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 take it apart piece by piece. 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 sixteen years of coercive control — and the scammer turned that history into a weapon. 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.

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

--

Thank you to our Stolen podcast sponsors, ‪BioCatch and Scamnetic.‬

---

Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back.

Episode 54: Keven Hendricks, a 20-year law enforcement veteran, pulls back the curtain on the dark web and the connections with cybercrime and drug sales.

“Cryptocurrency, whether you like it or not, is a means of moving wealth that is being used by bad guys.” — Keven Hendricks

Erin West sits down with Keven Hendricks — 20-year law enforcement veteran, former task force officer with both the FBI and DEA, and expert in dark web investigations, cryptocurrency, and privacy coins. What started as a crash course in Bitcoin and illicit online markets in 2014 became a career-defining passion. Keven has spent the years since pushing law enforcement to catch up to the criminals it is trying to stop.

1. The dark web isn’t what you think — and that misunderstanding is deadly.
2. Prosecutors and chiefs are the missing link in fighting cybercrime.
3. Overdose deaths are crime scenes, not medical events.
4. Pull the thread far enough and the crimes are all connected.

Episode notes and video: https://operationshamrock.org/podcast/stolen

--

Thank you to our Stolen podcast sponsors, ‪BioCatch and Scamnetic.‬

---

Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back.