Doris Payne: Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Grift | 170

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Frustrated by the racist, sexist stereotypes keeping her down, Doris Payne started swiping precious jewels out of spite as a teen. For the next seven decades, she executed heists across nine countries, with thefts totalling an estimated $2 million. She spent her life dodging the FBI, Interpol, and countless precincts all over the U.S. by being fabulous, charming, and absolutely relentless. Now in her 90s, she’s still regarded as America’s most prolific jewel thief.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter

Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey there, scamfluencers fans.
0:02.0	Want to be the first to know how these wild scams unfold.
0:05.0	Join us on Patreon to get early access to episodes,
0:08.3	add free listening,
0:09.4	and exclusive content that reveals even more of the drama.
0:13.0	Just search for scamfluencers on Patreon
0:15.0	and dive deeper into the scandal.
0:17.5	A heads up to our listeners.
0:19.1	This episode details an incident of domestic violence.
0:22.7	Please listen with care.
0:30.2	Sachi, I think you and I both share the formative experience of working at various retail jobs.
0:36.4	I want to know, have you ever encountered shoplifters or thieves?
0:42.1	I've worked at several retail joints. Sarah, you might remember Jacob. Yep, the cute, casual,
0:49.3	but formal women's wear clothing store. It was classy. Jacob was classy.
0:58.5	Yeah, you were a classy girl if you had a pencil skirt from Jacob, which I had several.
1:06.9	And I wandered away from my section one day, and a man walked in and just took a whole table of clothes, and I got in so much trouble.
1:27.7	But I still, till this day, was like, did they think me at 21 was going to, like, chase down that guy? Yes. I mean, I worked at so many stores in my teens and 20s, and I got to say, I did not care when people shoplifted because it wasn't my job to monitor them. And I'm not going to risk my life for a store that's going to get money back from insurance.
1:29.7	You know what do you want me to do?
1:34.5	Yeah, I didn't care about the stores that much either, which is maybe why Jacob no longer exists.
1:36.4	Yeah, that is very true, sadly.
1:38.0	That's my fault. Sorry, everybody.
1:43.3	Well, I say this because today we're covering a different kind of scammer.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.