The Secret Story of the Phone Scammers

I was on Youtube the other day,

and this video by MKBHD popped up on my feed:

“My FBI Declassified Story”

So I watched it…

(I’m a sucker for a good story…)

And it kind of blew my mind…

Spolier Alert:

A “company” sent Marques a gold phone to review.

They called it - “The Escobar Phone”.

And upon further inspection, he noticed that it was in fact just a stock Samsung phone wrapped in gold stickers.

So he made the video and exposed the phone for what it is, thinking that he’d never hear anything about it again…

Until one day, the FBI showed up at his office to ask questions…

Apparently, the company was taking orders for this phone and not fulfilling them.

They were scamming people.

And the founder eventually went to jail on a slew of charges (including fraud).

My first thought was:

‘How did they sleep at night?'

I mean, knowing that you’re scamming people and running an illegitimate business…?

I can’t imagine how morally challenging that must have been.

My second thought was:

‘If you’re going to go through all that trouble, why not just run a legit biznes?’

There are a million ways to make a buck.

Why not find the one that:

Excites you AND actually helps people AND aligns with whatever your values are?

It’s doable.

But I’ll admit, it does take some work…

And I think this is where some people (ahem, Escobar phone ppl…) pull chute and let their intrusive thoughts win.

But…

Now they’re in prison.

(So maybe don’t do that?)

Trying to make a quick buck without providing any real value in the marketplace is like putting a screen door on a submarine - it just don’t work.

The sweet spot is running a business that:

1. Allows you to go to sleep at night feeling good about the work you did that day...
   
   

2. Makes you wake up feeling excited and energized to start work that day…
   
   

^ this creates a real flywheel of momentum.

Which, in my experience, is the real secret to running a business that lasts.

I’ll leave you with that for today.

TLDR: don’t scam people… it doesn’t work (long term).

Have a good Saturday.

- Adam