Romance Scam Rebellion

Send us Fan Mail I used to believe that when somebody wanted to connect with me online, they actually were who they presented themselves to be. This is my fractured fairytale. What's yours? In this Season 3 finale of Romance Scam Rebellion , I take a closer look at the beliefs we carry about scams, vulnerability, intelligence, love, and trust—and how those beliefs can leave us more vulnerable...

Send us Fan Mail There is an uncomfortable truth we may not want to consider, but it's very much a reality for many. In this powerful episode of Romance Scam Rebellion , Shadrack shares his extraordinary story of being trafficked from Uganda to Cambodia after accepting what he believed was a legitimate IT job. Instead, he was drugged, taken to a remote scam compound, and forced to participate...

Send us Fan Mail Are Bitcoin ATMs helping stop scams—or helping scammers get paid? In this episode of Romance Scam Rebellion , I sit down with Paul Tarantino, CEO of Byte Federal, to hear the case for Bitcoin ATMs from someone in the industry. We talk about fraud prevention, scam warnings, wallet screening, AI, refunds, fees, regulation, and the claim that Bitcoin ATMs primarily serve the unbanked...

Send us Fan Mail Last episode, Heather Rovet told us how Jace, the man she thought she'd build a life with, turned out to be a career con man and criminal, living a double life under her own roof. In part two, the story gets even more unbelievable. We pick up as the Canadian justice system moves at a maddening crawl, as Jace vanishes to move in with his next target just weeks after leaving He...

Send us Fan Mail A chance meeting. An instant connection. A relationship that felt good, and real. In Part One of this two part conversation with Heather Rovet , Heather shares the remarkable true story behind the documentary Rom Con: Who the F**k is Jason Porter? What began as a whirlwind romance with a charming, successful man slowly unraveled into a web of deception, manipulation, and betrayal....

Send us Fan Mail When most people picture a romance scam, they imagine fake profiles and strangers hiding behind a screen. Tracy Hall's story is different, and in some ways more terrifying. The man she knew as "Max Tavita," a charismatic chief investment officer, was real. He met her in person, spent nearly two years building a relationship with her, took vacations with her, met her...

Send us Fan Mail What started as one woman's effort to protect her mother's friend turned into a decade-long fight against romance scammers on a national and international scale. In this episode, Kathy Waters, co-founder of Advocating Against Romance Scammers (AARS)  shares how a stolen military photo led her to uncover an entire network of fake profiles, and how that discovery reshaped...

Send us Fan Mail Romance scams, pig butchering (we agree to disagree on this term), cryptocurrency fraud, and transnational organized crime have become a multi-billion-dollar global industry. But one former prosecutor has made it her mission to fight back. In this episode of The Romance Scam Rebellion, I sit down with Erin West, former Deputy District Attorney and founder of Operation Shamrock, to...

Send us Fan Mail I'm calling her AARP's Fraud Whisperer, and for good reason. Kathy Stokes, Senior Director of Fraud Prevention Programs at AARP's Fraud Watch Network, has spent years on the front lines helping everyday Americans recognize, resist, and report scams before it's too late. In this episode, Kathy walks us through the fraud tactics targeting people right now — from...

Send us Fan Mail What if the person sending you those messages wasn't a willing criminal at all? For years, we've been told to picture online scammers as heartless fraudsters sitting behind computer screens, stealing life savings without remorse. But the truth is often far more complicated. In this gripping episode of The Romance Scam Rebellion , S. Clariba shares his extraordinary story...

Send us Fan Mail He thought he was accepting a job opportunity that would help support his family. Instead, he was trafficked into a scam compound, stripped of his freedom, and forced to scam strangers online under the constant threat of violence. In this powerful episode of *The Romance Scam Rebellion*, our guest shares his firsthand account of recruitment, captivity, survival, and escape from on...

Send us Fan Mail They say laughter is the best medicine. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop romance scammers—but it certainly helps expose them. In this episode of *The Romance Scam Rebellion*, I sit down with author, scam baiter, and professional destroyer of fraudsters' dreams, Becky Holmes and fraud prevention advocate Anna Rowe. We begin with Becky's remarkable journey from trolling...

