Hooked

Mar 01 2025 25 ep. 22 mins 39
Hooked Podcast artwork

Join your host Rachel on a journey through the perplexing and sometimes deadly world of internet catfishing. Why do people catfish? How many lies can they tell before they get caught? And what happens to the victims who get snared in their tangled web?

  True Crime  Society & Culture
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Belle

Mar 01 2025 19 mins  
Belle Gunness has a reputation as one of the first female serial killers. By placing personal ads in newspaper, protraying herself as a successful farmer, she lured men to her with promises of marriage. But as soon as the men arrived, they were never heard from again. SOURCES: https://www.historynet.com/belle-gunness-poisonous-pen/ https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/gunness-belle

The Cottingly Fairies

Nov 08 2024 18 mins  
In 1917, cousins Elsie and Frances used the excuse of fairies to get out of trouble with their mothers, and even presented photo evidence. To them, it was all a bit of fun, but when the adults around them- including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- became obsessed with the photos, the girls realized they may have gotten in over their heads.

Tania Head

Oct 30 2024 24 mins  
On September 11th, 2001, the United States experienced a terrorist attack. One of the victims was Tania Head; not only did she nearly lose her life in the collapse of the World Trade Center, but her fiance Dave died that day. Despite her grief, she became the leader of the Survivor's Network, a group that was created to connect those who had made it out of 9/11 alive. Through Tania

Mac Miller

Jun 14 2021 24 mins  
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...

JT Leroy

Jun 07 2021 26 mins  
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.

Anicka

May 31 2021 13 mins  
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

Lennay Kekua

May 24 2021 16 mins  
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.

Aaron, Luke, and Connor

May 17 2021 15 mins  
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 dati

Brayden Spiteri

May 10 2021 40 mins  
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 l

Jessie and Tommy

May 03 2021 14 mins  
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