The Anatomy Of A Scam

How I Almost Got Scammed Into Turning Over My Facebook Account After Being Offered $2000 To Be On "Wife Of The Party"

I write a lot about narcissistic abuse, how to spot coercive control, cult recovery, boundaries, and spiritual bypassing. And because one of my loved ones was the victim of several massive scams and had joined several cults, I’ve also binged on shows about con artists, watched every cult recovery documentary, listened to every cult podcast and con artist podcast, read every memoir written by cult survivors, and wound up with a mildly obsessive fascination about ruthless sociopaths who swindle people and destroy the lives of other people.

We all like to believe we’d never fall for a scam, but I almost just did. So let me walk you through how easy it is to get swindled. I’m also writing this so none of you, dear Substack readers and writers, fall for the same scam. (We’re onto you, ruthless sociopaths- and we “people of the pen” use our pens to speak truth to power.)

Okay, so here’s what happened. On January 25, my assistant forwarded me an email that came into my public website contact form.

From: LeeAnn Kreischer <leeannbroadcastchannel@gmail.com>

Date: Sat, Jan 25, 2025 at 9:49 AM

Subject: Invitation To Join Our Podcast As a Guest.

Dear Your Inner Pilot Light

I'm inviting you as a guest on the "Wife of the Party with LeeAnn Kreischer." We have 4 or 5 artists from different parts of the world joining us for a live Facebook event, expecting an audience of nearly 2 million. We are offering $2,000 for each one-hour episode.

The podcast will cover entertainment, life struggles, and more. Your participation would be a great fit for our audience.

Please let me know if you are interested in joining.

LeeAnn Kreischer

Red flag #1, the email was addressed to one of my social media pages "Your Inner Pilot Light," not to me- Lissa Rankin.

Red flag #2, the email was coming from a gmail account. Usually podcasts come from LeeAnn@WifeOfTheParty.com, or something like that.

Red flag #3, they’re claiming they’re going to be reaching 2 million people. But when I look up the Wife Of the Party Facebook page, they have 121,000 followers, only slightly more than I have. So how exactly were they planning on attracting 2 million people?

Red flag #4, usually, when something sounds too good to be true, it is. But damn, don’t we want to believe in too good to be true things!

Scammers count on buttering up our egos and feeding our optimism. And I could feel the parts of me that got buttered. I mean, wow, they want me to channel my Inner Pilot Light and be the voice of Self/ Divine Being/ God? I mean, how cool, right? And this came right when I need to buy my daughter, who’s on a gap year in Portugal, a ticket home. I was feeling cash poor because I spent so much time traveling this past year for work that I didn’t earn enough to cover my travel expenses, much less hers. Maybe this was a gift from the heavens, some sort of cosmic payback for unpaid public health good deeds done for no charge during the pandemic. Maybe The Universe was sending me a little wink. I could feel the little hit of grandiosity, which scammers count on.

But then there’s the reality check. I've been a guest on hundreds of podcasts, and I’ve never once been paid to be a podcast guest, so my skeptical parts were chiming in. I sent the invite to my publicist at Sounds True, just to get a second opinion. Here’s what he wrote back:

Good morning. This is a pretty highly ranked podcast - top 0.5% globally. Looks like one definitely worth doing. Note the host is a comedian so be prepared for a more “light” conversation.

A comedian? Now I was really skeptical, because I am SO NOT FUNNY. Especially not if I’m channeling Your Inner Pilot Light. But I looked up Wife Of The Party, and it was full of super interesting folks. Who knows? Maybe LeeAnn read one of my books and thought I’d be fun to roast as Your Inner Pilot Light? Maybe this was my Saturday Night Live moment to try my hand at comedy.

So I wrote to "LeeAnn":

Hi LeeAnn's team!

Thank you for the invitation to be a guest on the live Facebook event, and I appreciate the offer of the $2000 honorarium. I'm just checking to see who's actually invited. The email was addressed to "Your Inner Pilot Light," which is based on a book I wrote The Daily Flame, as well as a daily email and Facebook page. Is me (Lissa Rankin, MD) invited? Or am I channeling Your Inner Pilot Light? Just making sure I understand what's expected of me.

Warmly

Lissa (+ Your Inner Pilot Light)

The response clinched my spidey senses:

Hi there, Thanks for getting in touch with us

This is LeeAnn's manager Carlos, You are talking to her management

Anyone can join from your side and It is an open conversation. There is no script involved, just be yourself and have fun, we want to keep that as natural as possible, as raw as possible.

We don't have any contract and it's also not needed because we are paying you fully upfront payment for the event. As far as payment is concerned you get paid 48 hours before the event date. So by the time you are doing the event, you are already fully paid with no issues.

