Advocating Against Romance Scammers

08/26/2026

Kansas City, here we come! 🚨

Who is coming with me to Kansas City to fight some SCUMBAGS?! 😂We’re a little more than a month out from the United Against Deception: Ultimate Fraud Symposium, and I want to meet YOU in person!

Let’s put some faces to the names, swap stories, learn from each other, and maybe cause a little trouble for the scammers while we’re at it. 😈

I'll drop a link to register in the comments.

Kansas City… I’ll see you there! ❤️

08/26/2026

Hi friends. Frank here

Sometimes a scam starts with one simple request.

Stay on the phone.
Click here.
Go there.
Don’t tell anyone.

Then one request becomes another.

Before you know it, you’ve spent an hour following someone else’s instructions.

Here’s something important:

You don’t have to figure out whether it’s a scam before you stop.

You don’t have to prove anything.

You don’t have to be sure.

Pause.
Step away from the conversation.
Call someone you trust.

Sometimes another person can see something you can’t see when you’re in the middle of it.

And if you need permission to stop?
You have mine.

Go find one of your people.

Someone who knows you. Someone you trust. Someone who will listen.

And maybe thank them for being a friend.

We all need one sometimes.

- Frank

Calm paws. Clear path.

08/25/2026

HELL. YES. 👏🌎

THIS is what international collaboration against fraud looks like.

A HUGE THANK YOU to INTERPOL and the law enforcement agencies from 22 countries across SIX continents that came together for Operation Jackal IV.

🇦🇹 Austria
🇦🇷 Argentina
🇦🇺 Australia
🇨🇦 Canada
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
🇫🇷 France
🇩🇪 Germany
🇮🇩 Indonesia
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇮🇹 Italy
🇯🇵 Japan
🇲🇾 Malaysia
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇳🇬 Nigeria
🇵🇹 Portugal
🇿🇦 South Africa
🇪🇸 Spain
🇸🇪 Sweden
🇨🇭 Switzerland
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States

22 countries. Six continents. One coordinated effort.

The results? 263 suspects identified. 58 arrests. Millions in criminal assets targeted and seized. Criminal networks disrupted.

And importantly, this operation targeted networks connected to the crimes we have been sounding the alarm about for years — romance scams, investment and cryptocurrency fraud, business email compromise, money laundering, and sextortion.

This is why collaboration matters.

These crimes do not stop at a city, state or national border — and neither can the response.

👏 To every investigator, analyst, law enforcement agency and participating country: THANK YOU.

And an especially HUGE thank you to INTERPOL for coordinating this international effort and helping countries share intelligence, follow the money and go after the networks behind these crimes.

This is what we want to see more of. Keep going.

An eight-month INTERPOL-coordinated operation targeting West African organised crime groups, including the notorious Black Axe, has led to the

08/25/2026

📬 “You’ve been selected to join.”

Today I opened LinkedIn and saw an invitation prominently placed near the top of my feed, to play a daily game.

And it made me wonder:

If a social media platform can put a daily game front and center, why is it so difficult to put scam and fraud warnings there too?

People are being targeted on social platforms every single day through impersonation, investment fraud, romance scams, account takeovers, fake employment opportunities, and other forms of financial crime.

Imagine opening your feed and occasionally seeing:

⚠️ SCAM ALERT: Criminals are currently using this platform to impersonate recruiters. Here are three warning signs.

Or:

🛡️ BEFORE YOU SEND MONEY: Stop. Verify the person independently. Never rely solely on what you’ve been told through a social media account.

That space already exists.

The technology already exists.

The ability to put information directly in front of users already exists.

So why aren’t we using it for safety, too?

This isn’t about eliminating games. It’s about asking platforms to give safety and security the same creativity, visibility, and priority they give engagement.

At Advocating Against Romance Scammers (AARS), we’d welcome the opportunity to work with LinkedIn, and other social media and technology companies, to develop short, timely fraud-prevention messages that can appear directly in users’ feeds.

Give people the game.

But give them the warning, too.

Because if we can interrupt someone’s scrolling for a puzzle, surely we can interrupt it long enough to potentially prevent a crime.

