Restore Hope for Our Mom, Gloria, After Devastating Scam

If you are reading this page, thank you for your time, compassion and understanding.

My family and I have started this fundraiser for my mom, Gloria.

Everyone who comes to know my mom knows her to be a kind, caring, and free-spirited person who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Unfortunately, these wonderful attributes can leave someone vulnerable to deplorable people looking to scam individuals in today’s technology-driven world.

My mom, soon to be 74, has been a widow since 2010. She has dealt with being alone as best she can during that time, but sorrow always remains. She stays occupied by doing things and going out with her sister, also widowed since 2020, on weekends. My family and I, either as a collective, individually, or with significant others, make every effort to make time to take my mom out to keep her busy and to enjoy life the best we can.

In 2021, my mom was in a serious head-on collision on her way home. Her car was totaled and she was banged up pretty badly. After several visits to the doctor, she eventually recovered. In 2023, nearly two years to the day, on her way to work, someone ran a red light and t-boned her. She spun through the intersection so much that her car faced the other direction. This accident was different; my mom was more than just banged up, she was emotionally shaken. She saw several doctors and had even more tests done as her pain was ever lingering. In the weeks after, I noticed a change in her personality and behavior. Something was off.

Around the middle of June, it all started to unfold. My mom told me she made a “friend” on Facebook. With my mind spinning and red flags going off I began to ask questions. "His name was Henry, he works on an oil rig in the Pacific and we talk online."

My stomach became twisted and I immediately asked to see his profile, which I could tell was fake. I tried to explain it to her but she wasn’t receptive. I immediately called my brother, who came over the next day, and we explained to our mom that this was not a real person. After an hour or so, she said she understood and she wouldn’t talk to him again. This very same situation happened four more times over the next three months - each time becoming more and more difficult to deal with on our end and to try and explain. This situation put incredible strain on our relationship with our mom and with our significant others.

In October, I opened a letter from her bank thinking it was mine. It says she is late with her payment. This made no sense to me as she always paid bills on time, even early, and had a great credit rating. I asked for permission to review her financials. Upon reviewing her accounts, my heart dropped and all I could do was cry in anger and disbelief.

My mom was truly convinced this "Henry" was a real person; this entity used her kindness, her compassion - all of her qualities against her. They managed to convince my mom they loved her, would take her away, and be happy together. They fed off her loneliness and grief and convinced her to send money online over and over for several months, promising that she would "get everything back and more." This included sending gift card codes, Bitcoin, and wire transfers. They manipulated her so much that she withdrew her 401k and personal savings to a sum of over $50,000!!!

My brother and I did everything we could over the next two months to try and get her money back. We spoke to all of her financial institutions, we went to our local police, we contacted the FBI online fraud department, etc. Nothing could be done. I spoke to our local Detective and he was able to trace the transfers and email addresses to Nigeria, which is the #1 location for many of these types of scams. He also researched "Henry's" FB photo and it turned out to be a celebrity, who has even published videos and warnings to others that he is aware that his likeness is commonly used in romance scams and to beware. They stole a real person’s identity and pretended to be them. This is all part of their process and it’s sick!

My mom started going to see her doctor more to speak about this situation and also began seeing a therapist. She has undergone further testing to make sure she is OK. My brother has set up new email and phone numbers for her. I’ve been maintaining her finances since November at the request of her doctors and Detective to prevent any further problems. She is doing better now and we hope this is behind us.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this. For those who know my mom, my family, and myself, I hope this sheds some light on things we have been going through the past year plus. We’ve decided to swallow our pride as we just can’t help her recover her lost finances alone. Any contribution is deeply appreciated and words can’t express that enough. If you are unable to help monetarily, then please use this as a PSA. Never take a situation for granted and always look out for your older relatives. Never be afraid to question a parent, grandparent, etc. about something that seems off. You just might save their life!

Thank you with a heavy heart!

Some helpful information:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2023/02/romance-scammers-favorite-lies-exposed

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/romance-scams