Shows / Fake Love Stories
Fake Love Stories
Ever wonder if that charming online stranger is too good to be true? "Love in Times of Fraud" uncovers the shocking reality behind romance scams, catfishing, and online dating deception.
We delve into true stories of victims and the sophisticated tactics used by scammers, from elaborate long cons to quick financial exploitation. Discover how these fraudsters manipulate emotions, build fake identities, and leave a trail of heartbreak and financial ruin. This podcast is your essential guide to…
Episodes
- Fake Love Stories
The Boutonniere in the Basement: How "Bruce" Stole Her Heart and Savings
The Boutonniere in the Basement: How "Bruce" Stole Her Heart and Savings Fear and quiet betrayal: a white carnation boutonniere buried in a concrete septic…
- Fake Love Stories
Forty-Seven Minutes: How a Stranger Stole Angela Reed's Night
Forty-Seven Minutes: How a Stranger Stole Angela Reed's Night Fear that someone trusted could erase six hours of your life: Angela Reed, a 44-year-old nurse…
- Fake Love Stories
She Sent the Last Transfer Knowing: The Gina Rice Case
She Sent the Last Transfer Knowing: The Gina Rice Case A calm, methodical scam turned on a nurse who taught triage - and she wired the first $600 without…
- Fake Love Stories
The Framing on Maplecrest: How a Fake Widow Took $31,400
The Framing on Maplecrest: How a Fake Widow Took $31,400 Fear of being fooled stalks every lonely heart: a craftsman found a framed photo bolted to a fence…
- Fake Love Stories
The Voice in the Cold: The Lie That Stole Her Winter and $40,000
La voz en el frío: la mentira que robó su invierno y $40,000 Cold danger sits beside the familiar warmth of an online romance: a 22-year-old tutor in a small…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved a Ghost: How a Fake Sergeant Took $112,000 from Mark Wells
He Loved a Ghost: How a Fake Sergeant Took $112,000 from Mark Wells They lured him with language they knew would break him - an unregistered IP read a PTSD…
- Fake Love Stories
The Watch in the Channel: How a Vacheron Hooked a Widow for $314K
The Watch in the Channel: How a Vacheron Hooked a Widow for $314K A thirty-thousand-dollar watch left running in a concrete channel led detectives to a scandal…
- Fake Love Stories
His Voice. Not Yours: How "Lily" Drained a Small-Town Heart
His Voice. Not Yours: How "Lily" Drained a Small-Town Heart A quiet Nebraska town hid an elaborate romance scam that siphoned thousands and used a child named…
- Fake Love Stories
The Romance Scam That Hid Behind a Dead Food Critic's Notes
The Romance Scam That Hid Behind a Dead Food Critic's Notes The chill of betrayal in this story is intimate: a leather journal pulled from reservoir mud and a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Lighthouse, the Phone, and the Man Who Never Existed
The Lighthouse, the Phone, and the Man Who Never Existed A phone with its screen still glowing was pulled from Pelham Cove at 5:50 a.m. on July 19, 2019, after…
- Fake Love Stories
Sealed Valentine, Stolen Trust: How Decker Road Led to a 11-Year Sentence
Sealed Valentine, Stolen Trust: How Decker Road Led to a 11-Year Sentence A sealed Valentine's card found on a timber parcel fourteen miles from the nearest…
- Fake Love Stories
Stranger Finds His Name on Someone Else's Mail: The Scott Ward Case
Stranger Finds His Name on Someone Else's Mail: The Scott Ward Case He found eleven envelopes with Scott Ward’s name banded together in a vacant mailbox forty…
- Fake Love Stories
He Was a Missionary - The Photos That Unraveled Her Love Scam
He Was a Missionary - The Photos That Unraveled Her Love Scam Fear that someone you trusted was lying about the children they saved - and the proof was hidden…
- Fake Love Stories
The Envelope in the Bird Feeder: How a Romance Scam Stole Her Life
The Envelope in the Bird Feeder: How a Romance Scam Stole Her Life Fear that someone you trusted could be a carefully scripted lie: an envelope addressed to a…
- Fake Love Stories
He Said He Was a Coach - She Trusted Him, He Stole Her Life Savings
He Said He Was a Coach - She Trusted Him, He Stole Her Life Savings Trust can be weaponized: a fake coach used stolen photos, nightly calls, and a rehearsed…
- Fake Love Stories
He Said He Was a Widower - Then Stole Nora's Money
He Said He Was a Widower - Then Stole Nora's Money Grief made Curtis vulnerable in a way scammers hunt for: he lost a wife to aggressive pancreatic cancer…
- Fake Love Stories
The Chessboard Trap: How a Fake Lover Stole $8,000 and Trust
The Chessboard Trap: How a Fake Lover Stole $8,000 and Trust There is a chilling intimacy to a chessboard left set for a game that will never be played - and a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Fake Wristband That Sold a Cancer Survivor's Last Trust
The Fake Wristband That Sold a Cancer Survivor's Last Trust A pristine hospital wristband with the name Robert Dalton appeared on a Dunmore doorstep in…
- Fake Love Stories
The Pen Pal Who Knew Her Better Than She Knew Herself - And Lied
