The Perfect Scam23 Elo 2019

Stolen Valor, Stolen Hearts: Military Romance Scam

After 26 years of service, U.S. Army Col. Bryan Denny retires from an incredible career in the military and begins to receive odd messages. They're coming from women around the world who claim to be in online relationships with him. But Bryan isn't on any dating sites. Meanwhile Kathy Walters is learning about the online boyfriend of her friend Sharon. They plan to marry, but Sharon has never met the man in person because he claims to be in the military stationed overseas. Sharon shows Kathy a picture of the man she knows as Ross, but the name on his uniform reads Bryan Denny. Unsure if her friend is in a real romance or caught up in romance scam, Kathy begins to investigate. She heads to Facebook, and what she finds is shocking. The same picture Kathy's friend has fallen in love with is featured in multiple profiles across the internet under a wide variety of names. That's when Kathy knows she needs to track down the real Bryan Denny. After some digging, Kathy is able to locate him and reaches out to see if Bryan has any knowledge of what's going on. Bryan has been fielding calls, emails and sometimes in-person visits from women who've fallen in love with his picture. Together, Bryan and Kathy uncover hundreds of fraudulent social media and dating site accounts that are using Bryan's image, as well as images of his family members, to entice women into romance scams. Disgusted by what they've found, Kathy and Bryan decide to fight back against these scammers.

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Archive Episode: Million Dollar Movie Ponzi Scheme, Part 1

Malcom "Mac" Parker aspires to be a filmmaker. In Vermont, Mac is known as a beloved children's entertainer, appearing on public television and performing around the state. Mac is so well respected in...

5 Kesä 18min

Scammers Use AI to Make Lost Pet Scams More Believable

Bill and Allison are devoted to their dogs, so when they discover their 11-year-old beagle mix Archer missing one evening, they are distraught. They spend hours searching the neighborhood and start pu...

29 Touko 45min

LA Fire Survivor Faces PayPal Impostor Scam

After escaping the Palisades fire in January of 2025, Ellen doesn't know if she and her husband Steve will have a home to return to. Miraculously, their house is still standing, but it needs extensive...

22 Touko 55min

Crossed Wires: Utility Scams Target Consumers

Fed up with the rising cost of electricity, Steve shops around and switches to a new provider in his Boston neighborhood. The process is simple, and Steve thinks the matter is settled until a week lat...

15 Touko 50min

Vermont Woman Recoups $1.3M 4.5 Years After a Scam

Jeanette moves back to Vermont, expecting a peaceful retirement in a beloved community, but a tech support scam upends her life. She reaches out to her local police, who advise her to report the incid...

8 Touko 54min

Bonus: Meet the Fraud Fighters Taking on Crypto Kiosk Scams

In this bonus episode, Bob meets some Fraud Fighters working to make their Nebraska community a little bit safer from scammers. When Omaha passes a city ordinance requiring all crypto kiosks to displa...

1 Touko 47min

Deepfake Doctors: AI-Generated Medical Ad Scams

Dr. Maurice Sholas, a pediatric rehabilitation specialist based in New Orleans, discovers that his likeness is being used in an ad when a friend sends him a TikTok clip that looks convincingly like hi...

24 Huhti 50min

California Woman Warns of Facebook Job Scam

After taking a break from her tech career to care for her aging mother, Dawn is reentering the workforce in her mid-50s, and she isn't having much luck. She takes a chance on an offer for a new kind o...

17 Huhti 53min