Conning the Con

SNEAK PEAK! STOP THE KILLING PODCAST IS OUT NOW. But you won’t find episodes here – go and search Stop the Killing wherever you listen to your podcasts and subscribe for all the latest episodes. For a limited time you can listen to Episode One of STOP THE KILLING here, if you like it please go and subscribe, rate and review so others can find us! Find trailers for all the upcoming episodes every Wednesday for Season One on Instagram@conmunitypodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

STOP THE KILLING - A deep dive into the case files of former head of the FBI’s Active Shooter program Katherine Schweit with Co-Host Sarah Ferris. This US-UK dynamite true crime podcast duo reveal the insider’s story of what happened and what went wrong at some of the world's worst mass shootings, empowering listeners along the way. Not a fear and scary facts conversation, and no politics. Sarah and Kate prove true crime is not just for criminals as they provide a bit of a reality check on just how much power each of us has to stop the killing. OUT THE 23rd of September, find it wherever you binge your TRUE CRIME To be the first to see the trailers head to @conmunitypodcast on Instagram Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr Sophie Muir gives us a peek behind the prison bars. We explore whether our system has the resources to send people, like Andrew, back out into a community rehabilitated. Are we protected from repeat offenders? Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're going to go a little bit off-piste in this episode. We are joined by Clinical Psychologist, Dr Sophie Muir, to build a checklist of red flags so that you can protect yourself, your family and friends from becoming the next fraud statistic. Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram  To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your trust has been shattered, how do you rebuild after trauma. Dr Muir and Emma candidly discuss how to move forward and take back the power that was stolen. In the last Episode Emma finds out what justice looks like for a serial conman Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of Andrew's actions, Emma finds herself in the limbo land of the justice system as a victim. Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Andrew in Australia and out of our reach, we get creative....or maybe a little desperate!  In the last Episode We explored Andrew's past in Hobart, Tasmania. By the end of May, police are still building the case against him. Andrew had fled the country and was apparently living in Australia. He has told Emma he is working for the government as a spy and was going into one serious last mission.  Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was put together after the first episode was released and those, who had previously been impacted by Andrew Tonks actions, reached out to us. Dr Muir shares her insight into what behaviour we should really question and how important it is to be able to see patterns in behaviour. In the last Episode We heard from Fabian Christoph, who sold his restaurant to Andrew Tonks. He had purchased the restaurant using a truck worth $150 000AUD as security....a truck he didn't actually own. Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram  To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help.  Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover Artist Simon Small - Voiceover Artist Annabel Miller - Voiceover Artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If past behaviour is a predictor of present behaviour, can we learn anything from Andrew's? In the last Episode We uncovered Andrew's involvement with Queenstown Restaurant, a deal that meant for Tony, the owner, he would be selling his flagship restaurant for a cool seven-figure sum.    And for Tom, Andrew's investor and would-be Chef, it meant the funds he was days away from borrowing from his family to pay the deposit was saved from getting tangled in a Tonker turd storm.  Resources Mercury - April 12th 2015 Mercury - June 28th 2015 Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing courses online. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover Artist Simon Small - Voiceover Artist Annabel Miller - Voiceover Artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New Zealand police were slowly but surely building that case against Andrew Tonks. And as far as we knew, Andrew, although he seemed a little suspicious, he didn't know that the net was closing in around him. But what he did know is that his house of cards had a few rather large cracks appearing in the foundations. In the last Episode Emma had just received a text from Andrew outlining his latest scheme to repay his debt to her.  And so it was that Andrew Tonks, the world's most unassuming spy, was forced out of retirement to complete one last very dangerous mission, a mission so dangerous that payment for it would clear his debt to Emma in its entirety and some. Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing online courses. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Annabel Miller - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We rejoin the story with Emma digesting the aftermath and calculating the cost of Andrew's deception. He still had a sizeable chunk of her money and getting it back was not going to be for the fainthearted. A plan was percolating, it was time to Con the Con. In the last Episode For the last six months, Andrew Tonks had been playing a game of chess with my sister Emma and up until the 9th of April 2019, she had no idea that she was playing it, let alone that Andrew was almost at checkmate.  