Modern Love Podcast: Catfished and Trapped in a Romance Scam
Chasing TikTok Dreams in the ‘New Black Hollywood’
June 2, 2021Opening Up
June 2, 2021This post was originally published on this site
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“My photos were circulating all over, creating new personas: a Chicago stockbroker, an Oregon park ranger, a dog walker named Larry. I couldn’t stop it.”
Last spring, Michael McAllister’s inbox started filling up with messages from heartbroken women. “I thought you were the man,” one wrote. “Embarrassing, but I kinda became obsessed with ‘you,’” another said.
Michael discovered that his photos were being used to catfish women on dating apps — from Germany to Brazil to Chicago. So what did he do? He confronted his impostor via WhatsApp.
Today’s story explores a global dating scam (that’s still going on, by the way) and the pandemic-fueled loneliness of digital life. Also, we hear from two women who were duped by Michael’s impostor. One of them shares a trick for determining whether or not a dating prospect is real.
Selfies and Screenshots Behind the Global Scam
A selfie of Michael with his Chihuahua, Agnes. Scammers have used this photo to impersonate Michael on dating apps, one even referring to the dog as “Pom Pom” (a name Michael finds “embarrassing,” he wrote in his essay).
Michael McAllister
Slide 1 of 4A selfie of Michael with his Chihuahua, Agnes. Scammers have used this photo to impersonate Michael on dating apps, one even referring to the dog as “Pom Pom” (a name Michael finds “embarrassing,” he wrote in his essay).
Michael McAllister
Hosted by: Daniel Jones and Miya Lee
Produced by: Julia Botero, Anna Martin and Hans Buetow
Edited by: Wendy Dorr and Daniel Guillemette
Executive Producer: Wendy Dorr
Music by: Dan Powell
Mixed by: Corey Schreppel
Narrated by: Eric Martin
Special thanks: Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Bonnie Wertheim, Anya Strzemien, Joanna Nikas, Choire Sicha, Lisa Tobin, Sam Dolnick and Ryan Wegner at Audm. The guests featured at the end of the episode were Robin Lipka and Michelle Merkes.
Thoughts? Email us at modernlovepodcast@nytimes.com.
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