did anyone else crack up at this one? there were several things that made me chuckle, I think my favorite was when Stack said "for Heaven's sakes." :lol:

Was this the one where the heavy set guy pretended to be a doctor and stole those coins from a dealer?

I can't believe poeple are that dumb. Who gives a bunch of coins (or money) to people they don't know? It is like the stories on the welathy older woman who gets wined and dined and gives some guy a botload of cash and the keys to her safe!!!

no, that was the "Dr. Fraud" segment.

Dr. Fraud is on today! It is on in the episode airing right now!

Dr. Fraud is on today! It is on in the episode airing right now!

They don't explain how he was able to pose as a Doctor in the elevator, or give him a special room to go to etc.

They don't explain how he was able to pose as a Doctor in the elevator, or give him a special room to go to etc. All I can think he was somewhat familiar with the hospital and knew what room to go to. The guy with the coins? "I'll be right back with your check." Me? "I'll walk with you!" I can't believe he let that guy walk out of a room with all that gold.

Pretty amazing and i'm sorry if this was already discovered on this forum before but I was watching Seinfeld episode S06E16 "The Beard" and just realized that our coin scamming victim friend Jerry Diner was actually in this episode! he played the sketch artist Lou. Thought his acting skills were fairly decent in the Coin scam segment haha :)

https://i.imgur.com/GQZPiNO.jpg

Jerry Diner used to be JamesT's avatar, if it isn't still.

I think Jerry Diner might get my vote for #1 most pleasant UM interviewee.

Jerry Diner used to be JamesT's avatar, if it isn't still.

I think Jerry Diner might get my vote for #1 most pleasant UM interviewee.

I'm impressed he was willing to even share his story as in hindsight it must have been quite embarrassing to fall of that scam.

Yep, he was definitely one of the most likable people featured on the show.

I'm surprised no one has suggested he faked being a coin scam victim so he could get an acting roll.

I'm surprised no one has suggested he faked being a coin scam victim so he could get an acting roll.

I doubt he would fake such a tale but it's certainly possible he took advantage of his situation in order to advance his acting "career". He is still a very likable guy in my opinion. Part of me thinks of how dumb you have to be to fall for this in NYC of all places but then I see some of the ridiculous scams intelligent people I know fall for all the time.

I'm surprised no one has suggested he faked being a coin scam victim so he could get an acting roll.

You know me oh so well. I'm ready to take this relationship to the next level since you read me so well ;)

Intelligence seems to have little bearing on scams-they work on two emotions-

1. Fear-the fear you will lose something, like your internet connection, your liberty for not paying an IRS bill etc. This generally is targeted towards old people who are far more likely to believe that the IRS/Gas/Electric company will phone you & demand money with all kinds of threats of what will happen if you don't go to a store & purchase ITunes Cards, allow them access to your PC etc.

2. Greed-targeted at all ages, we saw so many on UM-often very rich people who just couldn't pass up the chance of more money to where they lost hundreds of thousands & in some cases millions. The coin scam worked because while there may have been some sympathy for the 'victim' really what swayed Diner & others in the Spanish Lotto, Pyramid etc scams was what they would get out of it. No doubt Diner thought he could pay the bum 100 bucks & get thousands out of the doctor.

I'm surprised no one has suggested he faked being a coin scam victim so he could get an acting roll.

His IMDB page shows that it didn't pay off well for him in Tinseltown if that was his intention.

I'm surprised no one has suggested he faked being a coin scam victim so he could get an acting roll.

:lol:

I'll admit this episode sure had me R.O.F.L., and was definitely one of the funniest Unsolved Mysteries segments there ever was! I really cracked up when I saw the part for the first time (which was cut from Lifetime reruns) where the victims would attempt to salvage one last chance to save face, by trying to sell the fake coins to coin/pawn shops, with blindly thinking they could still get at least SOMETHING out of them, to no avail! (L.O.L.!)

Jerry Diner was also one of the most likable people there ever was profiled on the show, and could tell took the whole thing in stride, and figured you simply live and learn, and move on. At least you can say he kind of sort of gained a bit of a consolation from falling for the scam, by simply getting an ever so priceless appearance on Unsolved Mysteries! That of which you can say was a pretty cool honor, and well worth the $160 he lost I.M.O., which will forever last a lifetime, and have him forever immortalized in a way too. I'm sure many other hardcore U.M. fans wouldn't have minded paying that much for their own "shout out" of sorts on the show, and know I happily would have, if only I ever got the opportunity as well! XD