They Call Us Scam Factory

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.

What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we discuss the evil, manipulative, and highly organized world of online scams with journalists Nelson Wang, who became the target of a "pig butchering" crypto scam, and Denise Chan, host of the Wondery podcast Scam Factory, which exposes the brutal reality behind these ripoff operations. There's a scam for everybody. They talk about the increasingly creative and sophisticated ways that scammers prey on their victims, how that scammer on the other side might actually be a victim of a scam themselves—trafficked and trapped—and the bizarre corporate infrastructure behind some of these scam factories. Pizza party!

Man Wanted For Coronavirus-Related Racist Attack in Queens

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Man Makes COVID-19 Related Anti-Asian Remarks and Breaks Woman's Cell Phone
In Queens, police are looking for a man wanted in connection with a racist attack on an Asian woman in Rego Park last weekend. On Sunday morning, a man made coronavirus-related anti-Asian statements to a 36-year-old woman. The woman then tried to use her cell phone to take a photo of the man, but he slapped it out of her hand, causing it to fall to the ground and shatter. Then the man ran off. Real brave, asshole.

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Director Jon M. Chu 'Disgusted' By 'Crazy Rich Asians’ Sequels Casting Scam
A Twitter user named Alan Baltes, claiming to be an actor and casting associate, posted a notice saying that the supposed Crazy Rich Asians sequels, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, were casting Asian actors, ages 20s through 40s, for lead roles via "live Zoom auditions." Director Jon M. Chu says they haven't started casting yet, the casting call is bogus, and this scam targeting hopeful Asian actors is "disgusting."

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Koreatown's Restaurants Struggle to Survive During Pandemic
Since California's dining room shutdown began in mid-March, the restaurants and bars in Los Angeles' Koreatown have struggled alongside the rest of the restaurant industry hoping to come out on the other side of the pandemic. Unlike Manhattan's Koreatown, which is dominated by corporate ownership, LA's Koreatown is a mosaic of small businesses, so most have chosen to stay open to earn whatever revenue they can by offering pickup, delivery, or both.

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Fighting COVID-19 Anti-Asian Racism with Research
Chuck Liu is a clinical psychologist and researcher at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where his team is launching a study examining the effects of COVID-19 stressors on the mental health of both Asian Americans and the broader population to help understand the formation and impact of racism during this critical time. It's a unique study that looks not just at COVID-related racism and its effects on Asians, but tries to understand the factors that shape racist anti-Asian attitudes among non-Asians as well. However, this is a large study with 3000 participants and five waves of data recruitment, so they're raising funds and could use your help. Find out more here.

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Watch Over 50 Asian American Documentaries on Public Television in May
In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this May, World Channel will showcase the stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. with 52 documentary films. With themes of social justice and courage, these films highlight the myriad of ways in which Asian Pacific Americans have triumphed and impacted history.

'Fresh Off The Boat' Series Finale Airs This Friday

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



'Fresh Off the Boat' leaving indelible mark on TV landscape
Time to say goodbye to the Huangs. After six seasons, Fresh Off The Boat ends its trailblazing television run on Friday. "Without question, the sitcom, centered on a Taiwanese-Chinese American family in the 1990s living in predominantly white Orlando, Florida -- will be immortalized in the canon of Asian-American representation."

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Senator Mazie Hirono's Remarks on 2020 Day of Remembrance
Thursday marked the annual Day of Remembrance, commemorating the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Remarks by U.S. Senator Maizie Hirono were supposed to be shown during the 2020 Los Angeles Day of Remembrance program, held at the Japanese American National Museum. However, the museum's Board of Trustees apparently deemed her remarks inappropriate, and the video was not shown during the event. So here's the video.

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Andrew Yang joins CNN as a political commentator
If you couldn't get enough of Andrew Yang during his run for president, and wondering where you can get your Yang fix now that's dropped out of the race, look no further than CNN. The former Democratic presidential candidate is joining CNN as a political commentator, the network announced Wednesday.

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A taxi driver saved an elderly woman from being scammed out of $25,000
Authorities in Roseville, California are praising a cab driver who saved a 92-year-old woman from giving a scammer $25,000. Rajbir Singh knew something sounded fishy when his elderly passenger said she needed a ride to the bank to withdraw $25,000, allegedly to settle a debt with the IRS. Singh pleaded with the woman to reconsider, saying he thought this could be a scam. He even detoured to a police station, where an officer convinced her not to withdraw her money. Shout out to a good citizen.

