What It's Like To Find Out The Man You Love Is An International Con Man

What It's Like To Find Out The Man You Love Is An International Con Man

Author: Mamamia Podcasts March 5, 2025 Duration: 1:09:21

Hamish McLaren is a serial fraudster. Remember the podcast Who the Hell Is Hamish? He defrauded victims of their money for more than 30 years before he finally saw the inside of a prison cell.

Tracy Hall was his last victim, losing over $317,000 of her life savings to Hamish while in a relationship with him for 18 months.

Hamish didn’t just financially manipulate Tracy; he emotionally destroyed her. It’s taken her years to recover from that kind of deceit. She processed it by writing a book, The Last Victim, which details her story.

You can find The Last Victim here.

RESOURCES

What to do if you're scammed, defrauded or there is a data breach. Find information here.

Find downloadable tips to avoid scams here

Find Tracy's website here.

THE END BITS 

Subscribe to Mamamia

CREDITS

Guest: Tracy Hall

Host: Gemma Bath

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

GET IN TOUCH

Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note to give us feedback or suggest a case for the podcast.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review. You can also leave a comment for us on Spotify. 

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Gemma Bath hosts True Crime Conversations, a podcast from Mamamia Podcasts that delves into infamous criminal cases from Australia and around the world. Rather than just recounting facts, each episode is built around a direct conversation with someone who has a unique, often personal connection to the story. You might hear from a detective who worked the case, a journalist who covered the trial, a family member seeking answers, or a forensic expert who examined the evidence. This approach brings a tangible, human dimension to stories that can sometimes feel distant or sensationalised. The tone is engaging and thoughtful, focusing on the nuances and the people affected, rather than just the shock value. It’s for anyone who appreciates a deeper, more conversational entry into the true crime genre, where the emphasis is on understanding the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ from those who were actually there. Listening to this podcast feels like being part of a serious, yet accessible, discussion about some of the most compelling and complex crimes in recent history.
Author: Language: en-au Episodes: 100

True Crime Conversations
Podcast Episodes
How A Broken Law Sent Kathleen Folbigg To Prison [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:25
After 20 years in prison, Kathleen Folbig, once labelled Australia’s worst female serial killer, was released in just 56 minutes. New genetic evidence cleared her of killing her four children, flipping one of the country…
Hundreds Were Forced To Witness The Death Of Agnes Magnúsdóttir [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:25
She was young, poor, and alone in a harsh, unforgiving Icelandic landscape — and then she was sentenced to die. In 1830, Agnes Magnúsdóttir became the last person executed in Iceland, beheaded by axe for the murder of a…
William Tyrrell: Is This The Breakthrough We've Been Waiting For? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:56
He was three years old, dressed in a Spider-Man suit, playing in his foster grandmother’s yard — and then he was gone. Nearly a decade later, the disappearance of William Tyrrell remains one of Australia’s most haunting…
Kat Torres: The Influencer Convicted Of Human Trafficking [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:55
Kat Torres had it all—famous friends, a jet-setting modelling career and a social media feed that painted the picture of a woman who had truly made it. But behind the flawless photos and inspirational captions lurked a f…
"I Had to Kill Him": The Woman Who Survived Dirty John [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:00
"Dirty John" Meehan, a serial con artist and violent criminal, was Terra Newell's stepfather. He had married her mother and spent years manipulating and abusing her until she finally left him. Enraged by her departure, h…
Meet Heston Russell: The Veteran Falsely Accused Of War Crimes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:43
Heston Russell has lived a life most of us couldn’t imagine. A former special forces commander, he’s been shot at, dropped out of helicopters, and led troops through the chaos of Afghanistan and Iraq. But it wasn’t until…
Escaping One Of Australia's Most Secretive Cults [re-release] [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:36
Laura McConnell grew up in a fundamentalist sect with no name. Along with no official title, the group also claims to have no registration around the world, no formal hierarchy, and no official places of worship. Accordi…
The Podcast Host Who Solved A Murder When Police Couldn't [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:27
In 1993, a teenage girl vanished on her way to school in a quiet town in Ontario, Canada. That morning, she’d argued with her mother, Mary Ann—nothing serious, just one of those everyday fights about going to school. It…
What We Know About Stephanie Scott's Death 10 Years On [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:53
Stephanie Scott was just days away from marrying her long-time partner when she went into her empty high school on Easter Sunday to prepare lesson plans for the substitute teacher. That morning, she was tragically murder…