Listen Now: Scam Factory
MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
03/18/25
•6m
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You know those messages that you get all the time, the ones that pop up out of nowhere? They could be real, but something about them seems fishy. You likely dismiss these texts and emails as mere annoyances, thinking you’ve stopped some random stranger from ripping you off. But the shocking truth is, the person behind that message might be trapped inside a “scam factory” on the other side of the world and forced to scam others against their will. From Wondery, comes a new series about the brutal reality behind these operations, where one family discovers a horrifying truth: the only way out is to scam their way out.
Listen Now: Wondery.fm/Scam_Factory
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Previous Episode
Murder on Steroids (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)
March 17, 2025
•34m
On a summer night In 2013, newlyweds Joe and Olga Connell walked into their condominium in Wilmington, Delaware. Joe flipped on the light and sat down on the couch, while Olga headed to the bedroom to get changed. Suddenly, Joe heard a loud scream. He got up, and ran down the hall to the bedroom. There, he found Olga sitting on the floor yelling and crying. And he saw her jewelry boxes had been completely emptied and thrown off her dresser – thousands of dollars worth of rings and necklaces were just gone. But through her tears, Olga said she didn’t care about how much money they cost. Some of those pieces were precious family heirlooms that had been passed down to Olga from hers and Joe’s mothers. Joe comforted his wife, but he didn’t tell her what he was thinking. Because Joe thought he knew who had robbed them, and he feared this might be just the first attack in an escalating family war.
For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen
If you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballen
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
Open Sea
March 20, 2025
•31m
Today’s podcast will feature 2 sailing horror stories. The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.
Story names, previews & links to original YouTube videos:
- #2 -- "Survivor’s Guilt" -- Sailors have many "customs of the sea," but there is one that is exceptionally dark and once it begins, there's no going back for that crew. (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54toJMsfg94)
- #1 -- "The Kaz II" -- 3 friends' trip of a lifetime turns into a nightmare (Original YouTube link -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOMY0JQdFs)
For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen
If you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballen
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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