11 People Shared A Time When They Or A Loved One Got Scammed, And Some Would've Gotten Me Too

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“My father was friended by a woman in Amsterdam on Facebook, and over a few months, they built up what felt like a close relationship over shared interests, conversations, pictures, etc.”

“She claimed to be an entrepreneur selling her business who wanted to tour his part of America before deciding where to move because she wanted to move to the US. She asked my dad if he could join her on a camping trip at multiple sites around the state so she could explore it. My dad loves camping, so he was thrilled to play tour guide for someone he thought was a younger, attractive woman who seemed to like him despite him being in his late 60s and her being in her early 30s.

He made this whole weeks-long itinerary so they could go camping around Texas. Then she messaged him from the airport in New York City on the day she was supposed to fly in for the trip. She was upset because she claimed she’d been detained for having more than $100,000 in cash on hand without claiming it when she transferred to New York to fly to Austin. She said she needed my dad to call her lawyer to get her out. 

My dad called her lawyer and was told there was a fee to get her out and another fee to get the cash from the authorities. The lawyer needed my dad to pay the $6,000 fees and other costs to make everything right. The woman begged my dad to pay, saying she’d pay him right back. Luckily, I caught it before anything happened and pointed out that the ‘lawyer’ was using a fake website and another lawyer’s name. Plus, the law didn’t work the way they were describing it. 

Thankfully, my dad saw the reality of the situation and realized he was being scammed. The good news is he was only slightly embarrassed instead of losing $6,000. I hope this helps people stop and research in a situation like this. Ask yourself if the websites, emails, phone numbers, names, and details match. Were the platforms created recently, or have they been established for an extended period of time? Be safe, y’all, it’s wild out there.”

–anonymous