Female Scammers - Atlas Obscura
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Female Scammers

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hoaxes

Why Historians Are Reexamining the Case of the Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits

Mary Toft staged an elaborate hoax, but the pain was real.
Sabrina Imbler July 3, 2019
“The moment I discover a man’s a fool I let him drop,” Bertha Heyman once said.
women

The Prussian Grifter Who Swindled Her Way to Her Own One-Woman Show

Bertha Heyman lived a life in and out of jail and on and off the stage.
Sabrina Imbler May 10, 2019
Mary Baker pretended to be a princess and ended up selling leeches.
crime

The English Servant Girl Who Pretended to Be an Exotic Island Princess

Mary Baker, better known as Princess Caraboo, convinced an entire town she was eccentric royalty.
Sabrina Imbler May 9, 2019
Thérèse Humbert concocted some very convoluted schemes.
castles

The Parisian Fraudster With Complicated Tales of Imaginary Millionaires

Thérèse Humbert played French bankers like fiddles to live in the lap of luxury.
Sabrina Imbler May 8, 2019
Madame Rachel capitalized on Victorian women’s desire for eternal youth.
victorian

The Victorian Influencer Who Peddled Poisonous Beauty Elixirs

Sarah Rachel Russell sold exotic makeup that turned out to be mostly arsenic.
Sabrina Imbler May 7, 2019
Barbara Erni's trunk didn't hold valuables, but it did hold a tiny man or a large child.
women

The Liechtensteinian Lady Burglar and Her Mysterious Trunk

Barbara Erni stole from countless inns thanks to a chest with a secret hidden within.
Sabrina Imbler May 6, 2019