‘I Was Scammed Out of £67,000 in a Year by My Online Lover’ | This Morning
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- Опубликовано: 15 фев 2024
- 6 years ago, Ava from Essex thought she had met the man of her dreams when she sparked up a friendship with ‘David’, a stranger, online. But soon, David started asking for money and Ava’s dream turned into a nightmare, having transferred £67,000 before realising she was being scammed. The police found that David wasn’t who he said he was, but in fact a stranger from Nigeria. Ava is joining us to share her story and to warn others of the dangers of online love. She is joined alongside scam expert, Nick Stapleton, to share his expert advice.
Scams: Don't Get Caught Out airs on Channel 5 Wednesdays at 8pm
Broadcast on 16/02/2024
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If someone ever asks you for money then RUN. RUN. RUN.
You'd think that would be a simple enough rule to follow🤦♀️
Hopefully Alison's romance with her twenty-something year old boyfriend doesn't go down the same route
Never heard of scammers??! Where has she been hiding?
But she shrugged off her daughter who said he was a scammer. Why didn't she ask her daughter 'what's a scammer?' She was enjoying the attention and happy to pay for it.
Exactly
What the heck is an "online lover?" A delusion.
Oxymoron.
It's a bloke/bird with a really, REALLY long...........
I was thinking the same thing! He was just someone who was either texting or whispering sweet nothings in her ear.
A paid "boyfriend experience"
Why do these women fall for this. They hand over thousands thinking these men are interested in them. When they start asking for money I would be “bye” no matter how lonely I felt
Yes, I honestly can't understand it.
Me too! And it's not only online men that do this!
i was away to say the same
My money is more important to me than any fake man 🤣
Middle aged, overweight.
£67,000 is 126 million naira. Nigerian money . That man and his family, friends and village will never work again.
Minimum wage in Nigeria is 65, 000 Naira per month. £33 pounds.
Wow 😳
The person she has been speaking with will see a fraction of that money. They are the employee not the mastermind.
It does the same thing it would do there in UK. In my country which is in Southern Africa,£67 OOO would be 700.000 or quarter of a million and minimum wage is the equivalence of £250.
That man is not giving any of that to his village
Just don’t send money to random people you have met on the internet. I understand being lonely and all that. I was widowed 5 years ago. But my hard earned money is for me to have some fun in the autumn of my life and leave what I can for the grandchildren. I have zero intentions of making a scammer and their family live well off my back thank you
😂😂😂😂😂
Instead of "I was scammed", how about "I let myself be scammed." Yes, you're a victim, but also responsible for your actions.
Notice how they absolved her of any responsibility. They instead told us that we just haven't had a turn yet 🤦🏾♀️
She should have listened to her daughter but no she knows best.
They willingly gave money!
All she needed to do was tell him to take a long run off a short cliff. But instead she sent him all her grandchildren’s will money
Tbf it’s a completely different generation who are clueless with threats online
No excuse for this, how on earth could she give 67,000 for someone you don't know 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
She thought she did know him
Not very well apparently.
A fool and their money are easily parted.
Thats quite a harsh thing to say especially when you consider that a lot of her generation are not internet savvy.
@@LittleJacob208It is not harsh. Lack of internet savvy is not an excuse. I could understand sending maybe £1,000 or £2,000. However, unless a person is extremely rich, by the time you are hitting a total of £5,000 - £10,000 the alarm bells should be going off.
The only way this doesn't alarm anyone is if they don't keep a track of their expenses. In this scenario, the proverb is even more applicable.
@@polycarp9897 You made some great points I am not saying your wrong. All I am saying is these scammers prey on people like her. I can only speculate here i'm gonna hazard a guess and say she has been single for a while. She is obviously a mature lady and lonely. That's a prime target for these scammers. I think naivety in my opinion is probably more accurate than referring to her as a fool.
Oh come on she may not be savvy but shes on face book..she must watch tv and know about these scammers..she said the accent wasnt ok..its ridiculous
@@angelacarlisle1708 So what would you prefer for me to be heartless and unsympathetic and say that she deserved to be scammed for being so gullible?
Almost a waste of time discussing it. The world is full of heartless scammers and also full of gullible naive people. This sort of thing will always happen one way or another.
He's NOT your "lover". That word implies some degree of physical intimacy. She hadn't even met him!
I completely agree. Also she is not 'in a relationship' with him.
Never met? You've got to be kidding!
