Persona: The French Deception

Persona: The French Deception

By Wondery | Pineapple Street Studios

What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? This is the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. Host and award-winning journalist Evan Ratliff investigates how Chikli duped some of the world’s most powerful people into handing over their fortunes. He explores how Chikli evaded the law for years and became a Robin Hood-like hero. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we’re living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the fantasy we’ve been lured into finally crumbles away?


Episodes

Search Engine: Who's behind these scammy text messages we've all been getting?

Search Engine is hosted by PJ Vogt and has been named one of the top podcasts of the year by Time Magazine, The Economist, and New York Magazine (Vulture). Search Engine is an explainer show that tackles all kinds of questions, big and small. On this episode: who's behind these scammy text messages we've all been getting? To find more episodes of Search Engine or to submit a question to the show, head over to searchengine.showSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
18/03/249m 42s

Where to find Episodes 2-8 of Persona

In the first episode of Persona, a French banker took the strangest call of her life. On the other end was her boss relaying bizarre orders from a secret agent. Her mission was to wait in a bathroom stall before handing off a bag full of cash. But behind the scheme was no secret agent, rather Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con men the world has ever seen. Unlike most fraudsters, Chikli preyed upon the most powerful amongst us. And with that call, he just started in motion the greatest scam of the century.If you want to hear the rest of Persona, you can binge all eight episodes exclusively on Wondery Plus or on Amazon Music.On Wondery Plus, you can listen to all your favorite podcasts early and ad-free. With a library featuring over 50 #1 Apple Podcast hits and 45,000 binge worthy episodes, there’s something for everyone.Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or an Apple Podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
01/02/241m 2s

Madame G | 1

In Paris, a banker receives a bizarre call from her boss. He says she'll soon be contacted by a secret agent about a confidential government operation. The instructions provided by the agent are simple: wait in a bathroom stall, listen for the password and then hand over a bag stuffed with hundreds of thousands in cash to a stranger through the stall door. Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 miles away in Israel, a musician is drawn into his new friend’s underground network. Thus begins the scam of the century.Persona: The French Deception is the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we’re living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the fantasy we’ve been lured into finally crumbles away?Please support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
06/06/2236m 3s

Introducing - Persona: The French Deception

What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? This is the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. Host and award-winning journalist, Evan Ratliff, investigates how Chikli successfully duped some of the world’s most powerful people into handing over their fortunes. He explores how Chikli evaded the law for years and became a Robin Hood-like hero. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we’re living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the fantasy we’ve been lured into finally crumbles away?All episodes are available now. You can binge the series ad-free on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
23/05/222m 39s
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