76 Year Old Lost Her Life Savings In A Romance Scam. Her Son Was No Help.

OneEyedDiva

OneEyedDiva

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GMA covered the story of a woman who met her "suitor" on Facebook. He claimed he was a doctor working with the Red Cross in Yemen. Of course he came up with a hardship story, but expressed love for her and suggested they buy a house together to start their new lives. He said he'd pay $600,000 and she would pay the remaining $78,700 which included fees. The alleged property was in another state. She sold her house. She and her son packed their stuff and went to the house in North Carolina. Her son knocked on the door and "immediately knew it was a scam" because people still lived there.

Why didn't he pick up on the red flags, since she obviously wasn't thinking straight?! Why would he let his mother send her life savings to a man she never met? She said it "seemed like a good deal". Why didn't he say, "Hey mom, let's check out the validity of this deal first"? In fact, let's see if we can find out more about this man first. I wonder if he tried to talk to her but she just wouldn't listen or were they both that ridiculously naive about these things. Or maybe she already sent the money and sold the house before she told him. :unsure: Astonishingly, victims were duped out of more than $1.3 billion due to romance scams last year.

Here's the short news clip.
Woman loses life savings after falling victim to romance scam
 

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I don't have much pity for her. Catfishing is Dr. Phil's favorite subject, everyone should have heard about it by now. I wouldn't buy a house with a man I had actually been dating for years, much less one I'd never met.

I watched, "The Golden Bachelor" the other night after hearing about it here. It was fun to see a bunch of seniors looking good and seeking romance, but I hope whoever ends up together just dates and goes on a few trips. Marriage, money, and wills get complicated when people are over seventy.
 
hollydolly said:
There's never a week goes by but a story similar to this one is reported. Seriously, what is wrong with these women.?
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My only guess is they want it to be true they are blind to the signs and the issues....... many people could use the old adage " if it sounds too good to be true it probably is"

I am constantly baffled that after almost 11 years the show " catfish " still has people of all ages falling for this.... they have shown people tons of ways to reverse look up information and search photos for duplicates etc but people still do not Protect themselves.

I find it odd that Facebook pretends to care so much about misinformation...... as they see it..... But their AI cannot see multiple accounts using same photos and different names and info to catfish and scam ...... lmao

They let people create fake accounts ( more # of accounts for advertisers so more $ for facebook) often using other profiles as cover for catfishing and scams on a lot of people ....
.Hosts of Catfish TV show can look up in 2 minutes numerous bogus accounts that steal photos and information from other pages.

Facebook is enabling CRIME ......that and its market place is the best way to unload stolen goods according to a serial shoplifter who gave an interview after finally being punished... If facebook cared they would have system to weed out accounts.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
GMA covered the story of a woman who met her "suitor" on Facebook. He claimed he was a doctor working with the Red Cross in Yemen. Of course he came up with a hardship story, but expressed love for her and suggested they buy a house together to start their new lives. He said he'd pay $600,000 and she would pay the remaining $78,700 which included fees. The alleged property was in another state. She sold her house. She and her son packed their stuff and went to the house in North Carolina. Her son knocked on the door and "immediately knew it was a scam" because people still lived there.

Why did he, since she couldn't think straight, pick up on the red flags?! Why would he let his mother send her life savings to a man she never met? She said it "seemed like a good deal". Why didn't he say, "Hey mom, let's check out the validity of this deal first"? In fact, let's see if we can find out more about this man first. I wonder if he tried to talk to her but she just wouldn't listen or were they both that ridiculously naive about these things. Or maybe she already sent the money and sold the house before she told him. :unsure: Astonishingly, victims were duped out of more than $1.3 billion due to romance scams last year.

Here's the short news clip.
Woman loses life savings after falling victim to romance scam
Click to expand...
These stories make me feel ill. Both the scam artist and the victim.
I know, " There but for the Grace......" but how could you fall for this? The quest for love is powerful. That's the only explanation.
 
I will never understand this. My first (and thus only) question would be how in the heck did some doctor in Yemen find my FB. That would be the end of it. I'd know it was a scam. Gotta admit that I'd be tempted to play reverse scam and tell him I'll be glad to put $78k toward our dream house, but he'll need to send me $3K in Visa gift cards first so that I can get things taken care of and ready to move. :sneaky:

I wonder if these people ever stop to ponder why it's always "doctors" looking for suckers and not trash collectors? "Hi, I'm a trash collector in Yemen and I'm madly in love with you. Send me your life savings and we'll live happily ever after." :rolleyes:
 
I had to think about this for awhile and if I remember correctly, I believe it’s possible for the mother to sue the son in a case such as this. It’s very difficult to win this type of suit, but it has been known to happen.

No, I am not suggesting she does this or that it would happen, but I’m pretty sure I have read that there have been cases of children suing parents and parents suing their children. This has nothing to do with what my job entailed as a state cop, but I remember reading in journals we would get and they would lie around in the duty room and I would pick up a copy and read any story that appeared interesting.

Ohioboy may know more about this. We seldom got involved in civil cases. It’s a crazy world out there and even though we don’t think people are falling for these scams anymore, but they are.
 
jimintoronto said:
Would that include what YOU write here ? JimB.
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Not really. I'm not trying to solicit anything from anyone. There is nothing I want from folks on here.

