James Frey portrayed himself as an addict of hard drugs on the road to an untimely death in his book "A Million Little Pieces". Later it was revealed that most of the details of his book were a complete fabrication that even fooled the likes of Oprah Winfrey. And while fiction is commonplace in literature, Frey misrepresented himself as a tragic victim while cashing in on the world's sympathy. A grade "A" creep that ranks pretty high on the "Scam-O-Meter".

source

In the early 1900's, Victor Lustig gained notoriety for conning countless people, including the legendary Al Capone. Lustig is the father of one very special con; succeeding to sell the Eiffel Tower! Folks like him and George Parker - the man who sold the Brooklyn Bridge - have netted stacks of cash from "selling" landmarks across the globe. This selling bridges and towers is the domain of only a brazen few? Think again!

source

The original Ponzi Scheme birthed by Charles Ponzi netted its creator a cool $225 million by today's value. The epitome of "borrow from Peter to pay Paul", Bernie Madoff found out the hard way that Ponzi Schemes can make you a ton of money. For awhile.

source

The advent of decentralized, unregulated currency is something of a recent anomaly. And while the promise of a worldwide eco-topia is the dream of millions of businessmen hot for a "one global currency", the concept isn't without some massive pitfalls - usually for investors. Sure, there's a ton of money to be made by the speculator, but it's much too risky. Who has virtually zero risk? For starters, the guys who invented the currency. We're not picking on Bitcoin, but currency trading is WAY outside the risk tolerance for most folks looking for a bonafide method of making passive income.

source