5 Biggest Scams of History That Fooled the World

Frauds and scams are nothing new—they’ve existed for as long as people have chased wealth, power, and shortcuts to success. Some are so audacious that it’s almost unbelievable they ever happened. For instance, there was a time when a man actually “sold” the Eiffel Tower—not a fake product, not a cryptocurrency con, but one of the world’s most famous monuments.

History is full of such deceptions. In ancient Greece, medieval Europe, and early America, coin forgers shaved off precious metals and replaced them with cheaper substitutes. In the 15th century, Perkin Warbeck pulled off one of history’s boldest identity thefts by posing as Richard, Duke of York, nearly convincing England that he was the rightful king.

Today, fraud is still a global menace. Scams exploit digital vulnerabilities, from phishing and phone fraud to complex identity thefts. Yet, the truth is timeless: while technologies evolve, the human appetite for deception never changes.

Here are five of the most notorious scams in history—frauds that shattered trust and left lasting marks on society:

In 1925, master con artist Victor Lustig staged one of history’s boldest scams. Disguised as a French government official, he claimed the Eiffel Tower was being dismantled and sold for scrap metal. He invited top metal dealers to a private meeting, presented forged documents, and convinced one of them to pay a hefty bribe to secure the “contract.” Of course, there was no deal—Lustig vanished with the money.

Incredibly, just weeks later, he returned to Paris and repeated the same scam on another victim. Lustig didn’t just sell a fake product—he sold a national monument.

See Also: Fake Video of Sadhguru Used in Cyber Scam, Dupes 57-Year-Old Bengaluru Woman of ₹3.75 Crore

The Enron scandal is one of the most infamous cases of corporate fraud. Once celebrated as an energy-trading giant, Enron collapsed in 2001 after it was revealed that the company used fraudulent accounting to inflate revenues and conceal debts.

At its peak, Enron’s market value hit $68 billion, but by the end of 2001, its stock had crashed from $90.75 per share to less than $1. The fraud revolved around mark-to-market accounting, which let the company record projected future profits as current income, and special purpose entities (SPEs), like the notorious “Raptors,” used to hide debt.

When the deception was exposed, Enron faced $23 billion in liabilities, filed for bankruptcy, and wiped out more than 4,000 jobs—sending shockwaves through global markets.

In 1920, Charles Ponzi promised investors he could double their money in 90 days by trading international postal coupons. But there was no real business. Instead, he paid returns to earlier investors using money from new ones—creating what is now known as a Ponzi scheme.

At its height, Ponzi’s scheme brought in over $15 million (worth hundreds of millions today). Early investors were paid well, fueling more trust and investments. But within months, the scheme collapsed.

Exposed by investigative journalists at the Boston Globe, Ponzi was arrested in August 1920. His name has since become synonymous with fraudulent investment schemes.

See Also: Manav Bharti University Fake Degree Scam: One Fraud, 11 Years, Over 36,000 Fake Degrees Sold — How One Private University Earned the Title of 2021’s Biggest Education Scam

In the 1920s, Swedish businessman Ivar Krueger built what looked like a global monopoly in match production. Known as the “Match King,” he offered massive loans to governments in exchange for matchstick monopolies, attracting billions in investments.

But behind the façade, Krueger was forging bonds, faking profits, and hiding debts. In 1932, his empire collapsed, devastating investor confidence and worsening global financial instability.

His spectacular downfall burned billions and led to reforms in financial regulation. Krueger became known as “The Match King who burned billions.”

The Mt. Gox hack was a defining moment in cryptocurrency history. At its peak, Mt. Gox processed 70% of all global Bitcoin transactions, making it the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world.

In February 2014, the exchange froze withdrawals and revealed that 850,000 Bitcoins had disappeared—worth over $58 billion at today’s prices (Bitcoin was just $600 at the time). The company soon declared bankruptcy, and trust in crypto markets suffered a severe blow.

Although 200,000 Bitcoins were later recovered, most victims faced huge losses. In 2024, Mt. Gox finally began repaying creditors in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash after a 10-year wait, a move that even triggered a 6% drop in Bitcoin prices. [Rh/VP]

Suggested Reading: