First- these ads are INCREDIBLY SCAMMY it was kind of shocking that these were the people being touted. Dear god.
Second I felt the host hadn’t really found empathy with her mom and wish someone else had narrated as the mom was very brave to share her experience. This is so common and the shame surrounding it is not for the victims to carry it’s for the perpetrators.
Great story telling I enjoyed it very much but disappointed that they would target the audience listening to stories of vulnerability with adverts for “fairy godmothers for your heart” and diet plans. That is of poor taste in my opinion
Let me just say this then I’ll move on. Jules and the women (victims) of these scams really can’t have that much of an issue with self confidence. I’m saying that because if they didn’t have confidence, why would they think handsome men would want anything to do with them? Think about it - if they didn’t think highly of themselves, they would never dream of good looking men reaching out to them so they must think they got something to offer so I’m still confused on how they let that his happen.
Well constricted and well written, and an important story, but the first season shows a lack of empathy and understanding for victims of romance scams. Particularly surprising as the narrator is covering the story of her own mother. People who fall for these scams aren’t unintelligent, and everyone is vulnerable. Podcast would be improved by showing less shame more compassion
Great job on this podcast but I did find one thing weird…the 7th episode had a whole section about the immediate devaluation in diamonds after theyre sold the first time. Then the 8th episode starts with a testimony from a lady who said her whole diamond collection has gone up in value or the last couple decades or so..🤔🤷🏼♀️🕵️♀️ which is it?
I think most people know the story that gave us the first season of this podcast.
I was quite surprised by it’s second season, as a person that has no interest in diamonds it has been very interesting hearing the small stories that each episode has.
That being said, I can’t understand why they kept talking to the “thief” as they suspected she was scamming others and digging a bigger hole for themselves. I won’t give away anything but maybe the way to handle this would have been to just bring them to justice.
I was curious why Sally thinks other businesses should take responsibility for her employees stupidity! How arrogant! Have better payment policies in place. I have been to Hong Kong and learned quickly to stay out of the many, many jewelry stores.
Season 1 was interesting and I appreciated the careful storytelling and empathy given to the victims of scams. There was some filler but I found the majority of the stories interesting. Jules’ storytelling is at times confusing to keep track of the timeline, but you get the gist by the end.
Season 2…. Where do I begin. While I felt a lot of empathy on the part of the victims in season 1, I have absolutely not sympathy for Sally in season 2. She is the epitome of a Karen, being demanding of other peoples time and attention to solve her own business’ mistake. While I agree Tiffany is the criminal, I have much much less sympathy for a business dealing in million dollar merchandise and participating in the Diamond trade.
First up I am impressed at Jules telling this cautionary tale from 10 years ago! To relive it must be tough. My opinion is her daughter is young and beautiful with the world in front of her Hard for the young to know what’s it like to know how invisible woman feel at a certain age. I also appreciated other woman telling their stories too. I get many
friend request or message requests from men with military profiles that I have zero mutual friends with. All trying to scam. ( I always delete before this podcast I also appreciated the insight of the experts Hoping this serves as education to on line users of social media.
Thanks for a great podcast.
Hi Ladies..my Friday night suddenly got exciting, with the discovery of your podcast. I began at Season 2, I’ve just reached the point when Tiffany informs Sally that she will have $500,000 on Monday, through a friend…which Sally replies back, “and then please deposit another $500,000 the following Monday”…
and Tiffany “casually” responds back, “Yup”…allegedly, in agreement.
🙄 and my questions begin. Actually they began awhile back.
🙄Did Tiffany win the “Get $100,000 every week, for the rest of your life” sweepstakes drawing by Publishers Clearing House🤨?…or something like that 🤔I’m so confused.
“Mystery” at Tiffany’s ..her life is way too stressful for breakfast.
Anyways…where is she getting all this money ?? I’m gonna die if it’s never mentioned or that it turns out to be her friends after all..that’d just b too blah. I’m waiting for something crazy.
I’m really enjoying this story.
What a great podcast. A sad ending to be sure but, you were drug through the mill, lost so much and we’re so nice to this perpetrator. But I also learned SO much about the industry, diamond history and psychology. It’s like a great book, why did it have to end? Thanks so much!
Season 1 was anticlimactic. In the universe of romance scam stories, this was unremarkable. Not meaning to discount the pain/fear/trauma she experienced, but still. Season 2 is frustrating. So much filler. With each episode I feel like I’m just wasting my time listening. Especially with the pointless, unrelated stories and all the woke proselytizing. And, of course, the ridiculous attempts to shoehorn aspersions against a former US President into the narrative. Absolutely ridiculous. I feel scammed 😠
Update: After finishing the podcast, I believe there was a really compelling story here, but there was too much filler. The interviews with the store owner were good though, and why I finished the podcast.
Is the podcast about a woman stealing jewelry, or the history of diamonds? Or is it about the psychology behind the scam? Or is it about politics? It’s hard to keep up with the main story because there’s so many random sidebars. There’s a difference between providing context and just padding a story.
The underlying diamond scam is ridiculous. The real scam is the false value placed on these sparkly rocks. With crap like this going on, it’s no wonder that China seized control over Hong Kong. There is no such thing as an ethical trade in diamonds which is controlled by a floating international cartel fooling everyone that buys into it
I think Jules is amazing for being so open, and so thoughtful in her self exploration. She fearlessly allows her daughter to “help” her tell a very embarrassing story, while still maintaining her dignity. Zara is constantly making rude comments while saying she’s “trying to understand” how her mom could be such a fool. Zara, you’re not trying to understand. You’re piggybacking on her story. If you want to understand her, read her book. Talk to her. You only get one mom. Be kind. And whether these ads are a joke or not, they’re in incredibly poor taste. Many of your listeners will be susceptible to these scams, amd you’re leading them to scam land. Yuck. Podcast would be great without these aspects.
Well-conceived, well-organized, well-written and well-performed. Learning how the diamond business involved is fascinating and how one woman’s treatment of a con artist took a different direction is riveting. Very well done!
Listening to this was like listening to my grandmother telling me a long meandering story about her trip to the grocery store, except more interesting. Sort of.
Girl WHY are there all these random unnecessary stories in here that add NOTHING to the story?!
I literally don’t care a whit about the personal ploddingly boring diamond stories of people I don’t know.
They aren’t even MILDLY interesting!
I do not understand why they are included.
Is it because you are friends and they did you a favor because you needed filler?
It’s just…so bizarre and interrupts the flow of the central story.
The actual story is interesting but it takes SO long to get to the dang point!
I’m sure longer podcasts offer longer opportunities for revenue, but chiiiild you are sacrificing quality and it is a sin and a shame.
There needs to be a pared down version of this that just tells us the story.
Why am I screaming at my speaker?! BEWARE: if they say ‘I love you’ before meeting, put your sneakers on and RUN!
*Doesn’t Little Red Riding Hood live in the woods? How can she not know what a wolf looks like?
I guess there are emotional reasons that allow women to fall for the same ruse multiple times.
I wondered why she kept putting herself in dangerous situation s with Truman. .
The intro to each episode is too long.
I enjoyed hearing the stories and insights given. Like the theme song.
The ads are AWFUL and so smarmy, especially considering it is a podcast about being scammed. The sound effects took away from the overall story.
Sad stories but way too drawn out.
Also, why do the background music riffs sound straight out of a 90s lifetime movie? Poor choice and very distracting.
Interesting story, well produced, but the ads give off strong scammy vibes. Not sure if it’s intentional or simply ironic, but if the ads were different this would be a 5 star podcast.
Interesting but repetitive and I actually gained less empathy for those falling for romance scams, I thought there would be more manipulation and it seems like there is much more self-initiation in the person being scammed..,
Interesting subject matter and I certainly feel so awful for the victims that were featured + we need to desperately bring attention to this. However the following made it nearly intolerable to listen to;
Repetitive and drawn out, the sound effects were distracting, the ads are FAR too frequent and a bit inappropriate/reckless considering the subject matter, the narrator/daughter barely added any insight and seemed judgmental at parts, it didn’t flow very well - some of the experts that were featured repeated the same point but in a different way than the previous (not their fault, more down to editing).
I’m halfway through, and I’m going to stop listening. It was great at the beginning, but the more I listen it seems like every story is the same and becomes cliched. None of these men doing the cat-fishing seem all that convincing in the first place. Their lies are so obvious but these women are so lonely they will throw money away to feel like someone cares about them. It’s depressing. I don’t feel sorry for anyone or think of them as victims. It’s a lesson learned for sure, but I don’t see how anyone is a victim when they refuse to pay attention to signs, listen to loved ones, will not do basic research to find out if the other person’s stories are legitimate, but then give away an entire life savings of thousands of dollars. You wanted the attention, you paid for it.
Please try to understand the difference between willingly giving away your money to a lying jerk, and being locked in a basement and assaulted. Both situations are unfortunate, and I feel sorry for these women. But they are not sexual assault victims.
Adults warn children not to talk to strangers then forget this when they’re online. This podcast should be shared with everyone trying online dating. Lots of great info on what to look for and listen for when corresponding with an online stranger.
Great story and great research. I like the experts who chime in with their opinions and the stories from other women.
However, the ads are terrible and almost offensive. You should not be promoting anything to do with online dating.
Wow...so I started S1E1 and immediately loved the atmosphere and tone of the narration. The pacing is deliberate and eerie, just enough to build the necessary suspense as we listen as the story slowly unfolds. I definitely could feel what Jules is feeling as she describes her POV about her feeling of loneliness (and the shifts in POV throughout too)...the background music is 👌 creating the perfect sense of mystery. Will be sharing this with the wife and we'll listen in after dinner with a nice drink in hand 🤣. Keep up the great work! Just subscribed!
