What do synthetic identities, bust-out credit card fraud, and pig butchering scams have in common? More than you'd think. In this episode of Stolen, Erin sits down with Steve Lenderman — a 26-year fraud prevention veteran who's worked across credit cards, PayPal, FinTech, and payroll — for a masterclass on how financial fraud really works, and why so many institutions are still failing victims.

Steve breaks down synthetic identity fraud (what it is, how it started, and why "digital ghosts" are now being used to launder scam proceeds), explains the mechanics of bust-out fraud in plain English, and connects the dots between old-school financial crime and today's cryptocurrency scams. He also gets into what banks could be doing right now — from device fingerprinting to behavioral analytics — to detect and protect customers before a pig butchering scam spirals out of control.

Plus: the fraud triangle, why KYC is not a fraud control, and why having great data scientists on your team means nothing if they don't understand what a scam actually looks like.

Erin West returns to Cambodia to investigate whether the world’s largest pig butchering scam operations are truly shutting down—or simply regrouping. From Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, she walks inside abandoned scam compounds, examines the crackdown tied to Chen Zhi and Prince Group, and exposes the human trafficking driving global crypto fraud. Are these compounds finished—or just paused? This episode reveals what American victims are really up against.

Erin West and Scamnetic CEO Al Pascual discuss the growing issue of scams and the development of innovative technology solutions to combat them. They explore the importance of technology in monitoring communications, verifying identities, and providing evidence to help individuals recognize scams.

Their conversation also highlights how AI and deepfake technology is making scams more effective and the need for a comprehensive approach to scam prevention that involves education, technology, and community support.