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Super Scam Me documentary shows what it takes to catch a romance scammer

16 October 2026 at 14:00

If you got a DM from an unverified Jon Bon Jovi account after commenting on one of his official Instagram posts, what would it take to make you believe it was really the rock star hoping to connect? And at what point when he starts asking you to send money—like lose-your-house kind of money—would you snap out of the fantasy and stop draining your bank account?

In a documentary premiering Saturday—Super Scam Me—investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller goes deep into this toxic love-bombing terrain. In a clip that Ars is exclusively debuting below, you can see how van Zeller worked with an ethical hacker, Arman the Cyber, to use a fake bitcoin receipt and bait the fake Bon Jovi, giving the victim some much-needed closure.

Sneak peek at National Geographic's Super Scam Me.

Scamming a romance scammer

Broadcasting on National Geographic at 9 pm ET and available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu, the documentary takes viewers on an empathetic quest to understand how the line between “lover” and “fraud victim” gets blurred in romance scams that the Federal Trade Commission says cost Americans nearly $1.5 billion in losses each year.

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Lions and cheetahs and chimps, oh my: A spotlight on Africa's diverse wildlife

4 October 2026 at 15:34
Chimps fish for algae in a rare example of primate tool use. Credit: National Geographic

A wild African black panther prowls for prey. An orphaned baby pangolin must learn how to climb on its own. And a green turtle struggles to make it back to the water after laying her eggs on a remote island, rescued by local humans who carry the exhausted turtle to the water's edge. These animals and many other species are featured in Africa: Earth's Wild Home, a new documentary series from National Geographic. It's meant to launch a new franchise, with separate series documenting the wildlife and environmental ecosystems of all seven continents in turn.

The seven-episode documentary series took four years to complete, with filming taking place across nearly 30 different African countries. Each episode focuses on a specific ecosystem, from the jungle and the desert, to the plains, mountains, and islands of Africa, and closes by spotlighting the various scientists, photographers, and NatGeo explorers whose work made the series possible. The final episode focuses on the local conservation leaders and researchers working to preserve Africa's rich biodiversity for future generations.

The producers found the perfect narrator in Wunmi Mosaku, who has delivered powerful performances in such works as Sinners, Loki, and Lovecraft Country. "I was incredibly honored that they even know my name at Nat Geo," Mosaku told Ars. "It was wonderful to be asked to narrate the series. It means so much to me. As someone who was born in Nigeria and raised in England, I'll take any opportunity I can to reconnect and celebrate this incredible continent where life is so diverse and so extreme and beautiful and relentless and peaceful. I wanted to be a part of that because it's a part of me."

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