For centuries, criminals and wrongdoers around the world have secretly planned and plotted under our very noses.

But some of those plans haven't stayed so secret. From the greatest diamond heist of the century

to a daring prison escape that relied on a love triangle, the perpetrators of these sordid

schemes never wanted their methods revealed.

They'd hate this episode then,

because we're about to explore some of the most fascinating and elaborate plots that got exposed.

You're listening.

You're listening.

You're listening a big amazed.

If you're a fan of McDonald's, you're probably familiar with the annual Monopoly Millions promotion. Every year, menu items are stickered with little collectible game pieces that can be worth anything from free food to a big cash prize.

But the bigger the prize, the rarer the ticket.

I guess that's why the most I've ever won is a measly fruit bag.

But some 30 years ago, American ex-police officer Jerome P. Jacobson netted himself over $24 million from the competition, which was supposed to be impossible.

So how did he do it?

After retiring from the police force, Jacobson joined the company that made the Monopoly Million stickers as the head of security.

His job was to oversee their printing before transporting them

safely to the packaging factories. For years, he ran a tight ship, but in 1989, Jacobson decided

to test his luck. He slipped his brother a winning $25,000 piece, and when he cashed it in, nobody batted an eye.

Filled with confidence, Jacobson began taking winning pieces, replacing them with non-winners,

and selling the real winners onto friends and associates for a fraction of their worth.

This went on for a few years, but then, in 1995, Jacobson mistakenly received a batch of

tamper-resistant seals that were used to secure entire envelopes of winning stickers.

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