SPY games
The Secret Agent Con & The art of the dupe
The most common cons aren’t always as clear as you might think.
The legend of the Nigerian prince may have morphed from cautionary tale to pop culture comedy, but the basis of the scam isn’t so funny. For centuries, con artists posing as government agents of all kinds have duped even the most intelligent and sophisticated out there. There’s the college professor who lost $20k to faux CIA agents, the financial writer who trusted an “Amazon account error” to the tune of $50k and the Hilton Head resident who handed over $130k to “Agent William Nelson.”
The secret agent con is one of the most common cons out there. Here are four famous stories of fake spies who were uncovered, not “undercover.”
Charlotte Cowles and the Amazon trap
A financial writer, Cowles was the last person who expected to fall for a money-con. But in October of 2023, she handed over $50k in cash to a man posing as a CIA agent.
It all began with a phone call from an Amazon customer service agent, claiming there was fraudulent activity on her account. Cowles was then contacted by said “CIA agent,” who convinced her that not only had her identity been compromised but that she may be in actual danger. In a vulnerable moment, she complied, ultimately losing a significant sum. Her candid account (which she wrote about for New York Magazine) sparked widespread discussion about the vulnerability of even the most informed individuals.
THE DEA AND THE CIA
Tampa DEA agent Garrison Kenneth Courtney was the mastermind behind a multi-year fraud in which he impersonated a covert CIA operative and scammed at least a dozen companies out of over $4.4 million.
His plan involved convincing companies to pay him (and his five aliases) under the pretense of providing "commercial cover" for his supposed undercover work and promising future government reimbursements and contracts.
Courtney falsified his military and intelligence background; fabricated documents (including fake immunity letters); directed victims to sign bogus non-disclosure agreements; and used real public officials, often unknowingly, to bolster his credibility. In 2020, he was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.
THE TALE OF ROBERT HENDY
British conman Robert Hendy-Freegard spent years posing as an undercover MI5 agent to manipulate, control, and defraud multiple victims. Beginning in the early 1990s, he convinced individuals that they were targets of IRA assassination plots and had to follow his orders, often cutting ties with family and friends. He used fear, psychological manipulation and charm to isolate victims and gain their trust, even keeping them from cooperating with police (he told victims that the police were double agents performing “loyalty tests”). The conman exploited his position in the victim's lives and extracted large sums of money while convincing his targets to go into hiding or even commit petty crimes.
In 2005, he was convicted on multiple charges and sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 2009. In 2022, he was arrested in France after going on the run again.
In Europe, famed conman Alain Jollois claimed multiple false identities, including posing as a British secret agent and aristocrat. Jollois tricked victims by weaving elaborate stories about espionage, government ties and international intrigue. In fact, Jollois’ scams stretched over decades and continents. In 2002, he took “investments” from locals in Périgueux, France to finance a movie he was said to be making with Julia Roberts and he often told people he was the head of the clan made famous by the TV show Outlander. With his quick charm, multiple languages and detailed stories, he would easily make friends and then “confide” about being everything from a confidante to the Queen to an MI6 officer.