
Episode 253: When the Bait Bites Back
From What the Hack? by DeleteMe
May 26, 2026 · 47 min · Episode 253
About this episode
Ethan Merritt shares his experience of being scammed and how he turned the tables on the scammers using his identity.
A former military guy goes viral, but not in the way he'd hoped. With fake profiles popping up by the dozen using his photos to scam lonelyhearts out of money, Ethan Merritt did what we all fantasize about from time to time: he scammed the scammer.Make yourself harder to find, harder to hit: https://joindeleteme.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Guest: Ethan Merritt
Topics covered
- scamming
- online safety
- military
- lonelyhearts
- identity theft
Keywords
- scam
- fake profiles
- lonelyhearts
- military
- identity theft
- Ethan Merritt
Sponsors
DeleteMe
More episodes of What the Hack?
- Episode 255: How Kindness Works in The Scammer's Playbook · June 9, 2026 · 43 min
- Episode 254: Even If You're Not Online, You're Online · June 2, 2026 · 51 min
- Episode 252: Surveillance In America, Pt 4: No Warrant Required · May 19, 2026 · 47 min
- Episode 251: Surveillance In America, Pt 3: Just Say No · May 12, 2026 · 53 min
- Episode 250: Becky Holmes and the Future of Fraud · May 5, 2026 · 50 min
- Episode 249: The End of the Constitution Had to Start Somewhere · April 27, 2026 · 46 min
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