Podcast Summary: True Crime Obsessed – "Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam Ep 1"

Release Date: October 23, 2025
Hosts: Julian & Tracy
Featured Documentary: "Hey Beautiful" (Anatomy of a Romance Scam, Ep 1)

Overview of the Episode

This lively, sharp-witted True Crime Obsessed Patreon episode dives into “Hey Beautiful,” a documentary series exposing the anatomy of a global romance scam. Julian and Tracy (joined briefly by others) deconstruct the real stories of three women – Roxy (USA), Annette (Canada), and Gabby (Germany) – who fell victim to elaborate online relationship cons. With their trademark humor and heart, the hosts take listeners through the emotional and financial devastation wrought by scammers, all while delivering memorable moments and side commentary on scams, self-worth, and the baffling world of overpriced makeup tutorials.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Setup: Anatomy of a Romance Scam

• The romance scam at the center preys on loneliness, emotional vulnerability, and the hope for love.
• Scammers use fake identities and professions, such as glamorous oil rig workers or gemstone merchants.
• Victims are contacted on benign platforms (Words With Friends, Facebook Dating, LinkedIn), then moved to private apps like WhatsApp for privacy and further manipulation.
• The hosts focus on the individual's stories, highlighting both the common emotional need and the unique personalities involved.
• Memorable quote – Tracy (03:02): "The fucking Scott Peterson of it all."

2. Meet the Victims

A. Roxy (Connecticut, USA) [05:00–16:19]

• Roxy’s story begins as a bored, married Words With Friends player who receives a game invite from “Scott Hall.”
• Her keen loneliness, despite a 51-year marriage, makes her susceptible.
• Tracy and Julian affectionately riff on Roxy’s accent and personality, but highlight her humanity.
  • Quote – Tracy (10:05): "Roxy, girl, don't sweat it. We're totally following you. Like, my love, you're over explaining. Get to the good part."
• Roxy’s scam scenario is more benign – she never sends vast sums, but ends up with a fraudulent check, embarrassment, and grief in her marriage.

B. Annette (Canada) [16:19–20:13; 24:50+]

• Annette serves in a diner, cares deeply for others, but is emotionally battered after a controlling marriage and loss of family support and her pet.
• Seeks comfort on Facebook Dating, where she meets "Mark Da Silva," an 'underwater pipeline' worker.
• Annette’s openness and need for validation make her an easy mark, ultimately costing her $40,000.

C. Gabby (Germany) [20:13–end]

• Gabby, a successful businesswoman, is contacted via LinkedIn by "Michael Silver," a "gemstone wholesaler."
• Gabby is unhappy in her marriage, susceptible to romance and validation from flattery and shared interests.
• The emotional connection with the scammer is coupled with growing financial requests.
  • Quote – Gabby (22:18): "I didn't tell anybody about Michael, and I hided this from my husband."
• Gabby's decisions escalate dramatically, culminating in selling her parents' house and sending over $500,000 in Bitcoin.

3. Scam Tactics and Escalation

• Initial contact is innocent, then “intimate” (WhatsApp move, personal photos).
• Scammer stories follow a formula: sudden crisis, need for money, dramatic life struggles (death of a spouse, single parenthood, international barriers).
• Manipulative ‘proofs’ are provided: fake contracts, doctored bank access/logins, hurried video calls with stolen footage.
  • Quote – Julian (26:38): "Did he give her the login or is it just a screenshot?... Maybe he built a website that looks like a bank account."
• The scammer sometimes “returns” money at first to build trust: “He actually paid back Gabby the $5,000. ... He's playing the long game.” (Tracy, 30:02)

4. The Emotional Toll & Manipulation

• Victims describe feelings of excitement, hope, and secret independence, before guilt, shame, and devastation set in.
• Scammers exploit both affection (“Hey, beautiful!”) and guilt (“Do you really love me?”), pushing the victims to ever-greater sacrifices.
• The hosts note how embarrassment and the sunk-cost fallacy trap the victims. Even as doubts arise, the victims have already lost so much they hope staying will recover their losses.
  • Quote – Tracy (41:01): “It was all via WhatsApp... and we see the text, it's super abusive. He's really mean to her. And she does it and she's like, I did it to prove my love and to prove our relationship. Relationship? What relationship?”

