1Ashley Madison's Fake Accounts
Ashley Madison, a popular dating site for married individuals seeking extramarital affairs, had such a significant number of fake female accounts that an employee responsible for creating these fictitious profiles sued the company for "repetitive stress injury" in 2012. The case was settled out of court.
2. Mamoru Samuragochi is a deaf Japanese composer who was once hailed as the "digital-age Beethoven" and is known for creating the soundtrack for Onimusha. He was later exposed for having all of his works from the past 18 years written by a ghostwriter. Furthermore, it was revealed that he wasn't deaf at all.
3. During a prolonged siege in the late 1300s, a Portuguese castle shattered the resolve of its besiegers by staging a fake display of abundance. They threw freshly baked bread made from the last remaining flour in the castle, accompanied by a message: "If you need any more, just let us know." Fearing an extended siege, the Spaniards withdrew.
4. In 2005, Banksy pranked the British Museum by surreptitiously installing a fake "cave painting" depicting a caveman pushing a grocery cart in one of their galleries without permission. The forgery went unnoticed for three days.
5. Schwarzenegger feigned interest in the movie "Stop or My Mom Will Shoot" to deceive Stallone into starring in it. Stallone later referred to the film as "maybe one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we've never seen."
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6Car Crash Fraud Scheme
In 2022, a Spokane fraudster orchestrated a car accident insurance fraud scheme involving multiple conspirators. He would stage fake car crashes by intentionally ramming the vehicles himself, causing injuries to selected individuals. Some participants even carried bottles of urine to pour over themselves for added authenticity.
7. The majority of so-called "Medieval Torture Devices" were in fact fabrications made in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by hoaxers, showmen, and con artists. These devices were intended to captivate audiences with their gruesome and imaginative designs, despite their lack of historical authenticity.
8. The FBI spent years investigating an anti-goth cult known as the "Church of the Hammer" and their Yahoo group "GodHatesGoths," only to discover that the entire thing was entirely fabricated and intended as a joke. The official investigation continued for over two years before the FBI realized it was all fake.
9. The world record for the deepest scuba dive (332.35 meters) set by Ahmed Gabr in 2014 is highly controversial and likely faked. Numerous discrepancies exist in the provided evidence for the dive, some of which could have been fatal had he actually descended to that depth.
10. Leading up to the Normandy invasion, MI-5 conducted one of the largest military deception campaigns to convince the Germans that the landing would take place at Calais instead. They went to great lengths, including creating a fictitious army, transmitting coded gibberish via radio messages, deploying fake vehicles, and setting up ersatz camps to mislead reconnaissance planes.
11The Shed at Dulwich
A man created a fictitious restaurant named "The Shed at Dulwich" on TripAdvisor and solicited favorable reviews. Eventually, the fake restaurant became the number one ranked eatery in London, receiving hundreds of calls daily for bookings. For a day, the man set up a makeshift "café" in his backyard, serving frozen food to enthusiastic reviews.
12. In order to apprehend two Russian hackers, the FBI established a fictitious startup company named Invita and invited the hackers to the United States for a supposed job interview. The hackers accepted the invitation and were subsequently arrested. Prior to their capture, they had hacked into the networks of at least 40 U.S. companies and attempted extortion.
13. Payless once created a fake luxury store called "Palessi" and invited influencers to gauge how much people would be willing to pay for $20 shoes. The highest offer received was $640, resulting in an 1800% markup.
14. An art curator named Xiao Yuan once replaced over 140 paintings in a museum in China with his own forgeries and managed to sell 125 of them for a total of $6 million. However, he later discovered that his own fakes were being stolen and replaced with yet more copies.
15. In 1869, George Hull hired individuals to create a stone statue of a man, bury it, and later pretend to discover an ancient giant. The hoax proved to be so profitable that P.T. Barnum offered $50,000 for it. However, the owner declined the offer. In response, Barnum had a replica made, claiming to possess the real giant while accusing the owner of having a fake.
16Engine Noise Enhancement
Auto manufacturers have been incorporating fake engine noises into their car speaker systems, or even installing separate speaker systems, to enhance the rumble and depth of engine sounds, compensating for the reduced impact of modern efficiency. This augmentation is referred to as a Soundaktor.
17. James McCormick sold the ADE 651, a counterfeit 'bomb detector,' worldwide (particularly in Iraq) by purchasing novelty golf ball detectors for less than $20 and reselling them for $5000 each. His scam has resulted in the loss of lives, and these 'bomb detectors' are likely still in use today.
18. A fictitious town named "Agloe" was intentionally added to a map for copyright purposes. Some individuals then established a shop at that very location and named it the "Agloe General Store," effectively transforming the fictitious town into a real one.
19. LBJ frequently demanded that the flight crew of Air Force One adjust the cabin temperature. Eventually, a fake control knob was installed for him, allowing the president to "control" the temperature himself. Subsequently, the president ceased his complaints.
20. Paper Sons emerged as a consequence of anti-immigration laws enacted in the early 1900s to restrict Chinese immigration into the United States. Chinese individuals forged birth certificates indicating they were children of individuals who had already immigrated, effectively becoming "sons" or "daughters" on paper.
21Synthetic Hymen Controversy
A synthetic hymen, developed in Japan and manufactured by a Chinese company, contains a red dye that imitates blood when the product is ruptured. In 2009, lawmakers in Egypt called for its prohibition out of concern that newlywed women might use the product to feign virginity.
22. In 1980, the FBI created a fictional company and attempted to bribe members of Congress. Nearly 25% of those targeted accepted the bribe and were subsequently convicted.
23. In 1969, the Dutch secret service set up a fake pro-China communist party as a means to gather intelligence on the Chinese government. The party's leader, secret agent Pieter Boevé, cultivated friendly relations with the Chinese government and even had a personal encounter with Mao Zedong himself.
24. In 2018, the FBI, in collaboration with other countries, established a counterfeit "secure" messaging app named "ANOM" to monitor criminal communications, which later led to multiple arrests worldwide in 2021.
25. In 1990, Michigan police orchestrated the arrest of a group of local drug dealers by inviting them to a fictitious wedding for two of the dealers' regular customers, who were actually undercover police officers. The arrests commenced after the band (also composed of undercover officers) played "I Fought the Law."
