding is actually a sham. Priscilla and Mario actually just met each other. And if all goes well, they'll never have to see each other again after today. Priscilla is in this for a green card, and Mario is in it for $10,000. Among the few guests at the park is a staffer from the sham wedding agency that put Priscilla and Mario together.
They take photos of the fake couple to document the day. Priscilla FaceTimes her family back home, who seem to go along with the whole charade. And then she heads down to the beach where she snaps a photo and posts it to Instagram. But online, she fails to mention that she's just gotten married. Sarah, can you describe the post for us?
Yeah, it's kind of mysterious. It's super saturated to the point where her skin looks orange. And you just kind of see her from behind wearing a short white dress. And it looks like it's meant to be intriguing. And the caption says, the sky is the limit with an exclamation point, which... Has me wondering, what are you talking about? Yeah, man. I mean, Priscilla is an enigma.
And ever since she moved to the States two years ago, she's been posting things like this on Instagram. Glamorous, mysterious images with vaguely inspirational captions that make her life seem perfect, especially to her family and friends back in Brazil. But like so much on social media, the reality is something else entirely. Because just like her marriage, Priscilla's work isn't what it seems.
She's portraying herself as a successful businesswoman. And she is. But her empire has been built on the backs of undocumented immigrants illegally driving for rideshare companies. She's managed to outsmart some of the biggest companies in the U.S. and the government. And it's given her and her community of undocumented employees a really good life.
But Priscilla's starting to cross over from helping others to just helping herself. And soon, her picture-perfect American story will meet cold, hard reality. From Wondery, I'm Sachi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And this is Scamfluencers. Priscilla Barbosa began scamming when she came to the U.S., but it wasn't out of greed. It was out of survival.
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