GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Kent County woman is out about $30,000 after meeting a man on Facebook and falling for an all-too-common “romance scam.”
She shared her story ahead of Valentine’s Day in hopes that her warning prevents others from falling victim.
“I’ve lost trust. And I don’t think I’ll ever be the same person again,” the woman, who asked that her identity be concealed, told 24 Hour News 8 Monday.
The victim, who is in her 60s, lost her husband of 40-plus years just a few years ago and said loneliness drew her into the scam.
“I was so lonely. My purpose in life was gone: taking care of my husband. And this person comes along and he needed me,” she said.
ASKING FOR MORE AND MORE MONEY
It started last August on Facebook, when she received a random friend request from someone she described was a nice-looking man with a dog.
“I ended up pushing the confirm. And that’s what started ‘Hello,'” she recalled.
The man claimed to be from Alabama but said he was working overseas. They started messaging on Facebook and eventually took their conversations to a private online chat service.
The woman said she was swept off her feet by the smooth talker.
“‘You’re a wonderful person, you’re beautiful, you’re a Christian,'” she recalled the scammer writing. “I felt like somebody cared about me and the loneliness was going away.”
Full Story on WOODTV8