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, an and based in the United States, 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. [CLAIM:B6BT3XC4]
| Title | Date published | ||
| 1704: Hockey Dad Poses as Delta Force Agent to Scam Parents part 1 | 2024-05-07 | ||
| 1703: The Doula BREAKING NEWS | 2024-05-02 | ||
| 1702: The Doula part 2 | 2024-04-23 | ||
| 1701: The Doula part 1 | 2024-04-22 | ||
| Confessions of a Ponzi Schemer | 2024-04-09 | ||
| The Treasure Hunter Revisited | 2024-04-02 | ||
| How to find people who don’t want to be found | 2024-03-26 | ||
| 1609: The Truth Experts part 2 | 2024-03-19 | ||
| 1608: The Truth Experts part 1 | 2024-03-12 | ||
| 1607: The Fake Lawyer | 2024-03-05 | ||
| 1606: The Grave Detector (Junk Science Bonus) | 2024-02-20 | ||
| 1605: The Stalker - Case Closed | 2024-02-15 | ||
| 1604: The Grave Detector part 3 | 2024-02-13 | ||
| 1603: The Grave Detector part 2 | 2024-02-06 | ||
| 1602: The Grave Detector part 1 | 2024-01-30 | ||
| 1601: The High School Hoax (Shelby Hewitt) | 2024-01-23 | ||
| 1510: How to Disappear Revisited | 2024-01-16 | ||
| 1509: The One Who Got Away - Revisited | 2024-01-02 | ||
| 1508: The Christmas Con | 2023-12-24 | ||
| 1507 - The Stalker - It Will Never End (part 18) | 2023-12-12 |