Scamanda is a compelling bit of true crime with a notable weakness.
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As the true crime industry has seemingly exhausted its supply of eye-catching murders and cults, a new trend in the genre has emerged. Scams. People who trick other people out of their money thanks to big or little lies that are hopefully brought down by their own hubris. And it makes a lot of sense. In the current media environment, and especially during and after COVID, grifters are a dime a dozen, far more than murders. Huh...almost like the violent crime rate has been steadily going down for years. How strange. Hence why a popular podcast like Scam Goddesss has been developed into a TV show and why another pocast Scamanda was turned into a limited series on Hulu.
The Setup
The show tells the story of Amanda Riley, a mommy blogger that took the internet by storm as she detailed her difficult fight with cancer. Just one problem. She never had cancer. By looking through Amanda's past and her very public deceptions, the series tries to piece together Amanda's vast array of cons and how she got away with such blatant lies for so long.
True crime involving scam can be very very cathartic. The reasons why, in my opinion, have a straight-forward logic to them. You both get to feel better about yourself because you're not a scammer tricking people out of their money (at least I hope not) and also that secondhand warm fuzzy feeling of "I'd never fall for this." You get to feel good about yourself in two ways.
But for a show, you need a bit more detail to maintain the interest and say something about the whole event. And for the most part I think Scamanda succeeds with a couple of exceptions. So I'll highlight what I like about the show and then point out what I think is missing.
The Detail and Scale of The Hoax
Part of the eye-catching appeal of this story isn't that Amanda Riley tricked a handful of people into thinking she had cancer and raised some money for herself. It's that she tricked thousands of people and took in possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars.
And maintaining that illusion while being in the public eye isn't easy. As such a lot of the series most interesting moments come from folks uncovering how Amanda faked her illness, whether it was a trip to urgent care that wasn't for cancer treatment (that she would take photos for) or saying she was part of study (that she presumed no one would follow up on).
As much as I don't think lying your ass of is impressive, the efforts that Riley went through to maintain her lie, are.
A History of Lies
Another element the show focuses on is piecing together how Amanda came to be who she was. In most stories you might wonder...was this person always a liar? And Scamanda went to Riley's gradeschool classmates to ask and sure enough...yes.
While Riley doesn't offer up any interviews herself, this combined with testimony from former friends, her husband's put upon ex-wife, and beyond really paint the picture of someone who was determined to prop themselves up and be the center of attention.
The Law...Worked?
Most true crime is an indictment of the criminal justice system. And while I'll always be on the side of reformation, it was refreshing to see/hear a progression that made sense. A journalist investigated a possible crime. They informed a police officer. Said police officer gathered evidence and determined it might involve federal crimes. That federal agency took this request seriously and decided to move on it because it was a "righteous case." And they all move deliberately to make sure they have a case. By the end I was doing the most anti-American thing possible...praising the IRS for doing its job. A great example of what can/should happen when the legal system operates in good faith.
What's Missing: Why Did So Many People Get Tricked?
Before I get into this section I do want to note that show does try to ask people who believed in Amanda why they didn't question her wild claims. And a lot of the answers make sense in a base/human level. Some wanted to be a part of something important (one woman in particular can't identify it in herself but very clearly wanted secondhand attention for helping Amanda). Others didn't want to say anything because they didn't have proof and didn't want to sound like an asshole. And because it's a medical condition, you need a very particular set of circumstances and privledges to pull records.
But I mean...she said she had stage 4 cancer two maybe three times? I'm not a medical professional but I both know that stage 4 cancer is a "could fall dead at any moment" kind of diagnosis and the treatment for that would obliterate your ability to do anything, let alone take daily selfies and write about your journey. Even one time. Let alone twice. And once through a pregnancy.
It goes beyond politeness or a lack of medical knowledge. You're literally suspending reality to believe in a miracle.
And now we should talk about one of the biggest factors in the Amanda Riley story, in my opinion, religion. Once again I should note that the show does interrogate the involvement of Amanda's church in her fund-raising and promoting her story.
But here's the thing. Considering the kind of church Amanda was involved in, they were predisposed to fall for her story.
One of my biggest hangups with a lot of religions and especially the American vision of Evangelical Christianity, is that faith is always the answer. Life isn't good. Sounds like you need God to turn it around. If you're sick, we will pray for you and heal. Faith isn't a supplement to your needs. It's often described as your only need.
So Amanda self-describing herself as someone who didn't know god, then got sick, and found herself miraculously cured multiple times? That's a biblical miracle that any congregation of this sort would want to get its hands on.
Shaking your faith in Amanda could mean shaking your faith in god (whether that's conscious or not). Which is why the people who immediately identified Amanda's scam were people who had already seen the ravages of cancer up close. They had real life experience to contradict Amanda's claims and thus could separate their faith from Amanda.
So Amanda self-describing herself as someone who didn't know god, then got sick, and found herself miraculously cured multiple times? That's a biblical miracle that any congregation of this sort would want to get its hands on.
Shaking your faith in Amanda could mean shaking your faith in god (whether that's conscious or not). Which is why the people who immediately identified Amanda's scam were people who had already seen the ravages of cancer up close. They had real life experience to contradict Amanda's claims and thus could separate their faith from Amanda.
If there's anything folks should take away from Amanda Riley's long list of lies and cons is that healthy skepticism is always a good idea. Be it a celebrity you admire, a political figure, or a family member with tall tales about their life.
The main reason scammers succeed isn't because the people they scammed are necessarily ignorant or dumb. It's because they targeted a blind spot.
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