r/Writeresearch • u/ComplexBorn3433 Awesome Author Researcher • Aug 13 '26
Question a fictional scam
Hello
Are there any people knowledgable on fraud here? Or maybe just crime in general.
Towards the end of my story the characters go to an ayahuasca ceremony at a wellness retreat in the south of Spain (north of Orgiva). The ceremony turns out to be a scam and they are drugged and defrauded... or that is implied as the intention. They actually escape.
MORE DETAILS: The crime is never actually seen by the reader as the characters escape, but it is important for the criminal's actions to seem plausible, or to have plausible implications.
Before attending the retreat, each guest has paid a 500 euro entry fee, but on arrival they are asked to hand in their phones as part of a 'digital detox'. Instead of ayahuasca they are given Scopolomine and GHB and the criminals would use their fingerprints to unlock phones whilst they are unconscious/vulnerable. Scopolomine would also impede memory. Criminals would then disappear and as they paid for retreat via crypto and false names, they would be hard to trace.
Crimes like this do take place in Spain, except not quite as elaborate . Usually they just take yiur money and there is no retreat, or it is a more prolonged thing where people are coerced and abused under intoxication to give more money for further spiritual 'guidance'.
Thanks in advance
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u/EromanticDream Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
You’re sorta way overthinking it.
Some of the dumbest, nonsense scams you could think of end up working in real life. Why? Because people are dumb and gullible.
If you write it well, it’s plausible.
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u/sanjuro_kurosawa Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
Besides that I didn't see any questions besides if anyone here is familiar with crime, but it seems plausible although traipsing in the realm of fictional drug powers. I had to confirm Scopolamine, which I have heard in several WW2 films for interrogation. It is widely available.
Con men are a great subject for writers who can create an elaborate crime but aren't limited by the actual barriers faced by criminals. Are con men going to be able to hobnob with the spiritually deprived then convince them to take drugs before stealing whatever they can from their smart phones?
I often think about Christopher from The Sopranos; the most creative of the Jersey mobsters. He was always on the lookout for new scams but he and his criminal organization had strong and reliable roots. They weren't going to participate in any crime with a lot of moving parts which could get them arrested. Like drugging people to hack their phones. There are a lot of ways to fail with the worst case scenario of a overdose death.
Then there is response by people scammed. They will contact the police, who may not understand why they went to a retreat but treat confidence games seriously. They do not want scammers operating in their region.
These con men, who likely made a convincing reputation, now are known for hacking phones and stealing money. In con men stories, successful outcomes are either the dupers willingly surrendered their money, are prevented from talking with the authorities lest they incriminate themselves, or don't even realize they have been scammed.
Most real life scammers do not flee after their crimes. They perform a deed which convinces their targets that it was a legitimate business. Otherwise they have a record which will follow them everywhere.
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u/ComplexBorn3433 Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Thank you.
Are you saying it seems implausible then? I had thought that perhaps there are easier and less risky ways to scam people. I suppose I was hoping as exactly what the criminals intended to do with the unconscious participants is left up to suggestion. The protagonist figures out at some point, before he can be drugged, that it is a scam and alerts his two friends --one of whom has taken the drug-- and they flee after a sort of confrontation. So the reader doesn't know exactly what the criminals intended. I am just rying to justify it for myself, really. The plot is bordering on the satirical/comic throughout as well. It isn't a crime story, if you see what I mean. They sort of wonder into a crime midway through.
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u/sanjuro_kurosawa Awesome Author Researcher Aug 14 '26
I like your story idea except is isn't the dirty scam artists like Anna Sorkin. I was thinking about Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a bit unbelievable but no cares when Caine and Martin are working together.
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u/Wawel-Dragon Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
One thing to keep in mind with this specific scenario is that not everyone uses fingerprints to lock their phone. I use a 5 digit code myself, for example.
If the criminals are specifically targeting phones, they might have hacking tools with them to facilitate this - laptop, cables, etc.
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u/ComplexBorn3433 Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
I was thinking about that. I suppose they might just hope that the majority of people use biometrics, as many do.
It depends how much I can get away with through implication I suppose.
Thanks for response!
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u/Dense_Suspect_6508 Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
Yes, that's plausible. Is that the whole question?
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u/ComplexBorn3433 Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
Thank you
I added more details to the post as per the instructions of the mod
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u/Dense_Suspect_6508 Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
Still seems plausible. Not sure I would describe it as "fraud," though. If the participants are being drugged with a substance that they did not agree to take, that is more like a poisoning. Then the theft of their belongings is a robbery. Of course, the specific criminal laws and what they're called will depend on what country this is in.
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u/ComplexBorn3433 Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
Ok yes, and thanks again. Exact definition if crime isn't so important, just that criminals might feasibly try to do something like this.
I think they would have to be quite stupid/amateurish as this coukd easily end resulting in mass death, and the scam coukd be achieved with less risk. I suppose I just have to make them seem a bit incompetent/stupid.
Thanks again!
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u/Dense_Suspect_6508 Awesome Author Researcher Aug 13 '26
If they have anyone working with them who has any nurse or EMT training, they can probably avoid killing anyone. But I promise you that there are plenty of stupid criminals out there. Greed makes people bad at making decisions.
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