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.


© 2025 Creative Babble LLC


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True Crime
Technology
Society & Culture
101
1605: The Stalker - Case Closed
7 min
102
1604: The Grave Detector part 3
35 min
103
1603: The Grave Detector part 2
31 min
104
1602: The Grave Detector part 1
35 min
105
1601: The High School Hoax (Shelby Hewitt)
19 min
106
1510: How to Disappear Revisited
50 min
107
1509: The One Who Got Away - Revisited
47 min
108
1508: The Christmas Con
37 min
109
1507 - The Stalker - It Will Never End (part 18)
20 min
110
1506: The Maury Povich Olive Lady
32 min
111
1504: The Red Collar Killer part 2
22 min
112
1503: The Red Collar Killer part 1
27 min
113
The Stalker - Is this the end?
6 min
114
1502: The Stalker - Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (...
32 min
115
PREVIEW: The Stalker Settlement Conference
0 min
116
The Lie Detector Revisited
91 min
117
The Babalawo Revisited
43 min
118
1413: The Haunted Tourist
56 min
119
1412: The Puppet Master
35 min
120
1411: The Lost and Found part 2 (Rudy Farias)
38 min
121
1410: The Lost and Found part 1 (Rudy Farias)
22 min
122
1409: The Shit Show (plus Stalker update)
27 min
123
1408: The Digital Pickpocket part 2
30 min
124
1407: The Digital Pickpocket part 1
24 min
125
1405: The Pests part 5
7 min