Scaachi Koul

They take photos of the fake couple to document the day. Priscilla FaceTimes her family back home, who seem to go along with the whole charade. And then she heads down to the beach where she snaps a photo and posts it to Instagram. But online, she fails to mention that she's just gotten married. Sarah, can you describe the post for us?

They take photos of the fake couple to document the day. Priscilla FaceTimes her family back home, who seem to go along with the whole charade. And then she heads down to the beach where she snaps a photo and posts it to Instagram. But online, she fails to mention that she's just gotten married. Sarah, can you describe the post for us?

And ever since she moved to the States two years ago, she's been posting things like this on Instagram. Glamorous, mysterious images with vaguely inspirational captions that make her life seem perfect, especially to her family and friends back in Brazil. But like so much on social media, the reality is something else entirely. Because just like her marriage, Priscilla's work isn't what it seems.

And ever since she moved to the States two years ago, she's been posting things like this on Instagram. Glamorous, mysterious images with vaguely inspirational captions that make her life seem perfect, especially to her family and friends back in Brazil. But like so much on social media, the reality is something else entirely. Because just like her marriage, Priscilla's work isn't what it seems.

She's portraying herself as a successful businesswoman. And she is. But her empire has been built on the backs of undocumented immigrants illegally driving for rideshare companies. She's managed to outsmart some of the biggest companies in the U.S. and the government. And it's given her and her community of undocumented employees a really good life.

She's portraying herself as a successful businesswoman. And she is. But her empire has been built on the backs of undocumented immigrants illegally driving for rideshare companies. She's managed to outsmart some of the biggest companies in the U.S. and the government. And it's given her and her community of undocumented employees a really good life.

But Priscilla's starting to cross over from helping others to just helping herself. And soon, her picture-perfect American story will meet cold, hard reality. From Wondery, I'm Sachi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And this is Scamfluencers. Priscilla Barbosa began scamming when she came to the U.S., but it wasn't out of greed. It was out of survival.

But Priscilla's starting to cross over from helping others to just helping herself. And soon, her picture-perfect American story will meet cold, hard reality. From Wondery, I'm Sachi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And this is Scamfluencers. Priscilla Barbosa began scamming when she came to the U.S., but it wasn't out of greed. It was out of survival.

Priscilla figured out how to game popular apps like Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash. And then she set out to share the wealth, earning a reputation in Boston's Brazilian community as a modern-day Robin Hood. But as her business grew, Priscilla bought into her own hype and crossed over from sympathetic scammer to ruthless capitalist. This is Priscilla Barbosa, the rideshare Robin Hood.

Priscilla figured out how to game popular apps like Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash. And then she set out to share the wealth, earning a reputation in Boston's Brazilian community as a modern-day Robin Hood. But as her business grew, Priscilla bought into her own hype and crossed over from sympathetic scammer to ruthless capitalist. This is Priscilla Barbosa, the rideshare Robin Hood.

Listen to scamfluencers early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

Listen to scamfluencers early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

From Wondery, this is a special episode of Scam Factory. I'm Sachi Cole, one of the hosts of another Wondery show, Scamfluencers.

From Wondery, this is a special episode of Scam Factory. I'm Sachi Cole, one of the hosts of another Wondery show, Scamfluencers.

Which is actually pretty similar to the charm offensive that scammers within the Scam Factory use to lure in their victims.

Which is actually pretty similar to the charm offensive that scammers within the Scam Factory use to lure in their victims.

Right. And we've covered a lot of stories of scammers on our show, but I didn't expect a scam at this scale.

Right. And we've covered a lot of stories of scammers on our show, but I didn't expect a scam at this scale.

Yeah, this series has really changed my perspective on these scammers, which is why we're both so excited to have a conversation with Denise Chan, the reporter and host of Scam Factory, to talk about how she found this crazy story, what else she learned reporting on these sophisticated scams, and what these characters have been doing since leaving the Scam Factory. Scam Factory Hi, Denise.

Yeah, this series has really changed my perspective on these scammers, which is why we're both so excited to have a conversation with Denise Chan, the reporter and host of Scam Factory, to talk about how she found this crazy story, what else she learned reporting on these sophisticated scams, and what these characters have been doing since leaving the Scam Factory. Scam Factory Hi, Denise.