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
126
1605: The Stalker - Case Closed
7 min
127
1604: The Grave Detector part 3
35 min
128
1603: The Grave Detector part 2
31 min
129
1602: The Grave Detector part 1
35 min
130
1601: The High School Hoax (Shelby Hewitt)
19 min
131
1510: How to Disappear Revisited
50 min
132
1509: The One Who Got Away - Revisited
47 min
133
1508: The Christmas Con
37 min
134
1507 - The Stalker - It Will Never End (part 18)
20 min
135
1506: The Maury Povich Olive Lady
32 min
136
1504: The Red Collar Killer part 2
22 min
137
1503: The Red Collar Killer part 1
27 min
138
The Stalker - Is this the end?
6 min
139
1502: The Stalker - Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (...
32 min
140
PREVIEW: The Stalker Settlement Conference
0 min
141
The Lie Detector Revisited
91 min
142
The Babalawo Revisited
43 min
143
1413: The Haunted Tourist
56 min
144
1412: The Puppet Master
35 min
145
1411: The Lost and Found part 2 (Rudy Farias)
38 min
146
1410: The Lost and Found part 1 (Rudy Farias)
22 min
147
1409: The Shit Show (plus Stalker update)
27 min
148
1408: The Digital Pickpocket part 2
30 min
149
1407: The Digital Pickpocket part 1
24 min
150
1405: The Pests part 5
7 min