[09/15/26 - 10:01 AM] Emmy Award-Winning Journalist Mariana Van Zeller Goes Undercover to Expose the $1 Billion Romance Scam Industry in National Geographic's "Super Scam Me" Produced by Muck Media and directed by Jeff Plunkett, the one-hour special airs October 17 at 9:00 p.m. EDT on National Geographic and streams on Disney+ and Hulu.
[via press release from National Geographic Content]
TO FIND A PREDATOR, SHE BECOMES THE PREY:
EMMY(R) AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST MARIANA VAN ZELLER GOES UNDERCOVER TO EXPOSE THE $1 BILLION ROMANCE SCAM INDUSTRY IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S "SUPER SCAM ME"
Produced by Muck Media for National Geographic, SUPER SCAM ME airs
Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. EDT on National Geographic and streams on Disney+ and Hulu
· National Geographic unveiled the trailer and premiere date for SUPER SCAM ME, a new investigative documentary special featuring Emmy Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller. Produced by Muck Media and directed by Jeff Plunkett, the one-hour special airs Oct. 17 at 9:00 p.m. EDT on National Geographic and streams on Disney+ and Hulu.
· Romance scams are now one of the fastest-growing and most devastating forms of financial crime. The rise of generative AI, which is capable of convincingly imitating celebrities and public figures, is only making these scams more sophisticated and harder to spot. An estimated one in seven adults has lost money to this form of deception, and in 2025 alone, romance scammers stole more than $1 billion from American victims.
· After years of reporting on the scam industry, Mariana enters one of her most immersive investigations to date in SUPER SCAM ME. In a real-life social experiment, she builds a new online dating persona and goes undercover as the target of a romance scam to understand and expose the tactics, technologies, and psychological manipulations these criminals utilize to deceive their victims.
· What begins as an online investigation becomes an extraordinary real-world pursuit, as Mariana begins to focus on one scammer, posing as a four-star general, who is growing increasingly persistent and manipulative. She teams up with a white-hat cyber hacker to try to uncover her scammer's true identity and location and sets out to confront him face-to-face.
· Mariana also meets victims whose lives have been upended by romance scams, including a woman who was duped into believing she was in a relationship with Jon Bon Jovi. What she thought was a genuine connection left her facing foreclosure on her home, exposing the devastating real-world consequences of these crimes.
· "I've spent years reporting on scams, and the reaction I hear most is 'How could anyone be so stupid? That would never happen to me.' But it can, and it does happen to anyone," said van Zeller. "So this time, I made myself the target."
· In an innovative collaboration between National Geographic and Muck Media, Mariana's podcast, "The Hidden Third," will feature special episodes dedicated to SUPER SCAM ME, airing the week of Oct. 12. The episodes will include exclusive interviews with the white-hat cyber hacker and victim featured in the special.
· As the host and executive producer of National Geographic's Emmy-winning series "Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller," Mariana has spent years investigating the world's most dangerous underground economies, earning a record-setting 88 Emmy nominations and 16 wins.
· SUPER SCAM ME is produced by Muck Media for National Geographic and executive produced by Jeff Plunkett and Mariana van Zeller. Plunkett also directs. Bengt Anderson serves as executive producer for National Geographic.
Representing one of the largest brands on social media with over 800 million followers and more than one billion impressions each month, National Geographic Content's award-winning and critically acclaimed storytelling inspires fans of all ages to connect with, explore and care about the world through factual storytelling. National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, reaches up to 402 million households in at least 170 countries and 30 languages across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films and streaming services Disney+ and Hulu, in addition to being a global digital, social and print publisher. Its diverse content includes Oscar(R) and BAFTA Award-winning film "Free Solo"; Oscar-nominated films "Sugarcane," "Fire of Love," "Bobi Wine: The People's President" and "The Cave"; Emmy(R) Award-winning franchises "Race Against Time" and "Secrets of"; Emmy-winning series "Animals Up Close," "Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller" and "Tucci in Italy"; and Emmy-winning documentary "Ocean with David Attenborough." National Geographic has also earned multiple National Magazine Awards, Pulitzer Prize finalist honors and Webby wins. Visit nationalgeographic.com and natgeotv.com, or explore Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and Reddit.
About Disney+
Disney+ is the dedicated streaming home for movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, along with The Simpsons and, outside the U.S., general entertainment brand Hulu. As the flagship direct-to-consumer streaming service from The Walt Disney Company, Disney+ serves as a connection point for audiences around the world with an unmatched collection of award-winning general entertainment, gold-standard family programming, the most trusted news, and global sports programming from ESPN. With unprecedented access to Disney's long history of incredible film and television entertainment, it is also the exclusive streaming home for the newest releases from The Walt Disney Studios. Disney+ is available as a standalone streaming service or as part of bundle offerings in the U.S. whereby bundle subscribers can now stream Hulu and ESPN content directly in the Disney+ app. Subscriptions also include access to the Disney+ Perks loyalty program, including special discounts, everyday savings, and early access to exclusive experiences that only Disney can offer. For more, visit disneyplus.com or find the Disney+ app on most mobile and connected TV devices.
About Muck Media
MUCK MEDIA is an Emmy, Peabody and duPont Award-winning production company founded by five filmmaker best friends. Muck is renowned for its journalistic and character-driven storytelling, spotlighting underdog narratives that resonate with powerful, universal insights. In 2026, Muck's flagship series Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic/Hulu) earned 25 nominations, winning 7. In 2025, Trafficked set an all-time Disney record by earning 29 Emmy nominations, winning 4. In 2024, Muck earned 20 Emmy nominations, winning five. Muck's recent projects include the multi-part series Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking The Truth (National Geographic/Hulu) a groundbreaking investigation of the infamous psychology study uncovering new truths that unravel its long-held narrative; Sally (National Geographic Films), a feature documentary about Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, which was produced alongside Story Syndicate and premiered at Sundance 2025; and the 2024 SXSW award-winning feature We Can Be Heroes, about a group of neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed "nerdy" teenagers who find solace at a LARP summer camp. Other projects include the Emmy Award-winning Science Fair: The Series (Disney+/National Geographic) inspired by the Sundance Festival Favorite and Emmy Award-winning feature documentary of the same name; the critically acclaimed feature American Pain (CNN Films/Max) about the rise and fall of twin brothers from Florida who ran the biggest prescription opioid trafficking network in US history; and Menudo: Forever Young (Max) which chronicles the fame and tragedy of the most iconic Latin American boy band in history. The company also produced the celebrated documentary Mucho Mucho Amor (Netflix) about the beloved Puerto Rican astrologer Walter Mercado.
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