National Geographic's new documentary 'Super Scam Me' sets out to expose romance scammers
A victim in the new hour-long special, believed she was in a relationship with Jon Bon Jovi.
"Romance scams, these are truly the most devastating scams out there." National Geographic has released the trailer for "Super Scam Me," a new investigative documentary one-hour special from award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller.
In the trailer, van Zeller explains, "One in seven adults say that they've lost money to one of these scams." She reveals she got the idea to go undercover to do the "wildest journalistic experiment in (her) life" to try and get scammed herself.
Van Zeller builds an online persona and ends up focusing on one scammer, an alleged four-star general, who sends her videos teaching her how to use a bitcoin ATM. She teams up with a cyber hacker to unveil her scammer's true identity, and sets out to confront him face-to-face.
Nat Geo shares in 2025 alone, romance scammers stole more than $1 billion from American victims. Van Zeller also meets victims whose lives have been upended by romance scams, including a woman who was duped into believing she was in a relationship with Jon Bon Jovi. That scam left her facing foreclosure on her home, exposing the devastating real-world consequences of these crimes.
Watch the "Super Scam Me" premiere Oct. 17 on National Geographic, as well as Disney+ and Hulu, at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of National Geographic, Hulu, Disney+ and this ABC station.