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Parasite: A Graphic Novel in Storyboards
If you can't get enough of Parasite, check out the historic, Oscar-winning film as a graphic novel drawn by director Bong Joon Ho himself. In hundreds of mesmerizing illustrations, Parasite: A Graphic Novel in Storyboards is a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of the film. As part of his unique process, Bong storyboarded each shot of Parasite prior to the filming of every scene. Accompanied by the film's dialog, the storyboards he drew capture the story in its entirety. The book includes a foreword by the director and early concept drawings and photos from the set.

Beware fake monks running the bracelet scam

In San Francisco, scammers dressed as monks are targeting unsuspecting folks for a "donation."



Watch out for fake monks, San Francisco. Looks like street scammers are back at it, targeting unsuspecting folks with the good ol' "bracelet scam." This time, the latest wave of scammers are dressed up as monks.

Fake monks are using the bracelet scam in San Francisco

It works like this. A man or woman dressed as a monk approaches you on the street and puts a bracelet on your wrist with a big smile. Then they ask you to sign a "peace" petition or some shit, as well as a "donation." If you refuse, they'll become insistent and aggressive. If you don't give it up, they'll move on to another target.

Beware, Los Angeles. The "Chinese Blessing" scam is back.

Con artists are targeting superstitious elderly Chinese women.



Asians of Southern California, take note. An old scam has recently resurfaced in Los Angeles. Con artists are back targeting superstitious elderly women and duping them out of valuables with the old "Chinese blessing" scam.

Old con resurfaces in LA; how the 'Chinese blessing' scam targets the elderly

The con tends to pop up in various Chinatowns around the country, from New York to San Francisco to Honolulu. The scam has apparently made its way back to Los Angeles. According to the LAPD's Asian Crime Unit, an elderly Chinatown resident was recently swindled out of $75,000 in cash and jewelry.

The "Chinese blessing" scam usually starts out with two women approaching their target on the street, then introducing her to a third woman who claims to have spiritual gifts. She offers protection from evil spirits if the target brings over her valuables to pray over. You can probably guess what happens next.

Asian tourists targeted in "broken bottle" scam

Watch out, Asian tourists. Take note that the "You Broke My Glasses" scam is making a comeback in New York City, and the con artists have been reportedly setting their sights on Asian victims in Chinatown: "You Broke My Glasses" Scammers Now Targeting Asian Tourists.

The con basically works like this. The scammer targets an unsuspecting person to bump into on the street, drops and breaks a purportedly expensive item -- in these recent cases, a fake pricey bottle of wine -- then blames the victim and demands compensation. "Hey! You broke my super-expensive bottle of wine!" (Shows him/her receipt proving super-expensive cost of wine.) "You owe me sixty bucks! Now pay up!"

According to police, the latest incidents have targeted Asian tourists:

Businessman sentenced to three years for funeral insurance scam

Asian behaving badly... funeral insurance scam edition! In San Jose, a businessman was sentenced to three years in prison for scamming dozens of families in the Vietnamese community out of thousands of dollars they thought would go toward funeral expenses: San Jose: Funeral insurance scam in Vietnamese community lands businessman in prison.

53-year-old Davie Ba Ngo, former head of the now-defunct "Concerned Members Committee," pled no contest to felony charges of embezzling more than $200,000 from hundreds of local Vietnamese families who thought they were paying fees to ensure death-related expenses were covered for elder relatives.

Instead, Ngo and his assistant, Stephanie Tuyet Le, pocketed the money:

another "evil spirit" scam targeting elderly women in honolulu's chinatown

News of a variation on that "ghost" scam... In Honolulu, police are looking for suspects in a similar scheme targeting elderly women in Chinatown: Police investigating bizarre scam targeting Chinatown's elderly.

This scam involves several people approaching elderly Chinese women with a charade about an herb doctor, a fortune teller and again, evil spirits. The victim puts their jewelry and cash in a red bag for some kind of blessing ritual, there's a sneaky switcheroo, and the scammers make off with the valuables:

four arrested in asian ghost scam

Remember that crazy ghost scam I posted about a couple of months ago? Scammers were targeting elderly members of San Francisco's Asian community, coming up them on the street with a weird line about being haunted by evil spirits, then dupe them out of their money and valuables.

Good news. Another crew of these scammers has been caught. Four suspects were arrested and charged last week in a similar "evil spirit" jewelry scam. Their plan went awry when a potential victim got smart to their scheme and alerted the cops: Four Charged in Alleged S.F. Farmer's Market Jewelry Scam.