Interested in True Crime but Don’t Love Violence? Join the CONgregation
True crime is a tricky genre. The real stories of actual crimes can be fascinating. But when real lives and actual violence are involved, it feels a bit troubling to consume this content purely for entertainment purposes. Then you’ve got true crime stories about scams. The stories are real. The crimes are real. However, very little death is involved. Scams. Cons. Robberies. Frauds. These are the topics of discussion for comedian, actress, and Scam Goddess podcaster Laci Mosley. If you haven’t heard the name “Laci Mosley” yet, you are missing out. And now she has a new book out that is definitely worth a read, whether you’ve listened to this podcast or not. But you should listen to this podcast.
Scam Goddess: Lessons from a Life of Cons, Grifts, and Schemes by Laci Mosley
You might recognize Laci Mosley from iCarly or Florida Girls. Or you might already be familiar with her podcast. But before all of that, Laci Mosley was just a girl with a dream of making it in Hollywood—one of the easiest types of people to scam in the whole world. Turns out, Laci Mosley’s life has been filled with scams, from when she was a child and tried to convince a white family to raise her to when she was cast in a horror comedy film that would never see the light of day.
In this memoir in essays, Laci Mosley welcomes readers inside her life of scams. She also expertly weaves in stories of other scammers. The book is divided up by different types of scams—religious scams, housing scams, job scams, body scams, romance scams…you get the idea. There are a lot of scams out there. Through every chapter, Mosley displays her smart sense of humor and insightful perspectives on how to make it in a world that’s constantly trying to scam you.
Without giving too much away about the book, I think one of Laci Mosley’s most interesting insights about scams was this: Scammers get away with conning people because people care about things. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be able to get scammed. But caring about stuff is important! So people are just going to keep getting scammed. She explains this theory in a lot more detail in the book, so definitely check it out if you’re curious about this concept. As someone who deeply cares about everything way too much, this hit hard.
I would highly recommend getting this one on audio if you’re an audiobook listener. You don’t want to miss out on Laci Mosley’s hilarious delivery of her own stories. She is famous for podcasting, after all, and when you listen to her book, you’ll see why. I listened to this one myself, but I imagine if I did try to read a hard copy of this book, I would just hear her voice in my head the whole time. You’ll see what I mean once you get familiar with her narration.
After you read Scam Goddess, make sure to check out Mosley’s podcast. It’s one of my favorite podcasts, and she always has fun guests on to discuss all things scam-related. You won’t regret joining the CON-gregation (yes, that’s what she calls her listeners). Welcome to the coolest group in the world.
Happy weekend reading, bibliophiles! Feel free to follow me on Instagram @emandhercat, and check out my other newsletters, The Fright Stuff and Book Radar!