Yes however romance scammers use things such as love bombing, manipulating a person's emotions, sending poems and so on. If you can break the illusion in a person's mind then that's a first step. On Dr Phil they had showed the person had fake ID yet the victim still insisted the scammer was genuine.
Surely she must of heard of scammers if her daughter in law is a bank manager.
She was hooked in and doesn’t care.
Exactly..
She spent most of the interview with her eyes shut. It’s no wonder
As an older woman on facebook, some years ago, quickly noticed a pattern when strange gentlemen would compliment & friend request. They were always American or British working in a foreign country, widowed with a daughter or son, sometimes even working as a missionary. Yet always, quickly asked for financial help for their “child” or for personal airport mix ups. Since I had no money to waste, stopped & blocked any contact.
Smart lady.
They'll ask to speak on hang outs too
Good on you.
If it's too good to be true... It's too good to be true!
I’m sorry she thought the requests were amazing but she still gave him money? This is just stupidity.
Blows my mind people can be this naive 🤷🏼♀️
Maybe I'm too stingy to do any of this. I'm generous to people that I know and love plus causes I'm passionate about. Also when it comes to loans (As a rule, I never give away anything im unwilling to lose)
I could not agree more. Even 100 quid let alone tens of thousands! We blame technology but would these women have handed over this money to people who just knocked on their door or wrote a begging letter?
And these gits are always "working on an oil rig".
And look like Brad Pitt...😮
Or orthopedic surgeon working for UN in Syria😅
Or in the military
Iv got genuine friends in life and I think £100 would be pushing it 😂
Exactly, couple of hundred and that’s it.
🤣🤣🤣
But she wasn’t lending money to her friends. She was thinking that she was rescuing a man and his child from trouble.
@lesyaa7428 she was flattered by the attention from someone asking if they can be 'friends'. If I told my friends I'd broken my leg, or I'm stuck in Peru, no way would I get that amount of money. I dont know many that would get themselves in such trouble financially.
Ya know! I've had a couple of friends ask on separate occasions if they could borrow 2k (probably because they had a vague idea of what I earn and thought asking me to borrow that would be acceptable). I had to chuckle to myself and tell them "nah, the most I can lend you is £50-£100". Both of them accepted my response and didn't push the topic, but they didn't bother to take my counter offer 😅
Whatever happened to the phrase "never lend out what you can't afford or not willing to give away"? It's like people's IQ goes downhill when they think they've found a potential lover.
Don't tell me his picture was of a very fit and handsome middle-aged man who looked like a model?
If you send me £500,000 I'll send you his photo and phone number!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
And A Solider stuck in Afghanistan
With a deep African accent 🤭 that was her cue to cut communication, a real pity she didn't.
The one who contacted me on FB yesterday had photos of at least 3 different men on his page. He kept asking e to move over to Google Chat to Watts App. I can only assume that more than one of them can use the same WattsApp chat ? Wheres with FB it means constantly logging out and back in. After him asking about 5 times I blocked him. He called himself David William. They almost always use a Christian name for their surname.
If someone would message me with this picture i would assume they are nuts
Scammers do not care what damage they have done to the victims. The only thing they care about is the money. no amount of tears or profanity would change the heart of a scammer.
Why should they care? They are laughing there heads off at the gullabllity of these people who hand over all their money to someone they have never met in person.
Tbf they come from nothing and are just trying to survive, natural selection runs throughout the economy too
The one thing these “victims” all have in common is they go after looks and perceptions in stead of reality. There’s a reason she kept this silent from those around her.
If they are in such good job why are they asking for money?
There is no fool, like an old fool.I am 66yrs old I am lonely, but giving them my money noway
I have had quite a few of those "I like your profile, you post such nice things, can you be my friend". I'm single but nothing will induce me to be their friend. I delete them & have changed my privacy to friends only.
I receive this sort of messages regularly...I just ignore them.
My facebook profile no longer has a photo of me. I haven’t received any cat phishing requests ever since I changed it.
I receive these messages all day long. I just delete them immediately. These scammers are a waste of time. Do not engage EVER. Just DELETE, BLOCK! Stay on your own.
Not scammed ; but willingly parted with their money .
Never heard of scammers at her age never heard of bank robbers break ins shop lifting🤪
Do you even know the definition of scammed?? 😂😂😂
Why didn't she mention it to her son? Was she uncomfortable and embarrassed about this friendship on line? That was the first sign she should have listened to, her intuition is inbuilt for a reason.
Oil rig is another red flag
100 percent and military
If I was messaged a few times a day by a stranger, I would run a mile not fall 'in love' with them. Its called harrassment.
