A Taxonomy of Scammers

"The scam economy is entering its baroque phase." From Ponzi schemes to fake royals to imposters in the tech and wellness space, our guide to scammers both amusing and insidious.

Common grifters and their scams:

• Fake royals: Anna Delvey, fake-German-heiress scammer; the guy who impersonated a Saudi royal; fake British royal-adjacent Thomas J Mace Archer Mills Esq.
• Political grifters: Trump cabinet scammers: Pruitt (and his wife), Carson, Zinke; Ivanka; all Trumps, really; Jill Stein, recount scammer
• Messy bitches who live for drama: Joanne the Scammer; the ex-Vogue staffer
• Self-declared saints: Pope Francis (and all popes, really); Justin Trudeau; John McCain
• “Wellness” icons: Gwyneth Paltrow; Amanda Chantal Bacon; related scammer: Alex Jones
• Pyramid schemers: Bernie Madoff; the Vegan Bernie Madoff; multi-level marketing
• Silicon Valley tech-scammer: Elizabeth Holmes; so many dude “serial founders”

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