Send us Fan Mail For more than a decade, one military veteran has been living a nightmare he never signed up for. His photographs have been stolen and used by romance scammers around the world. Day after day. Week after week. Year after year. Thousands of women have been led to believe they were in a relationship with him. Many reached out believing they had found love. Others were heartbroken to...

Send us Fan Mail April Helm — Journalist & Host of the podcast "Scammer Stories" Some scams don't just steal money. They steal relationships, fracture families and leave wounds that no amount of recovery can fully heal. April Helm is a journalist and the host of Scammer Stories — a podcast dedicated to exposing the devastating reality of fraud through the voices of those who hav...

Send us Fan Mail After a divorce and years of rebuilding her life, Beth Hyland thought she had finally found someone who truly understood her. What began as a promising Tinder match quickly evolved into a sophisticated romance scam built on emotional manipulation, love bombing, fake promises, and cryptocurrency fraud. But this episode is not just about the scam. It’s about what happens when a surv...

Send us Fan Mail Season 3 begins with a look at the journey since the close of Season 2 — the advocacy, the conversations, and the growing movement determined to confront the scam epidemic head-on. This season is dedicated to the warriors, whistleblowers, survivors, advocates, and experts who refuse to stay silent. Through powerful interviews and real conversations, Romance Scam Warriors shines a...

Send us Fan Mail The man I thought I loved was real — just not the one talking to me. In this episode, I unpack the emotional aftermath of discovering that the identity behind my romance scam belonged to an innocent man whose photos were stolen and used to defraud women worldwide. This is the story of the “other victim” — the ghost unknowingly woven into my story — and the complex grief of letting...

Send us Fan Mail What if the person you’re falling for… was never real? In this urgent, reality-check episode, Anola walks listeners through the seven most common psychological and behavioral signs of a romance scam — the same playbook used on her and millions of others worldwide. This isn’t theory. It’s a diagnostic test. From unsolicited messages and tragic backstories… to sudden work deployment...

Send us Fan Mail Two years after the scam, I'm 69 with 27 years left on a mortgage I almost owned outright. My professional reputation is damaged. My retirement is gone. And the systems that could help? Silent. This is what life after a romance scam actually looks like—and why I'm still fighting back, even on the days I wonder if it matters. The alternative is letting the scammers win. A...

Send us Fan Mail Scammers don’t target a type — they target vulnerability.  Gender, age, education, politics, religion, or sexual orientation don’t matter. The tactics are the same. In this episode, I sit down with Viola Barker , a 68-year-old woman from Ohio who had just come out later in life and was beginning again after a decades-long marriage. What followed was not a random encounter, but a t...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 1, I exposed how Bitcoin ATMs take 30-40% of scam victims' money through hidden markups. In Part 2, I investigate who's profiting from this system. Meet Brandon Mintz—Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, CEO of Bitcoin Depot, operator of 8,000+ Bitcoin ATMs across North America. When confronted with evidence that 98% of his Iowa customers were scam victims, here's wh...

Send us Fan Mail In Part One of Scammed Twice , we move past the emotional manipulation and into the machinery that quietly profits from it. This episode exposes how cryptocurrency ATMs have become a critical—and largely unregulated—link in the scam pipeline. I walk you through exactly what happened when I was directed to a Bitcoin ATM, how much these machines take from victims in fees, and why sc...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I confront the cruel comments often directed at romance scam survivors — calling them stupid, desperate, or deserving of what happened. These reactions aren’t harmless opinions. They actively protect scammers. When the criminal is visible, we aim our outrage at them.  When the criminal is invisible, that anger gets redirected toward the victim. Through real public...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of The Romance Scam Rebellion , Anola sits down with Jennifer French Tomasic MSc , a psychologist and expert in coercive control, to explore one of the most insidious psychological dynamics behind manipulation and abuse. Jennifer shares her deep expertise — rooted in both academic study and lived experience — including her MSc in the Psychology of Coercive...

Send us Fan Mail Romance scams don’t happen by accident.  They follow a script. In this episode of The Romance Scam Rebellion , I'll break down the exact psychological playbook scammers use worldwide to brainjack trust, attachment, and decision-making —tactic by tactic, step by step. What feels like love…  What feels like destiny…  What feels deeply personal… …is actually engineered. Drawing...