CyberSafety VictimAdvocacy SocialMediaSafety AARS

08/22/2026

Kenny Chesney was a victim too, and still is!

She was a victim of fraud.

But there is another victim in this story who shouldn’t be overlooked: Kenny Chesney.

Someone stole his name, his identity and his credibility and used them as weapons to gain another person’s trust and cause tremendous harm.

A California appeals court has now affirmed the dismissal of the claims against Chesney, finding that he had no legal duty to warn or protect the victim from the actions of a third-party impersonator.

I’m glad Mr. Chesney won this fight. But we are still fighting a much bigger one.

For nearly 10 years, Advocating Against Romance Scammers has been raising awareness about criminals creating fake accounts, stealing photographs and identities, and impersonating celebrities, military members, professionals and ordinary people to manipulate and defraud victims.

This isn’t new.

Social media platforms know it happens.
Law enforcement knows it happens.
Financial institutions know it happens.
Victim advocates know it happens.
And the public is increasingly seeing the consequences.

Yet criminals are still able to create fake identities, impersonate real people, build relationships with unsuspecting victims and cause devastating harm.

Why are we still putting so much of the responsibility on the people being impersonated and the people being deceived?

Where is the accountability for the criminal? Where is the greater responsibility for the systems and platforms being exploited to facilitate this crime?

The financial devastation can be enormous. But money is only part of the story.

The psychological and emotional damage caused by these crimes can be profound! Victims can lose their trust in others, their sense of safety, relationships, retirement savings and, sometimes, their ability to recognize the person they were before the crime.

The person being impersonated can have their name, photographs, reputation and identity used to cause that harm without their knowledge or consent.
When someone’s identity is stolen and weaponized to manipulate another human being, we are looking at a tool of criminal activity.
The victim who believed the impersonator deserves compassion.
Kenny Chesney deserves to have his identity protected.
And the criminal deserves the blame.

Ten years of sounding the alarm is long enough. It’s time for stronger safeguards, faster action against impersonation accounts, and meaningful accountability for the systems criminals continue to exploit.



https://tasteofcountry.com/kenny-chesney-impersonator-scam-lawsuit/

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

08/20/2026

Join us Oct 1,2! The United Against Deception Symposium! https://tinyurl.com/UAD-SYMPOSIUM

08/18/2026

💜 SURVIVOR SPOTLIGHT: KELLY GOWE
We are honored to introduce Kelly Gowe, our fourth Survivor Spotlight Speaker at the United Against Deception Symposium, with the Survivor Spotlight Series proudly sponsored by Match Group.
Kelly is the founder of the 4041 Foundation, a nonprofit she established in 2025 in memory of her mother, Laura Kowal, who was victimized by a romance scam. What began as a deeply personal experience has grown into a powerful commitment to advocacy, education, awareness, and change.
Through the 4041 Foundation, Kelly works to educate individuals, families, financial institutions, organizations, and communities about the realities of romance scams and financial crime. The foundation also supports victims and families impacted by fraud and uses public speaking, partnerships, outreach, and storytelling to help bring these crimes, and their human impact, out of the shadows.
Kelly has taken her experience and turned it into purpose.
Her advocacy reminds us that financial fraud isn't simply about numbers, transactions, or case files. There are real people and real families behind every case, and their voices need to be part of the conversation about how we prevent these crimes and how we respond when they happen.
At UAD, Kelly will bring that perspective to the stage in her own words.
And we believe her story is one you need to hear.
💜 Honoring Courage. Inspiring Hope. Uniting for Change.
📅 October 1–2, 2026
📍 Kansas City Regional Police Academy | Kansas City, MO
🎟️ Register: tinyurl.com/UAD-SYMPOSIUM

08/17/2026

This stack of envelopes taught me something I wasn’t expecting.

While filling out informational packets to send to local law enforcement agencies for the Unbreaking Project, I noticed something I hadn’t really thought about before.

We don’t even call victim services the same thing!

As I searched for the right person or department, I found:

Victim Services.
Victim Assistance.
Victim Advocacy.
Victim/Witness Assistance.
Community Services.
Community Outreach.
Victim Intervention.
Victim/Witness Coordinator.