5. How the Scam is Revealed [42:28+]

• Annette’s friend Nicole uncovers the scam by reverse image searching the boyfriend’s photo, discovering a well-known “oil rig scam” template.
  • Quote – Annette (43:06): "She's like, his head is too big for the body. The guy looks like he's 5'7; Mark's supposed to be 6'2. It looked like a bubble head on his body."
• The hosts marvel at how obvious the fake images look in hindsight, highlighting the psychological manipulation involved.

6. The Scammer’s Stolen Identity: Brian Haugen [45:57+]

• All the fake profiles use images of a real person: Brian Haugen, an actor/model/skincare entrepreneur.
• Gabby and others attempt to contact Haugen to confirm if he is the scammer; they get no reply, but many send money anyway.

7. The Side Scam: Makeup Tutorials & Overpriced Serums [49:06+]

• In an ironic twist, Roxy attempts to book a makeup consultation with Brian Haugen, only to discover his “business” charges hundreds for a virtual session and exorbitant sums for skincare products (a $640 serum).
• Tracy goes on a scathing (and hilarious) rant about the cost and apparent scamminess of the make-up tutorial business—a scam within a scam.
  • Quote – Tracy (50:54): "Honestly, this website is a scam and nobody talks about it. I will talk about it for an hour next week."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Loneliness & Vulnerability:
  • "I was lonely, so I went online." – Annette (02:22)
• On Scammer Personas:
  • "He goes by the name of Scott Donald Wall." – Roxy (04:10)
• On Emotional Manipulation:
  • "I swore I can taste you right now. ... I will lick you until you swear your allegiance to my empire." – Tracy (30:32–30:49, quoting scammer’s messages)
• On Realization:
  • “It is so fake. It is stupid how fake it is.” – Tracy (43:27)
• On the Ultimate Scammer:
  • “All the profiles lead to this Brian Haugen guy... He’s an actor. He’s a model, and he has an online company where he teaches women how to do makeup.” – Tracy (48:38)
• On Side Scams:
  • “A $640 serum. That’s one ounce... Who are you to be making serum like this?” – Tracy (50:03)
• Reflecting on Victims’ Self-Worth:
  • “They’ve convinced Annette... that she’s only worth someone who will text her and ask her for money, which she deserves so much more than that.” – Tracy (32:08)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01 – 01:37 | Episode intro, context for release
• 05:00 – 16:19 | Meet Roxy and the onset of her scam
• 16:19 – 20:13 | Annette’s background and vulnerability
• 20:13 – 24:50 | Gabby’s story: from LinkedIn to love scam
• 24:50 – 32:35 | Scammer escalation: requests for money, emotional hooks
• 35:00 – 39:01 | Roxy discovers the check fraud and fallout at home
• 40:19 – 46:52 | Gabby’s $550k bitcoin nightmare and the realization moment
• 45:57 – 49:06 | Discovering Brian Haugen, the real face behind the scam
• 49:06 – 52:29 | Brian Haugen’s makeup business – “scam” within the scam
• 52:50 – end | Outro & preview for the next episode

The Hosts' Tone & Approach

Julian and Tracy balance sincere empathy for the victims with a bright, irreverent tone, mixing laugh-out-loud commentary ("Aggressively handsome", "bubble head", long rants about makeup scams) with real rage at the mechanics and human toll of online fraud. Their tone encourages listeners to approach these stories with both skepticism and compassion, never blaming the victims, always rooting for their dignity to be restored.

Summary Judgment

This is both a cautionary tale and a character-driven comedy. The first episode of “Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam” exposes the mechanics of digital emotional cons, affirms the reality of vulnerability, and warns listeners about manipulative tactics—even prompting a hilarious side investigation into the price of high-end serums. Julian and Tracy keep it lively, but never lose sight of the emotional damage at the scam’s heart.

Closing advice, per the hosts:
“Stay safe out there, especially on the Internet... Just have like a force field around you. Okay, we love you.” – Tracy (54:17)

Next Episode Teaser:
Expect deeper dives into both the scam’s unraveling and the questionable skincare empire of Brian Haugen, with more laughs, sass, and heartfelt moments from your hosts.
Find ad-free episodes and bonus content at patreon.com/truecrimeobsessed