They Look Like Romance Scammers but Run Billion-Dollar Crime Networks | Erin West

Most people think romance scams are just fake dating profiles and stolen photos. Erin West explains why many modern romance scams are much bigger than that. In this Dating to Win interview, Matt Russo sits down with Erin West, one of the leading voices exposing romance scams, pig butchering, crypto fraud, scam compounds, and the global criminal networks behind fake relationships and fake investment platforms. Erin spent more than two decades as a prosecutor before becoming a major public voice on pig butchering and transnational organized crime. In this conversation, we discuss how she got pulled into this world, the cases that shocked her, how scam organizations are structured, what happens inside Southeast Asian scam compounds, how people are trafficked and forced to scam others, how AI is changing online scams, and whether Congress and the Senate may take real action to protect victims. This episode goes far beyond fake dating profiles. It exposes the organized crime, crypto fraud, money laundering, artificial intelligence, human trafficking, and billion-dollar scam networks behind modern romance fraud. If you are dating online, using dating apps, talking to someone on social media, or being encouraged to invest in crypto, gold, trading, or passive income by someone you met online, this episode could protect you or someone you love   Subscribe / Contact Subscribe to Dating to Win for real conversations about dating, relationships, romance scams, online safety, red flags, and rebuilding confidence. Contact: [email protected]