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 | ||
| 1506: The Maury Povich Olive Lady | 2023-12-05 | ||
| 1504: The Red Collar Killer part 2 | 2023-11-28 | ||
| 1503: The Red Collar Killer part 1 | 2023-11-21 | ||
| The Stalker - Is this the end? | 2023-11-20 | ||
| 1502: The Stalker - Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (part 17) | 2023-11-14 | ||
| PREVIEW: The Stalker Settlement Conference | 2023-11-10 | ||
| The Lie Detector Revisited | 2023-11-07 | ||
| The Babalawo Revisited | 2023-10-31 | ||
| 1413: The Haunted Tourist | 2023-10-24 | ||
| 1412: The Puppet Master | 2023-10-17 | ||
| 1411: The Lost and Found part 2 (Rudy Farias) | 2023-10-10 | ||
| 1410: The Lost and Found part 1 (Rudy Farias) | 2023-10-03 | ||
| 1409: The Shit Show (plus Stalker update) | 2023-09-26 | ||
| 1408: The Digital Pickpocket part 2 | 2023-09-19 | ||
| 1407: The Digital Pickpocket part 1 | 2023-09-12 | ||
| 1405: The Pests part 5 | 2023-09-05 | ||
| Criminal Conduct Season 4 - Getting Away with Murder | 2023-08-29 | ||
| 1404: The Pests part 4 | 2023-08-22 | ||
| 1403: The Pests part 3 | 2023-08-15 | ||
| 1402: The Pests part 2 | 2023-08-08 |