The Boat Into Myanmar: Mariana van Zeller Inside the Scam Compounds Nobody Sees

The Boat Into Myanmar: Mariana van Zeller Inside the Scam Compounds Nobody Sees

Her heart stopped watching Mariana van Zeller climb into a boat to cross into Myanmar. In this episode of Stolen, Erin West sits down with the National Geographic journalist behind Trafficked to talk about the two minutes that separate Thailand from Shwe Kokko — the gleaming, casino-lit city that a Chinese crime syndicate built on forced labor and pig butchering scams. Mariana describes the dog-and-pony tour, the anti-trafficking posters hung for show, the karaoke night with a criminal gang, and the moment she realized the scammers behind the keyboards were as trapped as the victims they targeted. Two women who've walked the same ground on transnational organized crime, money laundering, and the journalism crisis that's keeping the world's largest enslavement operation in the dark.

Investment Scam Exposed: A Victim’s Journey of Fraud and Frustration

Episode 58: Despite his careful research and skepticism, scammers defrauded Syd of $50,000. Next came the challenge of dealing with law enforcement. Erin West sits down with a former securities industry professional who lost more than $50,000 to a technically sophisticated crypto investment fraud. Syd’s story isn’t one of carelessness; he had identified several earlier scam pitches before one — built over months on Facebook Messenger and dressed up in legitimate terms like “automated market making [https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketmaker.asp]” — finally succeeded. In his conversation with Stolen, he traces his methodical research, the moment the scheme unraveled, and the maze of law-enforcement dead ends that followed. Episode notes and video: https://operationshamrock.org/podcast/stolen --  Episode Sponsors   Thank you to our Stolen podcast sponsors, ‪BioCatch [https://www.biocatch.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=stolen-q425] and Scamnetic [https://scamnetic.com/partner/?utm_source=stolen&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=q4].‬ --- Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back.

SOLUTIONS: One Thing AI Can't Fake — How Location Became the New Identity (Andre Ferraz -- Incognia)

Episode 57: A scammer can counterfeit your face, your voice, and your documents. What they can't fake is where your phone actually goes. That's the solution André Ferraz built. The founder of Incognia joins Erin to explain how physical-world behavior — precise to eight feet, accurate enough to tell one apartment from another in a high-rise — became a living identity that AI can't counterfeit. They get into the tradecraft it defeats: wiping an iPhone in 30 seconds to spin up a new identity, one fraudster opening 60,000 accounts in a single week, hundreds of devices running out of one room. André also walks through Incognia's 2026 report on mule account handovers and why the people laundering scam money will share their location, then spoof it — only to get caught operating from sanctioned countries.   Episode notes and video: https://operationshamrock.org/podcast/stolen --  Episode Sponsors  Thank you to our Stolen podcast sponsors, ‪BioCatch [https://www.biocatch.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=stolen-q425] and Scamnetic [https://scamnetic.com/partner/?utm_source=stolen&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=q4].‬ --- Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back

How Smart People Get Scammed: Dr. Martina Dove Explains Kirsty's Case

Episode 56: What happens when a romance scam survivor sits down with the scientist who can explain exactly what was done to her? Last week you heard Kirsty's story. This week, Erin brings her together with Dr. Martina Dove, a fraud psychology expert, to review the scam, step by step. The verdict is unsettling: Today's scammers don't simply mirror you. They study you, find the wounds you've spent years hiding, and use them as the way in. Kirsty had survived 16 years of coercive control; the scammer turned that history into a weapon. Dr. Dove provides a clear-eyed look at how manipulation actually works, why intelligence is no protection, and why the people around a victim matter more than anyone wants to admit.   Episode notes and video: https://operationshamrock.org/podcast/stolen --  Episode Sponsors   Thank you to our Stolen podcast sponsors, ‪BioCatch [https://www.biocatch.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=stolen-q425] and Scamnetic [https://scamnetic.com/partner/?utm_source=stolen&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=q4].‬ --- Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back.

Romance Fraud: One Woman’s Journey from Target to Survivor (Kirsty)

Episode 55: A six-month romance fraud dismantled Kirsty’s finances, her sense of self, and nearly her life. In this deeply moving episode, Erin West speaks with Kirsty Guest — a single mother of four from the UK — about the romance fraud and psychological manipulation that upended life as she knew it.  Kirsty’s story is not a cautionary tale about carelessness. She is a businesswoman, a devoted parent, and a survivor of domestic abuse. And she was deliberately targeted by a criminal who studied her vulnerabilities and exploited them with the patience and precision of a professional. If her story sounds familiar — whether it happened to you, someone you love, or someone you work with — know that you are not alone. It was not your fault.  “Targets of fraud need to know that they feel they are safe, that they are not alone, and that someone will listen without saying, “How could you fall for such a thing?” — Kirsty Guest   Episode notes and video: https://operationshamrock.org/podcast/stolen --  Episode Sponsors   Thank you to our Stolen podcast sponsors, ‪BioCatch [https://www.biocatch.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=stolen-q425] and Scamnetic [https://scamnetic.com/partner/?utm_source=stolen&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=q4].‬ --- Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back.