But, if you remember about a month ago, a young person created an account and tried to talk with people on here.
I saw that as a clear scam starting.
Folks on here engaged with them until the moderator deleted the ID.
 
Both myself and my Wife have made agreements with her older son Doug ( age 52 ) and his Wife ( age 51 ) that we will not spend more than $500 on anything, without FIRST running it by them, for an opinion. It is not that either one of us is stupid or dumb. It is a matter of using some one else's eyes to look at a situation. My Wife used to manage a large department's budget at the U of T, that ran into the millions of dollars per year, so she isn't financially uneducated.

I have to shake my head when I read these scam stories, week after week. P.T. Barnum was right. JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
Both myself and my Wife have made agreements with her older son Doug ( age 52 ) and his Wife ( age 51 ) that we will not spend more than $500 on anything, without FIRST running it by them, for an opinion. It is not that either one of us is stupid or dumb. It is a matter of using some one else's eyes to look at a situation. My Wife used to manage a large department's budget at the U of T, that ran into the millions of dollars per year, so she isn't financially uneducated.

I have to shake my head when I read these scam stories, week after week. P.T. Barnum was right. JimB.
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Sometimes elderly will hide the fact they got scammed to save them from embarrassment to the family.
They don't want to appear old and feeble minded.
 
jimintoronto said:
Both myself and my Wife have made agreements with her older son Doug ( age 52 ) and his Wife ( age 51 ) that we will not spend more than $500 on anything, without FIRST running it by them, for an opinion. It is not that either one of us is stupid or dumb. It is a matter of using some one else's eyes to look at a situation. My Wife used to manage a large department's budget at the U of T, that ran into the millions of dollars per year, so she isn't financially uneducated.

I have to shake my head when I read these scam stories, week after week. P.T. Barnum was right. JimB.
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I used to be a member service rep in a big credit union and quite often older, unmarried women would come in and ask my opinion about big purchases.

I remember one who was thinking of buying all new windows after some "nice young man" had told her how much money she would save on heating costs, etc. She had even brought the brochure to show me. Then she showed me a photo of a big hole in the middle of her kitchen where the tile and some boards had rotted through. I told her I really thought she'd be better off getting the kitchen fixed first and save the windows for another year -- all while trying to keep the, "Duh!" out of my voice.

It's someone else's eyes, like you say.
 
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First, we, all, did really dumb stuff in the name of love. Humans are emotional critters and we need love just as we need food, air, and water. But I have to admit that the MD working for the Red Cross in Yemen is a classic scam scenario. We underestimate the skill of the scammer. They know how to build "truth cues", which makes the pitch sound plausible and verifierable, when they aren't.
 
This is an example once again why people should read or watch the news. These stories and other scams have been around for years and they’re told on a regular basis. As mentioned, shows like Dr. Phil talked about them. Maybe tv needs a show dedicated to just showing scams aimed at seniors. Play it 24 hours a day.
 
As they say love is blind.

Basically anyone that brings up money issues/requests/ideas is a red flag period. It's one thing to talk about the stock market or inflation/politics is one thing but a request even if a backdoor request for money in most relationships is a red flag. If not a con the person who wants the money will blow it away.

I've seen alkies and addicts give their financial stories of woe in hopes somebody will voluntarily give them a loan/money because they learned a direct request will go no where. And parents of adult children ie seniors are some of the biggest suckers for these grifts.

Someone who brings up personal finances, needs etc are either miserable, desperate or a grifter. Regardless of why maybe not the best people to be around or get too involved with
 
Della said:
I don't have much pity for her. Catfishing is Dr. Phil's favorite subject, everyone should have heard about it by now. I wouldn't buy a house with a man I had actually been dating for years, much less one I'd never met.

I watched, "The Golden Bachelor" the other night after hearing about it here. It was fun to see a bunch of seniors looking good and seeking romance, but I hope whoever ends up together just dates and goes on a few trips. Marriage, money, and wills get complicated when people are over seventy.
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"Marriage, money, and wills get complicated when people are over seventy." You got that right! In fact, they can be complicated no matter the age when the parties have children. Some people get crazy when it comes to inheritance matters as it is, even those we'd least expect to behave that way.
 
hollydolly said:
There's never a week goes by but a story similar to this one is reported. Seriously, what is wrong with these women.?
Click to expand...
Or with those men? Just google "men who were duped online" and you will find hundreds of examples. Loneliness coupled with gullibililty is a formula for failure and heartbreak. Date the old fashioned way, never on the Internet. Some have been lucky but that's very rare.

Man duped out of €55,000 in online scam | Cyprus Mail

This one is a warning about scammers in general:

Romance scams in 2023 + online dating statistics - Norton
 
Old Salt said:
Or with those men? Just google "men who were duped online" and you will find hundreds of examples. Loneliness coupled with gullibililty is a formula for failure and heartbreak. Date the old fashioned way, never on the Internet. Some have been lucky but that's very rare.

Man duped out of €55,000 in online scam | Cyprus Mail

This one is a warning about scammers in general:

Romance scams in 2023 + online dating statistics - Norton
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yes but we don't read about men nearly as often as we read about these women.. I mean what are they thinking..?.. they must be telling these total strangers right from the. start that they have substantial savings...
 
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