The Pen Pal Who Knew Her Better Than She Knew Herself - And Lied A woman who built her life on routine found forty-two numbered letters and a $9,800 cashier's…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved a Ghost: How a Fake Architect Stole $11,000 and a Life
He Loved a Ghost: How a Fake Architect Stole $11,000 and a Life Love turned into a sting: a painstakingly manufactured romance ran for twenty-two months…
- Fake Love Stories
A Fisherman Pulls a Love Letter from the River: The Lloyd Bennett Case
A Fisherman Pulls a Love Letter from the River: The Lloyd Bennett Case A waterproof sleeve pulled from the Caswell River held a handmade card with a pink…
- Fake Love Stories
The Blue Envelope That Stole Her Life Savings and Her Trust
The Blue Envelope That Stole Her Life Savings and Her Trust Fear that the person who steadied you could be the one who empties your accounts: a pale blue…
- Fake Love Stories
The Ring on the Septic Riser: How He Stole Her $31,400
The Ring on the Septic Riser: How He Stole Her $31,400 A dry gold-toned ring sat on a wet septic riser at 14 Quarry Hollow Drive the morning of June 7, 2019 -…
- Fake Love Stories
He Rewrites a Dying Man's Will: The Earl Richardson Case
He Rewrites a Dying Man's Will: The Earl Richardson Case Fear that someone you trust can erase a life’s routine in months - a cream-colored envelope, a Buick…
- Fake Love Stories
The Bracelet, The Script, and the Man Who Never Came
The Bracelet, The Script, and the Man Who Never Came A single sterling silver bracelet, engraved with the initials G.R. and the date March 14, 2022, arrived on…
- Fake Love Stories
The Veil on Kellerman Road: How a Fake Widow Stole Laura's Life
The Veil on Kellerman Road: How a Fake Widow Stole Laura's Life Cold, small-town trust turned dangerous: a veil mailed in a padded envelope, a front door left…
- Fake Love Stories
The Soldier Who Never Loved Her: Scammed by a Dead Man's Photos
The Soldier Who Never Loved Her: Scammed by a Dead Man's Photos Grief turned into a scam: a retired librarian wired $7,000 to a man who did not exist after…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved an Engineer - Then His Savings Vanished and a Cake Topper Appeared
He Loved an Engineer - Then His Savings Vanished and a Cake Topper Appeared Fear that your careful choices could be used against you - Leon lost $43,000 to a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Voice in the Yard: How an AI Lover Emptyed His Savings
The Voice in the Yard: How an AI Lover Emptyed His Savings Cold, patient persuasion erased a careful life: a synthetic voice speaking for eleven hours, a man…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved My Rabbit - Then He Took $47,200 From Me
He Loved My Rabbit - Then He Took $47,200 From Me Fear that the person who loved your small, fragile life will vanish with everything you trusted: Patricia…
- Fake Love Stories
The Wax Seal in the Tree: How Love Lost Paula $238,000
The Wax Seal in the Tree: How Love Lost Paula $238,000 The quiet certainty of expertise became the perfect vulnerability: a genuine Turkish Ministry of Culture…
- Fake Love Stories
The Card in the River: How Love Became a $5,200 Lie
The Card in the River: How Love Became a $5,200 Lie A dry greeting card found above the flood line at Cutter's Bend led to a $5,200 loss and a fabricated life…
- Fake Love Stories
The Critic Who Was Dead: How 'Marco Vitelli' Stole Love and Money
The Critic Who Was Dead: How 'Marco Vitelli' Stole Love and Money Fear that the person you love online might not exist-this episode begins with a banker's box…
- Fake Love Stories
The Uniform in the Septic Tank: How Love Stole $22,000
The Uniform in the Septic Tank: How Love Stole $22,000 A folded Coast Guard dress uniform in a cardboard box, a handwritten note that reads "I know you'll…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved Me Back - Until the Profile Photo Disappeared
He Loved Me Back - Until the Profile Photo Disappeared Fear and hope colliding: a steady online love turned into a financial disappearance that led a…
- Fake Love Stories
He Used Her Photos, Her Chekhov, And Stole $4,000 from Trust
He Used Her Photos, Her Chekhov, And Stole $4,000 from Trust In this episode, we follow the timeline from a February message about a Nabokov first edition to…
- Fake Love Stories
She Sent Him $231,000: The Megan Bennett Romance Scam
She Sent Him $231,000: The Megan Bennett Romance Scam Fear that a life of quiet routine can be dismantled by a single online stranger: a 62-year-old woman sent…
- Fake Love Stories
They Stole His Face, Watched Her Rabbit: The Rotation Revealed
They Stole His Face, Watched Her Rabbit: The Rotation Revealed Cold certainty: someone had been watching Gloria Callahan so closely they recorded her rabbit’s…
- Fake Love Stories
A Jogger Finds Her Secret Folded Into a Crane: The Lisa Murphy Case
A Jogger Finds Her Secret Folded Into a Crane: The Lisa Murphy Case Fear that your private life could be turned into evidence - and left for a stranger to find…
