PRETEND

PRETEND is an investigative true crime podcast about real people who lie for a living — con artists, scammers, and the victims caught in their web.

Hosted by journalist Javier Leiva, PRETEND exposes the human psychology behind deception and fraud. Each episode follows a real case of manipulation — from financial scams and Ponzi schemes to digital hoaxes and emotional cons.


PRETEND explains how and why deception works without shaming victims, combining ethical journalism with cinematic storytelling.


Featured in lists of the best podcasts about con artists and scams, PRETEND investigates crimes of persuasion, trust, and betrayal. New episodes drop regularly with stories that reveal how manipulation shapes modern life, both online and off.


PRETEND is produced by Creative Babble, LLC.


© 2026 Creative Babble LLC


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True Crime
Technology
Society & Culture
276
S201: The Snake Oil Salesman Part 1 - Curing ca...
I stumbled upon a group of people who self-medicate with chlorine dioxide, a bleach-like substance. They claim it cures everything from  headaches, lyme disease, malaria, HIV, hepatitis, and cancer.  When I first discovered this trend, I...
24 min
277
S111: The Bigamist
Mary Turner Thomas says she married a bigamist.…
32 min
278
S110: The Pretender Part 2 - Undercover FBI Age...
The Pretender - Marc Ruskin FBI undercover agent…
25 min
279
S109: The Pretender Part 1 - Undercover FBI Age...
Before Marc Ruskin was an undercover FBI agent, h…
18 min
280
S108: The Sculptor
Sharon McConnell-Dickerson is preserving the Miss…
22 min
281
S107: The Real Estate Agent - Part 2 - Todd Koh...
South Carolina serial killer Todd Kohlhepp confes…
22 min
282
S106: The Real Estate Agent Part 1 - Todd Kohlhepp
This week’s story is about self-professed serial …
26 min
283
S105: Birth of a Con Man Part 2 - Opioid epidemic
Previously on Pretend Radio we witnessed the birth of a con man. Erik Torres started his criminal career as a street thug and worked his way up to car insurance scam artist. Here’s how how it works. Erik stages car accidents then the driver...
18 min
284
S104: Birth of a Con Man Part 1
Imagine, you’re driving on the road when suddenly…
22 min
285
S103: The Prophet Part 3 - Word of Faith Fellow...
In the Prophet part 3, we’ll look at the Word of …
21 min
286
S102: The Prophet Part 2 - Word of Faith Fellow...
John Cooper remembers one of the Word of Faith Fe…
22 min
287
S101: The Prophet Part 1 - Word of Faith Fellow...
The Prophet part 1 explores The Word of Faith Fel…
23 min
288
PRETEND Podcast Trailer
1 min