Dreamware / Work / Tracking Down Online Scammers Using Barbara Corcoran's Identity
Tracking Down Online Scammers Using Barbara Corcoran's Identity
John Jansen used OSINT and domain intelligence techniques to identify the people behind a fraudulent skincare operation using Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran's name and likeness — leading to a confrontation on The Dr. Oz Show.
The Challenge
Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran discovered that her name, image, and likeness were being used without permission to sell fraudulent skincare products online. The fake advertisements implied Corcoran endorsed the products, which turned out to contain no active anti-aging ingredients — essentially repackaged moisturiser sold at premium prices. The operation was sophisticated enough to evade initial attempts at identification, using shell companies and obscured domain registrations.
This investigation came directly off the back of John Jansen's work identifying the Fake News King for NPR Planet Money. The same OSINT techniques that traced fake news networks could be applied to tracking down identity fraud and deceptive advertising operations. Barbara Corcoran and Dr. Oz needed someone who could follow digital breadcrumbs from a fraudulent website back to the people running the operation.
Our Approach
John Jansen applied the same domain intelligence and OSINT methodology used in the NPR fake news investigation. The process involved WHOIS lookups on the fraudulent domains, which revealed a company called Fight Aging LLC, along with registrant details and a physical address in San Diego. From there, network analysis mapped the connections between related domains, shell companies, and advertising accounts to build a complete picture of the operation.
The techniques were fundamentally the same as the fake news work — domain registration analysis, reverse IP lookups, advertising network tracing, and corporate entity research — but applied to consumer fraud rather than misinformation. The investigation identified the individuals behind the operation, including Craig and Kevin Galione, and provided the evidence needed for a direct confrontation.
The Outcome
The investigation results were featured on The Dr. Oz Show, where Barbara Corcoran personally confronted the operators of the fraudulent skincare business in Southern California. The episode — "Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran Bites Back Against Scammers" — aired to a national American television audience, highlighting both the scale of online celebrity identity fraud and the techniques used to track down the perpetrators.
The operator admitted on camera to making approximately $300,000 per year from the deceptive operation. The investigation contributed to broader awareness of fake celebrity endorsement scams and demonstrated that the same analytical techniques used for investigating misinformation networks are directly applicable to consumer protection and fraud detection.
This work, combined with the NPR Fake News King investigation, established a clear pattern: OSINT and network analysis skills developed for one domain transfer directly to others. Whether tracing misinformation, identity fraud, or corporate deception, the underlying methodology — follow the digital trail, map the network, identify the source — remains the same.
Key result
Featured on The Dr. Oz Show, national US television
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