The Greatest Scam Ever Written | 1. Your Devoted Friend

What would you do if you got a mysterious letter promising to restore your health and vitality? Doreen Robinson wrote back and sent money to the French psychic named Maria Duval who’d written to her. As their relationship deepened, Doreen had no idea that she wasn’t the only one. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people had gotten a Duval letter, and gave an estimated $175m. How was this possible?



Unlock all episodes of The Greatest Scam Ever Written, ad-free, right now by subscribing to The Binge. Plus, get binge access to brand new stories dropping on the first of every month thats all episodes, all at once, all ad-free.



Just click Subscribe on the top of the Smoke Screen show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts.



An ITN Productions & Sony Music Entertainment production.



Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Catch Me If You Ken investigates the never-before-told story of a scam that happened from Los Angeles to Italy. Telling people he was a billionaire’s son, a crypto mogul, and a tech genius, Ken allegedly lured in victims by promising to make them rich, leaving a trail of beautiful women and broken promises in his wake–until his victims started fighting back. This series unravels a web of digital vanishing acts, abandoned aliases and heartbreaking tales to try to find the man who victims say stole from them, and attempt to find out: Who is the real Ken?

Catch Me if You Ken is the latest series from The Binge - subscribe to listen to all episodes, all at once, ad-free right now.

From serial killer nurses to psychic scammers – The Binge is your home for true crime stories that pull you in and never let go.

Follow The Binge Crimes and The Binge Cases to get new stories on the first of the month, every month.

Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of The Binge Crimes show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com.

The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.

• No. of episodes: 132
• Latest episode: 2025-06-16
• Society & Culture True Crime Documentary

Where can you listen?