In the previous episodes, unbeknownst to Andrew, Emma had discovered his real identity. Fight or flight kicked in ..... Emma chose to fight. She had swung into action to recover the money that had been transferred into his account only the day before. However, to have any chance of retrieving the money she couldn't let on that she knew his true identity. And so operation "Bank Transfer" swung into action. Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing online courses. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune  Jon Stubbs - Voiceover Artist Annabel Miller - Voiceover Artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew has been playing a game of chess with Emma for six months. However, Emma's discovery of his real identity means the tables are about to turn on Andrew, just when he was almost at checkmate. In the last Episode Emma's friends, Sarsha and Jo, do some digging and find the ODT article (link below) Meanwhile, Emma is oblivious to their discovery and transfers $250,000 directly to Andrews account to invest Emma is the last to discover Andrew Thomson is actually convicted Fraudster Andrew Tonks Unravelling the truth from the lies she discovers Andrew Tonks works at a freighting company in dispatch! Otago Daily Times Article https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/fraudster-jailed-after-theft-pay-reparation Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing online courses. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Our thanks to the talented: Aroha Min for the theme tune Jon Stubbs - Voiceover artist Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma's friends, Sarsha and Jo, smell a rat. However, smelling a rat and catching a rat, well, they are two entirely different things! In the last Episode Andrew had spent six months grafting, building Emma's trust. By March 2019 he had finally hit the payload and convinced Emma to invest in a "property venture" with him. She 'invests' a smaller amount for a month before Andrew doubles down and goes in for the kill. Come the 8th of April, Emma is set to transfer the next big chunk of cash. Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing online courses. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By March 2019, Emma and the man she knows as Andrew Thomson have been dating for almost six months, their relationship appears to be going from strength to strength. Andrew had put in months and months of graft, it was now time for him to double down on his lies and do what he does best, exploit, rinse ..... and repeat. In the last Episode Emma meets a man called Andrew Thomson on tinder He is a charming, outgoing, entrepreneur from Tasmania, Australia The relationship moves from strength to strength over the first few dates, he seems too good to be true By date four Andrew lets Emma into what she thinks is his deepest, darkest secret, his false imprisonment in a Melbourne jail Emma is faced with a decision..... but everyone deserves a second chance, right? Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing online courses. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams If this topic has got you curious you may like: The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode one, The RomCON, takes us back to where it all began... One swipe to the right. One small, seemingly insignificant flick of the index finger..... Meet my sister, Emma as she takes us back to the fateful day when she swiped right on the profile of Andrew Thomson. He's charming, charismatic, successful and empathetic, everything you look for in a life partner, right? He seemed like the perfect date but by date four the cracks were starting to appear. And they would be the first of many... Dr Sophie Muir, Clinical Psychologist joins us, shining a retrospective light on Emma's story and highlighting the red flags along the way Useful links Join Emma @thebreatheffect on Facebook and Instagram To learn the tools that Emma used to help both survive and thrive through trauma join Emma on one of her amazing online courses. Choose to reset your stress response and rewire your brain over 30 days. The Breath Effect - thebreatheffect.com Dr Sophie Muir - drsophiemuir.com If you have your own true crime story to share please contact us. email: conningthecon@yahoo.com Facebook: conningtheconpodcast Instagram: conningthecon Twitter: conningthecon1 If you believe you have been targeted by a Fraudster then please reach out for help. Many places can help, below are a few to get you pointed in the right direction.  UK: Action Fraud NZ: NZ Government - Scams NZ: Netsafe Australia: Scamwatch US: USA Government - Scams If this topic has got you curious and you want to know more about the art of the con then check out: The Confidence Game: The Psychology of the Con and Why We Fall for it Every Time by Maria Konnikova   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a relationship that was going just the way Andrew Thomson planned...right up until the point, Emma discovered his real identity and that's when things start to derail... for the both of them. And with the stakes high, there can be only one victor in this confidence game. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conningthecon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices