Hooked

Tomi Masters was excited when she found the Snapchat of rapper Mac Miller and he answered her DM, telling her she was beautiful. After a few weeks of chatting, the two arranged to meet. When Tomi found out that the person behind the account was not Miller, but a young man named TJ Woody, she decided to continue the date to see what happened...

CW: Child abuse, suicidal ideation, sexual assault

JT Leroy became famous almost overnight for his novel SARAH, a fictionalized version of his upbringing with his sex worker mother who later forced him into sex work. But as he published more and his fame grew, people started to wonder who JT Leroy really was.

After Klara Maurovna and her two sons moved in with her sister Katerina, Katerina suggested they foster a child. Anicka was 13 years old and the sisters worked hard to get her the medical attention she needed, as well as give her a good home. But Klara noticed that sometimes, Anicka acted like an adult. What she'd discover later was that Anicka had ties to a cannibalistic cult and had a history of catfishing.

Manti Te'o was a college football star, which makes this story of catfishing all the more embarassing for those involved. After mentioning online girlfriend Lennay in an interview, the football community kept an eye on the relationship. When Lennay died from leukemia, they raised money for cancer research and mourned with Manti. 

Then, Lennay came back from the dead.

TW: Sexual assault

When Jess moved to a new town at the age of 15, she was relieved to quickly make friends with two other girls, Alice and Gemma. Gemma being two years older and out of school, Jess and Alice spent more of their time together. This included online in MSN chatrooms, where Gemma introduced them to her boyfriend's brother, Aaron. Aaron and Alice started seriously dating, and later, Jess stared dating another one of Gemma's friends, Luke. As time went on, Jess started noticing the similarities between Gemma, Luke, and Aaron, but the boys always denied being related to, or being, her.

Sorry for my voice, I've got a cold!

TW: Suicide, domestic violence, stalking

When Renae Marsden and Camilla Zeidan met at the age of 14, Renae's life took a downward turn. Camilla was a bad influence, but as the teens got older, Camilla became and abuser and a stalker. She made it clear that she was in love with Renae, despite Renae having no interest in her, or women in general. Renae, trusting as she was, happily linked up with one of Camilla's exes- at the urging of Camilla- over social media. While Renae and Brayden started out as friends, Renae broke off a serious relationship to date him on and off, and even ended an engagement to try again with Brayden. But why wasn't Brayden ever able to call her, or send her pictures?

When 17 year old Jessie reacted poorly in the chatroom when Tommy told her he was 46 years old, he said he was just joking and was 18. The two spent almost a year chatting online, talking on the phone, and having virtual sex. In addition to Tommy, Jessie was also talking to a college student named Brian, which incensed Tommy. Eventually, Tommy decided that Brian had to be taken out of the picture.

Chris, a CIA agent, is sent to Mountain City, Tennessee to keep 30 year old Jenelle Potter safe from some mean girls in town who have been hacking her Facebook. As time goes on and the Potter parents worry about their daughter's safety, they tell Chris that they want him to kill one of Jenelle's alleged tormentors, Billie Jean Hayworth. When Billie Jean actually IS murdered, the police discover that Chris doesn't exist- so who killed her?

Despite growing up lower middle-class in Bavaria, Germany, Christian Gerhartsreiter found himself living high life on both coasts of the United States in his adulthood. He managed this by lying his way through everything- and if he was caught, he just threw that life away and began another one.

Cecilie Fjelloy met Simon Leviev on Tinder in January 2018. A month into dating Simon asked her to link her American Express to his because his business "enemies" were tracking his movements. By May 2018, he had convinced Cecilie to take out ten more loans. When Cecilie finally cut him off, she found out that she was hardly his only victim.

SOURCES:

https://www.vg.no/spesial/2019/tindersvindleren/english/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/tinder-swindler-faked-being-medic-conned-his-way-into-early-vaccine-report/ https://swindledpodcast.com/podcasts/season-3/32-the-match/