The 10 Biggest Scams ever Broadcast on TV

📺 What are the worst TV scams or some of the biggest to ever happen?
Written by: Josh Strider & @ninjean9690
Video Edited by:
ToonRicky: @Toon Ricky DX
ShadeX: @ShadeX
Zac Quinn: @zacquinn
PhoenixStarYT: @PhoenixStarYT
& Josh Strider
Produced & commissioned by Josh Strider (Phantom Strider)

[theotherjared]

The James Hydrick story goes far deeper than PhantomStrider talked about. After being exposed, he gave a bunch of excuses about how his powers were weakened due to having a cold that day. He later admitted to being a fraud in 1981, as he learned the trick in prison and wanted to see how easily he can scam the world. Despite all of this, people still believed he was psychic and he had a relatively successful career afterwards. He was later arrested in 1989 for the molestation of 5 boys he was "training" and was institutionalized because of california laws. He is still commited to this day due to his tendencies of pedophilia, paraphilia, and antisocial personality disorder, which combined make him a danger to the general public.

[tiramisudragon]

So about the Max headroom incident:
He wasn't calling Doctor Who a nerd. He was calling Chuck Swirsky, a local sportscaster on the first station they tried to intercept, a nerd.
It was two stations they intercepted and the first one didn't have any sound go through.

[RavenRose]

That sex hotline joke was the most R rated joke I've ever seen Strider make 😭

[itspk]

“But hold on! In a previous life, he could have been George Washington!”

That’s literally Ed Edd n Eddy worthy scam material.

[andromic]

As a store clerk i have so many depressing stories about people who buy lotto numbers and it’s just sad. Dealt with guys who bought $100 dollars worth of tickets but begged me to give him free food.

[waffleboiawfulploi]

Looking back on these I’m glad scam commercials and ads have become easier to notice than ever especially with how mainstream social media is nowadays. This was a very unique and fun video Strider

[samariathemaniac]

The thought of scamming innocent people makes me sick to my stomach. Great video as always PhantomStrider.

[TheGruffchickJournal]

Add Publishers Clearing House to this list. They sent my mother at least 2 envelopes a day, and sometimes 4 or 5. Each one said a winner was going to be picked on [x] day. "It could be you! You have a good chance of winning! No purchase necessary! But hey, we have a ton of shit to sell you!" She used to say, "God will let me win the jackpot!" but that never happened. She passed away in March. I am still trying to purge all the damn crap she bought because she thought she would have a better chance.

[argenteria]

It’s great that you’re covering stuff like this, even when the scams in question aren’t recent. Hopefully videos like these help people realize how subtle and not so subtle scams can really be.

[PaulaDautremont]

I called a psychic hot line once for laughs. She asked my name and I came back with "You're the psychic. You tell me." I got silence and then she hung up on me.

[ruejanea]

the way Josh says "Brittney Spears was my crush" killed me 😭

[phantomstrider]

Happy holidays :) Thank you for giving my vids a look this year. I hope you have a safe and pleasant new year and the new year has some pleasant little surprises waiting for you.

[MXOY]

This one was a rollercoaster ride of emotional changes Josh. Holy crap! (Also the Nin never getting sick line SLAYED me!)

[CinnamonGrrlErin]

They might be scams, but they really got creative with the 1-900 ads. For whatever reason they were really prominent on the SciFi channel (especially psychic hotlines) so I got to know them pretty well when I taped MST3K.

I remember the more risqué ones from watching ad breaks during Night Flight too. Maybe it's because they weren't shot like traditional ads, but I always found them fascinating.

[Ariellesart]

“Look at the dog in his previous life he could have been George Washington” 💀

[RC-nqmg]

I remember so many of these ones from the 90s growing up. not to mention the infomertials, .. "BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! Call within the next 20 minutes and we will double your offer, not one BUT TWO of these pieces of garbage we couldnt sell at a discount store. Your satisfaction is guaranteed, and if you aren't completely satisfied with your purchase, return it, for a full refund - just pay the shipping and handling." I swear the only decent stuff sold on an infomercial was sold by "Billy Mays, here! Introducing Oxy clean!" Oh and the scam that was the shopping channel. Brings back memories.

[CaptainCat]

I ruined reality TV for my mom by telling her that most of it was not real. I'm proud of myself

[muppetsretrofan]

Hi Josh! Incidents like these are why I don't trust infomercials, because you never know if it's a scam or not. And sometimes even in stores you have to be careful what you buy [so many recalls happening lately...]! It's always good to take caution when purchasing items, to avoid being scammed.

[StefanoAraneda]

If I recall correctly, once a math professor told me in school that you are more likely to be killed by a cow than winning on the lottery, and he stated even the fact that we were in the city, really far away from any cow was put in consideration of his statemant😂

[AiLoveAidoru]

as someone who’s just fascinated by this stuff; More of this stuff please!
The Max Headroom incident was started with Chicago's local news station, and outside of calling Dr Who a nerd after the news channel cut him off, he also poked insults at the news anchor who was live during the hijacking (the Chuck Swirsky guy he mentions in footage you used).
As for suggestions maybe cover Gameshow bloopers. I remember one incident on the Price is Right where they rigged their most famous game (Plinko) for a commercial to promote the home console versions of The Price is Right... and accidentally forgot to unrig the Plinko game board before a contestant was called up to play Plinko the next day. They ended up owing this contestant extra money off camera, on top of what she won during the redo. ... the family fued music on the last segment made me think of this.