Sometimes it took real digging just to figure out who within an agency actually works with victims.

And that’s when it hit me:

If I’m having trouble figuring out where to send information intended to help victims, how is a victim supposed to know where to go?

Those of us working in this space may understand that these offices can serve similar purposes.

A victim doesn’t.

Imagine experiencing one of the worst moments of your life. You’ve been deceived, financially devastated, embarrassed, frightened, or traumatized. You finally gather the courage to ask for help, only to encounter different departments, different terminology and different phone numbers.

“That’s not our department. Try this number.”

“You need to contact the other agency.”

Another call. Another person. Another explanation of what happened.

Eventually, some victims may simply stop trying.

Not because they don’t need help.

Because getting help has become another burden they have to carry.

A victim shouldn’t have to understand the organizational structure of law enforcement, a prosecutor’s office or county government to receive help.

This isn’t criticism of the extraordinary victim advocates doing this work every day.

It’s about examining the system we’ve asked victims to navigate.

What started with a simple question while addressing these envelopes, “Who do I send this to?”, left me with a much bigger one:

Why isn’t there a recognizable front door for victims?

Agencies may need different structures internally. But externally, victims need clarity.

A recognizable point of entry.
Clear language.
A clear point of contact.
A warm handoff instead of another phone number.

When someone is going through one of the worst times of their life, finding help shouldn’t feel like another investigation they have to conduct themselves.

Victim-centered response isn’t only about what happens once a victim reaches the right person.

It’s also about how easy we make it for them to get there.

08/14/2026

MEET THE PANEL | Strengthening Financial Fraud Responses Through Collaboration

Financial fraud doesn’t happen in a silo—and the response shouldn’t either.

At the United Against Deception Symposium, this panel brings together four perspectives that see different parts of the same problem:

🔹 Thomas Alber, US Crypto Cop — Cryptocurrency, investigations & digital assets
🔹 Whitney Darcy, Fidelity Bank — Financial institutions, detection & intervention
🔹 Debbie Deem, Retired FBI Victim Specialist — Victim support & the human impact of fraud
🔹 Josh Planos, BBB — Communications, public awareness & prevention

A bank may see the transaction.
An investigator may see the crime.
A victim specialist sees the human impact.
A communications professional helps turn what we learn into prevention.

When we connect those perspectives, we can identify fraud earlier, respond more effectively, support victims better, and help prevent the next victim.

That’s what UAD is about: building the connections needed to change how we respond to financial fraud.

📅 October 1–2, 2026
📍 Kansas City Regional Police Academy | Kansas City, MO
🎟️ Register: tinyurl.com/UAD-SYMPOSIUM

Together We Protect. Together We Prevent.

LawEnforcement FinancialCrime

08/12/2026

🚨 TWO DAYS. ONE MISSION. REAL CHANGE FOR FRAUD VICTIMS. 🚨

The United Against Deception Symposium isn’t just about talking about the fraud crisis, it’s about bringing the right people together to change how we respond to it.

🔵 DAY 1: WHERE WE ARE NOW
What’s working for victims?
What isn’t?
Where are the gaps?
And where are victims still falling through the cracks?

🔴 DAY 2: WHERE WE GO FROM HERE
We take those conversations and move toward solutions — stronger collaboration, better communication, fewer barriers, and a more coordinated, victim-centered path forward.

Law enforcement. Financial institutions. Prosecutors. Mental health professionals. Victim advocates. Investigators. Technology. Survivor voices.

Different sectors. Different expertise. One table. One goal.

📅 October 1–2, 2026
📍 Kansas City Regional Police Academy | Kansas City, MO

🎟️Government/Law Enforcement: $250
🎟️General Admission: $300

Nearly 1/3 the price of many two-day conferences, with two full days focused on collaboration, practical solutions, survivor voices, panels, roundtables, and building connections that can continue long after the symposium ends.

🔥 If your work touches fraud victims, investigations, prevention, recovery, prosecution, financial crime, mental health, or victim services, we want you at the table.

Together We Protect. Together We Prevent.

👉 REGISTER TODAY:
tinyurl.com/UAD-SYMPOSIUM