There are in total 10 episodes but we are inviting you for 1 episode, The podcast is for max 1 hour. We would love to have you join our event

The event will be held from 10th February till 20th February every day 8 pm till 10 pm Est you can let us know when you are available on these days we can set you up for any day you want.

So...I seriously suspected it was a scam at this point, because..

Red flag #5- all the typos and grammatical errors and run on sentences and such.

Red flag #6 Carlos? I couldn’t find a Carlos on the Wife Of The Party team. Not that all team members are always listed, but why would LeeAnn write me herself but not even respond as herself before I’ve even said yes? If Carlos was her producer, then the original email should have come from Carlos, rather than some bait and switch.

Red flag #7 They’re going to pay me before there’s a contract or an appearance? What’s to prevent me from just running off with the $2000 and then ditching them? Sounds fishy.

But I sent it to my business manager, who found this warning from a fellow Substack sister. The email she posted from “LeeAnn” was the exact same story! I’d have published a comment on her blog, but I’m not a paid subscriber there. So if you read this Ariane, #MeToo.

How I almost got scammed on Facebook

And then I found this when I dug deeper.

Beware of This Sneaky Podcast Invitation Scam

Thank you dear Dina for revealing how the scam would have actually played out, had I gone further. Sounds like the “tech check” beforehand (which is common for big podcasts) would have been when someone would have tried to hack my Facebook account and taken over my social media feed on Facebook. Yikes! I never would have gotten the $2000 because the actual appearance would have never happened. They’d be scamming my dear followers once they scammed me, and I’d have felt awful.

So…now, to those of you with platforms and gullible hearts and optimistic world views, you're all forewarned! Be careful everyone. There are ruthless people out there, and they prey on people like us.

Big thank you to my fellow Substack sisters Ariane and Dina for the heads up. They inspired me to post my own warning- so now there will be three of us blowing this particular whistle! Take that, scammers.

Scams can come in many flavors, but since podcast invitation scams are the kind of scam you beautiful writers might be vulnerable to, here are a few things to watch out for.

RED FLAGS OF PODCAST INVITATION SCAMS

1. Financial Requests

• The host asks for a "booking fee", "production fee", or "appearance fee" to secure your spot. Legitimate podcasts do not charge guests. (They also do not usually pay guests).

• They request payment for "promotion packages" or "sponsorship opportunities" before recording.

2. Unrealistic Promises

• Claims that the podcast has millions of listeners but when you dig deeper, they have little or no real online presence.

• Guarantees that appearing on the show will result in huge exposure, sales, or career breakthroughs.

3. Lack of Verifiable Information

• No website or a very low-quality website with vague details.

• The host has no online footprint (e.g., no LinkedIn, social media, or previous interviews).

• The podcast has few or no real episodes available on major platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.).

• If the podcast is real and they’re impersonating a famous podcaster, the email addresses reaching out to you don’t add up right.

4. Urgent or Aggressive Invitations

• Love bombing, overly flattering messages that seem copy-pasted (e.g., "We love your work and think you’re a perfect fit!" “You’re so inspirational that you’ve inspired me to start my own podcast.”)

• Pressure to accept quickly, often with an artificial deadline.

5. Strange Contact Methods

• Invitations via WhatsApp, Telegram, or personal email addresses rather than professional domains.

• The email sender's domain doesn’t match the podcast name (e.g., a Gmail or Yahoo address instead of a custom domain).

6. Poor Production or Guest Lineup

• Previous guests are unknown or nonexistent.

• The podcast has very few episodes or was just created recently.

• Audio or video quality in available episodes is poor.

7. Unusual Interview Requirements

• Requests for personal or financial details before scheduling.

• Insists on recording on unfamiliar platforms rather than Zoom, Riverside, or standard podcasting software.

• Requires “tech checks” and then asks for screen sharing or admin privileges on your social media.

• Asks for your login credentials to "help promote you."

How to Protect Yourself

Research the podcast – Look up the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Google.
Check the host’s credibility – Search for their social media, past work, and other interviews.
Ask for guest references – Contact past guests to confirm legitimacy.
Never pay to be a guest – Legitimate podcasts do not charge fees.

If something feels off, if your spidey senses are tingling, like mine were, trust your instincts and decline the offer. Then…if your spidey senses turn out to be correct, speak truth to power and publish the scammer’s letters. The more of us who do this, the harder it will be to trick us.

What about you all? I want to hear your scammed or near-scam stories.

Also, if you haven’t watched The Imposters, or listened to some of the best true crime con artist podcasts, OMG…I cannot believe how these scammers learn from each other and figure out how not to pay for anything.

Stay safe and scam free, everyone.