About 4 years to the day I am writing this review, a CNN reporter contacted me about my junk mail blog. I was already knee deep in trying to stop the avalanche of junk mail that was arriving everyday. Blake Ellis, and Melanie Hicken were just starting what would become a deep dive, into the rabbit hole, that is the direct mail industrial complex.
None of us could have imagined the wild journey they would go on, when they stated asking me and other victims about junk mail. How it was effecting their families, and who was behind it all.
I sent them a huge box with a wide sample of the junk mail I was receiving at the time. Including this horrible little travel clock from National Association of Blind Veterans a project of National Federation of the Blind,
and this “Bury the Death Tax Petition” from Frontiers of Freedom
Their research resulted in 2 wonderful series of articles for CNN. The first was about international scam ring that runs the Maria Duval psychic scam. The second is about PacNet. They were a company that specialized in processing checks for scammers, who could not use a regular bank.
Maria Duval article.
PacNet articles
2 year follow up with Maria Duval
That brings us to Blake and Melanie’s new book A Deal with the Devil: The Dark and Twisted True Story of One of the Biggest Cons in History.
For the book they have expanded on the original articles. You ride along with them, as they chase down each clue to connect the crazy web of scammers who produce and run the multi-national scam that is behind Maria Duval. You will meet real psychics, fake psychics, shady business men, and their shadier lawyers. Travel to exotic locations like a PO box in a dusty Nevada town, and huge fence surrounding an estate in France where Maria might live.
They tell the story of one victim and her daughter. Really, it is the story of all of the victims and their families. The tragic play book is the same, once a loved one gets sucked into junk mail scams.
One of the people that they talked to that I found to be the most interesting, was the copywriter from Canada. He was so good he wrote letters for multiple Maria Duval franchises. In his mind, he had an outline of the person he was writing the letter to.
SPOILER ALERT: It’s your mom.
A very sad moment was during the US Postal Inspectors investigation. They dumpster dived at the office that processes Maria Duval’s scam mail. They found all the talismans, locks of hair, outlines of hands, that had been sent back to Maria, in the trash. The people who processed the mail would pull out the check and all the rest would be tossed out. Personal letters begging Maria for help, were a speed bump for them to get to the money.
If you like true crime, psychic scams, international crime rings, and elder financial abuse, This book is for you.
If you want to support in-depth investigative reporting please buy this book. Blake Ellis, and Melanie Hicken put years into this story. They are so lucky that their editor let them put all the time, and effort in to this story. When they started, it was about a person who was a ghost. Many people thought Maria Duval wasn’t a real person.
If you or a loved one are receiving junk mail like the kind in this book, please read my guide on how to put your mailbox on lockdown. Do not let junk mail ruin your family like it did mine.
I received a free copy of this book to review it.
Updates to the story:
The Walrus: The Greatest Scam Ever Written
Patrice Runner convicted of running a mass-mailing fraud scheme
AARP podcast The Perfect Scam: Psychic Mail Fraud Scheme Enabled by One of the World’s Largest Data Firms Spoiler Alert: It was Epsilon.
Drowning in Junk Mail 
I can ill afford to support every one of the surveys that come along. I do support them and will vote for the proper candidate that will help us get America back to a patriotic status. Until then, ANY survey I get will be properly filed in the trash can unless it comes with a postage paid envelope. I will in no way send my money to them
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