- Fake Love Stories
The Postcard Said "I Will Be Home Soon" - He Wired $4,000
The Postcard Said "I Will Be Home Soon" - He Wired $4,000 Fear that someone you trusted was watching you, learning the rhythm of your life, and stealing…
- Fake Love Stories
The Laminated Move: How a Chessboard Became a $61,000 Romance Trap
The Laminated Move: How a Chessboard Became a $61,000 Romance Trap Grief, trust and a chess move combined to turn careful accounting into a $61,000 transfer…
- Fake Love Stories
The Mug in the Frost: How a Fake Lover Stole Her Recovery
The Mug in the Frost: How a Fake Lover Stole Her Recovery Fear of being betrayed again by someone she trusted - and the mug that proved it - begins on a winter…
- Fake Love Stories
The Letters in the River: How a Fake Lover Cost Him $11,200
The Letters in the River: How a Fake Lover Cost Him $11,200 Fear that the person who loves you might not exist - and that your trust could be buried in a river…
- Fake Love Stories
He Lived Two Miles Away: The Man Who Loved Her in Typing
He Lived Two Miles Away: The Man Who Loved Her in Typing Fear that the person who loves you is also the one watching you - a neighbor two and a half miles away…
- Fake Love Stories
He Built a Man to Love Her: The Badge in the Well
He Built a Man to Love Her: The Badge in the Well A laminated badge labeled "Marcus Webb, Field Technician" turned up inside a sealed well casing on a Tuesday…
- Fake Love Stories
The Mason Jar of Lies: How a Romance Scammer Was Unmasked
The Mason Jar of Lies: How a Romance Scammer Was Unmasked Grief became the bait: a sealed mason jar left at Hessler Pond contained 43 printed emails and a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Vase, the Tickets, and the Man Who Lost Everything
The Vase, the Tickets, and the Man Who Lost Everything Grief made him vulnerable, and a vase on his porch became the final, chilling punctuation of an…
- Fake Love Stories
She Planted a Trowel - Dead Granddaughter's Seven-Word Warning
She Planted a Trowel - Dead Granddaughter's Seven-Word Warning Fear that the person closest to you has been stolen: a garden trowel planted upright on May 14…
- Fake Love Stories
The Man in the Photographs: How a Perfect Stranger Stole Her Heart
The Man in the Photographs: How a Perfect Stranger Stole Her Heart Fear that something intimate and true could be a lie hits before you finish the first…
- Fake Love Stories
The Dry Bible on the Frozen Path: How a Stranger Stole April's Life
The Dry Bible on the Frozen Path: How a Stranger Stole April's Life The moment a dry Bible lay spine-down beneath a frosted oak on a March morning, it exposed…
- Fake Love Stories
She Left the Door Open: The Lisa Carter Romance Scam
She Left the Door Open: The Lisa Carter Romance Scam Loneliness after loss can be weaponized: a laptop on a stoop revealed a smiling uniformed man who had been…
- Fake Love Stories
Eighty addressed, sealed, stamped cards - and never sent
Once tarjetas dirigidas, selladas, estampilladas - y nunca enviadas The discovery of eleven addressed, sealed, and stamped birthday cards-perfectly arranged…
- Fake Love Stories
The AI Lover Who Never Existed: How Brenda Was Conned by a Voice
The AI Lover Who Never Existed: How Brenda Was Conned by a Voice A methodical linguist in a small Ohio town fell for a voice that never belonged to a human…
- Fake Love Stories
She Trusts Me Completely: How a Widow Lost $19,400 to a Fake Sergeant
She Trusts Me Completely: How a Widow Lost $19,400 to a Fake Sergeant Fear that your kindness could be weaponized: a teacher in Ohio sent nearly $20,000 after…
- Fake Love Stories
She Tore His Face Away: The Debra Thompson Romance Fraud
She Tore His Face Away: The Debra Thompson Romance Fraud Fear that the person who listens to your grief is not who they say they are - and that flirting with…
- Fake Love Stories
She Loved a Truck Driver-The Face He Stole and $41,000 Vanished
She Loved a Truck Driver-The Face He Stole and $41,000 Vanished Fear and the quiet of betrayal: a small-town choir soloist sent $41,000 over seventeen months…
- Fake Love Stories
He Put a Dead Critic on His Network and Stole $23,000
He Puso a Un Crítico Muerto en su Red y Le Robó $23,000 The lure of a brilliant stranger hiding online turned into a $23,000 betrayal - a fake Italian critic…
- Fake Love Stories
Sealed Uniform on My Porch: The Man Who Wasn't Real
Sealed Uniform on My Porch: The Man Who Wasn't Real A sealed Coast Guard dress uniform left on a porch turned into the last visible trace of a relationship…
- Fake Love Stories
The Greeting Card in the Ditch That Ruined Her Trust
The Greeting Card in the Ditch That Ruined Her Trust In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Carol Hayes found the card to the…
- Fake Love Stories
The Chekhov Gift: How a Bookstore Owner Wired $22,000 to a Phantom Groom
The Chekhov Gift: How a Bookstore Owner Wired $22,000 to a Phantom Groom The idea that a Hardcover Chekhov anthology arrived at Four Birch Mill Road five days…