Fraud doesn’t begin
with money.
It begins with trust.
Kirsty Guest brings lived experience into the rooms where fraud prevention, victim support, safeguarding and policy are shaped — challenging assumptions and showing what psychological manipulation looks like from the inside.
From lived experience to a voice for change.
Kirsty Guest is a romance-fraud survivor advocate and keynote speaker. Her work focuses on the psychology of fraud, grooming, coercion, victim experience and the systems people encounter after a crime is discovered.
Her experience now informs prevention and awareness work across corporate, banking and safeguarding audiences. The focus is not simply on what happened, but on what organisations can learn from it: how trust is engineered, why judgement fails victims, what warning signs can be recognised earlier and how support can become more human.
Kirsty founded Speak To Be Heard to make lived experience part of the solution — not a footnote to it.
“The question should not simply be why did they send the money? We need to understand what happened before they ever did.”
Fraud is often measured at the transaction. Kirsty’s work takes audiences further back: contact, trust, grooming, dependency, manipulation — and then into the often-overlooked fight after fraud.
Lived experience that changes the conversation.
For conferences, financial services, fraud and risk teams, law enforcement, safeguarding professionals, universities and organisations responsible for protecting people.
Behind the Profile
How trust is built, grooming develops and manipulated identities — including AI-enabled identities — can turn ordinary human connection into exploitation.
The Psychology of Romance Fraud
Emotional grooming, dependency and coercion — moving the conversation beyond “why did they send the money?”
The Fight After Fraud
Reporting, financial consequences, victim-blaming, rebuilding and the gaps survivors can encounter after discovery.
What audiences take away
A deeper understanding of manipulation and decision-making; a more human way to think about victims; warning signs that can be recognised earlier; and a challenge to consider what prevention, reporting and survivor support could do differently.
Speaking formats
Keynotes, fireside conversations, expert panels, corporate sessions, leadership discussions, fraud and safeguarding training, university programmes, podcasts and media interviews.
Audience fit
Financial services, fraud and financial-crime teams, payments, online platforms, law enforcement, safeguarding, public-sector organisations, higher education and conferences focused on trust, technology, fraud or consumer protection.
Behind the Profile.
A seed they can recognise later.
An interactive programme designed to make emerging fraud risks relevant to young adults without lecturing them. Student participation is built into the session so the learning feels memorable and usable beyond the room.
Taking the survivor perspective into influential rooms.
Selected public appearances and collaborations include international anti-scam events, fraud and financial-crime conferences, industry conversations and survivor-led education.
Organisation names are used descriptively to identify documented appearances, coverage or collaboration; they do not imply endorsement.
A voice that stays with the room.
Feedback from fraud and risk professionals who have heard Kirsty speak.
“The truly inspirational Kirsty Guest… Her story brought to life why we are committed to fighting fraud and why it matters.”Mike Chalmers-Hunt · Risk Ready 2026 / LexisNexis Risk Solutions
“I have the utmost respect and awe at the bravery shown by Kirsty in sharing her story.”Jason Lane-Sellers · CFCA
“One of the most direct and important conversations the association has hosted.”We Fight Fincrime Association
A trusted voice in the wider conversation.
Kirsty’s story and advocacy have reached national broadcast audiences as well as international podcasts and specialist fraud platforms. For event organisers, these appearances show an ability to communicate difficult subjects with clarity, humanity and impact.
BBC Morning Live
Kirsty appeared in a two-part BBC Morning Live feature on romance fraud, alongside Melanie Graham and campaigner Anna Rowe, exploring both the crime and what happens to victims afterwards.
View reference →Operation Seraphim
BBC News featured Kirsty’s experience within its reporting on specialist investigations targeting organised romance-fraud networks operating across the UK and Nigeria.
BBC coverage →BBC Radio 4 · You and Yours
Kirsty’s first BBC Radio 4 interview with Shari Vahl brought the lived reality of dating fraud to a national radio audience and marked an early step in her campaign to be heard.
Listen / reference →Stolen · Erin West
Romance Fraud: One Woman’s Journey from Target to Survivor — a long-form conversation following the fraud from initial trust through manipulation and the fight to rebuild.
Listen →How Smart People Get Scammed
Kirsty joined Erin West and Dr Martina Dove to examine the psychological strategies used by scammers — including credibility-building, manufactured crises, isolation and self-blame.
Listen / watch →Kate Confidential
Kirsty joined campaigner Anna Rowe for a broadcast-quality conversation about romance fraud, its consequences and the need for the issue to receive serious public and policy attention.
View feature →Broadcast and programme names are used descriptively. Links point to the broadcaster, programme, publisher or a public post documenting the appearance where a direct programme page was not reliably available.
Selected media & speaking.
These links take visitors directly to independent coverage and event pages, so organisers can see the work rather than simply read claims about it.
Mastercard — Anatomy of a Scam
Kirsty Guest brings audiences inside the psychology of romance fraud — not from a textbook, but from lived experience. Her story formed part of Mastercard’s award-winning Anatomy of a Scam documentary series. Today, she takes that experience onto international stages, into organisations and universities, turning one story into something audiences can recognise, understand and act upon.
Real experience. A powerful voice. A conversation that changes how people see fraud.
Watch Kirsty’s contribution to Mastercard’s Anatomy of a Scam through the official film links above.
Kirsty Guest · Romance fraud, trust and psychological manipulation
Watch official film →Keynote — Speak To Be Heard
Official speaker profile for Kirsty Guest at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Europe.
GASAKeynote session
Official session listing from Lisbon.
LexisNexis Risk SolutionsA Survivor’s Story: Why the Human Impact Matters
Risk Ready coverage of Kirsty’s fireside conversation and the role of empathy in fraud response.
ODDAGlobal Fraud Summit — Vienna
Panel coverage exploring romance fraud, online safety, victim support and prevention.
Stolen Podcast · Operation ShamrockOne Woman’s Journey from Target to Survivor
Kirsty’s long-form conversation with Erin West.
Operation ShamrockHow Smart People Get Scammed
Follow-up conversation with Erin West and Dr Martina Dove on psychology and manipulation.
We Fight Fincrime AssociationEngineered to Exploit
Discussion of sextortion, romance fraud and the victims being failed.
Money Wellness“I said hello…”
A detailed account of Kirsty’s experience and the mechanics of romance fraud.
CFCALessons for Consumer Protection
CFCA’s account of Kirsty’s session at its Spring Educational Event in Charlotte.
LinkedInFollow Kirsty
Current speaking, fraud-awareness and advocacy updates.
Life beyond the lie.
Speak To Be Heard is about more than telling one survivor’s story. It is about turning experience into prevention, education and change — and making sure people affected by fraud are understood as human beings, not simply numbers on a report.
Speaker assets.
Everything needed to introduce Kirsty, brief an event team or plan an interview.
Speaker biography
International keynote speaker, romance-fraud survivor and fraud-prevention advocate bringing lived experience into conversations about human behaviour, safeguarding and prevention.
Signature talks
Behind the Profile
The Psychology of Romance Fraud
The Fight After Fraud
Formats
Keynotes · fireside conversations · panels · university programmes · corporate sessions · television · radio · podcasts.
High-resolution approved headshots and event-specific biography can be supplied directly when a booking is confirmed.
Request speaker pack →Bring the human reality of fraud into the room.
For keynote speaking, conferences, corporate events, universities, panels and media enquiries, share a few details below. The form prepares an email to Kirsty so you can review it before sending.
Email: kirsty.speaktobeheard@gmail.com