They say love hurts, and with so many romance scams out there today, that’s doubly true—hearts are broken and wallets are emptied. Over the past three years, people have reported losing more money on romance scams than on any other fraud type. In 2020, reported losses to romance scams reached a record $304 million, which was up about 50% from 2019.
It’s reasonable to wonder what happened in 2020 to make these dollars losses continue to spike. An obvious reason may be the pandemic limiting our ability to meet in person. But, outside of the pandemic, the share of people who have ever used an online dating site or app has also been rising and romance scammers are primed to take advantage.
My first guest today, Jeff Tinsley, is the Founder and CEO at RealMe Solutions, an online reputation platform dedicated to cultivating safety and trust online. He joins us today to discuss fraud and scam prevention in the online marketplace, some of the biggest issues we are facing today in our digital interactions, and how RealMe is helping everyday people avoid being scammed out of their hard-earned money.
Feelings of self-doubt are nothing new for women in the workplace. In fact,of female executives experience imposter syndrome. But, with personal and professional lives colliding, it has become more difficult than ever to “fake it ‘til you make it.” Whether you are a female in the workplace or not, you can learn some valuable lessons from my guest, Jenn Donahue, who is U.S. Navy Captain, engineer, mentor, and speaker that helps leaders and managers tap into their most powerful source of strength.
She joins us today to share how we can take our camouflage off and stop trying to blend in, build the women leaders of tomorrow, find our leadership style, and command respect and loyalty from our team by building a solid foundation of trust.
Jeff Tinsley is the Founder and CEO at RealMe, an online reputation platform dedicated to cultivating safety and trust online.
RealMe helps people be safer when socializing or transacting online by checking for real users, accessing background profiles, and preventing at-risk activity while supporting business priorities.
He has been building successful Internet companies since 1994. Building unique businesses that create new, valuable markets is Jeff's passion, and he has deep experience in every element necessary to make a company a leading success.
Jeff has founded several successful Internet-related companies, including MyLife.com, MediaPass™ paywall for subscriptions, RealtyTracker, GreatDomains.com, and Intelligent Business Concepts.
He has also invested in several other ventures which have also been fortunate, with multiple acquisitions on both the buy and sell side.
Civil engineer. Operations consultant. PHD recipient. Teacher. Mentor. Military Officer. Throughout each of these roles, most of them simultaneous, Jenn Donahue has demonstrated the kind of leadership that goes beyond authority to something deeper— trust.
That’s because Jenn doesn’t focus on her position of leadership. She focuses on the people, relationships, and potential that surround her in each of her distinct roles.
That’s how she helped command an 800-personnel Battalion in Afghanistan, drill and blast roads in the coldest reaches of Alaska, develop earthquake defense plans at five different nuclear power plants, and then establish her own engineering firm with clients that include PG&E and National Chevron Phillips.
But, these are just credentials. What Jenn would most like to list are the names of the thousands of people she’s led and developed to reach their greatest potential. It’s what drives everything she does, and the reason she’s now taking her message to the keynote stage.
She believes that building trust between leaders and team members helps both reach their fullest capability— now and for the rest of their lives.