How many more times do these stories have to be told before women to realise they are talking to a scammer?
Unfortunately some women will never learn and will always be scammed
And men.
Having watched loads of these scammer stories I can only conclude that most of the "victims" are ego-centric, very vain, utterly deluded, and dense with it. A combination that leaves them wide open to flattery and being defrauded. It's also noticeable how often they keep their "relationship" (as if!!!) secret from family and friends.
@@Challenger2A7 some of them also want to help people
They know, they just like the attention. Same story every time
How many alarm bells, did she want.... My god!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sure you're sarcastic and patronising comment is really helpful to this woman
@@user-vh6ts9uf6cNobody is being sarcastic but why didn’t she buy a mirror?
@@david-pb4bi Because people get lonely and vulnerable. Have some compassion for God's sake
@@user-vh6ts9uf6c Are there no bingo halls or cinemas?
@@user-vh6ts9uf6c .. Are there no bingo halls?
It’s like pulling teeth.
Lol
Yesss
Why was she "vulnerable", ok, she was divorced but who isn't? She had a loving son and a smart daughter-in-law.
Loneliness, and these guys know who to target and what to say
She could have spent time with grandchildren neices nephews neighbors volunteer community classes senior groups gym traveling
@@isay207 Exactly, some people chase a fantasy when contentment is well within their reach.
maybe her grandkids were living far away. It can happen to anyone, I think we should learn from it, vs blaming her. Obviously she was taken advanage of. For her to come on tv and tell her story, she is very kind hearted and wants others to learn from her mistakes.@@isay207
No sympathy. He didn’t sound like he should. Her daughter-in-law said it was a scam. He asked for money straight away.
Have any one notice that all those scamners are people with very hi profile job?then why are they asking for money
I wonder how much she has given to the homeless around her town, how much she has given to her local hospice, or any more rescues how much she has given her grandchildren not this much I get to bet
Probably 0, we can think of better ways to give our money away and maybe see something positive out of it.
When you're lonely and desperate, all common sense goes out the window.
Stud muffin pay for lay comes first
2:05 people need to start being realistic. I’m an average looking guy. If a woman who’s a 10 reaches out to me online, it’s 100% a scam. But an average looking woman wants to believe that it’s possible that a good looking, tall millionaire is interested in her.
Easy to blame the victim here but need to have some empathy, not everyone is aware of scams
SCAMMERS ARE EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE EVEN ON ANCESTRY. When it was my Birthday 3 different men ( probably same person). Came on my page, hi how are you!!!!! I told them they were Catfish, blocked them and reported them. They are on every media platform.
These people never take responsibilty for anything. How can you send £67k to aomeone you have never met? Maybe a couple hundred and a thousand but that amount? No. Because they keep telling people it's not your fault they need to know it is and you are not too send funds to people u do not know.
Honestly it’s not luck that keeps me safe it’s clear from the second they try to make contact Stranger danger
why are people so nieve unbelievable u cant be that silly
Stay in your league, I'll bet the scammer used a photo of a handsome man to get her. Mirrors are easily available, dear. And no, I couldn't be scammed, I'm sick of being told I could be. And there is no "relationship" if you've never met each other.
Well said.
Never get off the boat!
' hello i like the look of your profile can we be friends' would of given me the ick straight away im all for being friends before dating but if you start a message like that your not for me it usually screams he's in another country and english isnt his first language
She wasn’t scammed… she was a willing participant 😢
Exactly!
Absolutely!
One born every minute! 😮
Surely there’s been more than enough examples of this
I’ve got not sympathy for this woman
To be fair, this story is from 6 years ago.
Why do they give them money?
Loneliness
Why do these women fall for such an obvious scams, the stories they tell are better than any fairy tail
fairy tale - not tail
Such a patronising question.
Why didn’t they just buy a mirror?
@david-pb4bi Did you check your mirror lately? Maybe they're fed up of rude people like you.
Stuck on the oil rigs or in military in a different country or a new one I have heard is your celebrity crush reaching out to the victim requesting £££ to meet them. Johnny Depp is very popular apparently 😂
Not much sympathy TBF....
I’m not sure how new this one is but sometime last year my friend Rosie contacted me asking for help, she said she needed money desperately and I love her sm I wanted to help but something was stopping me. 1) did I 🤬 have £250 and 2) my gut was telling me to give her a ring to make sure she was okay. Turns out someone had hacked into her account. This was a really convincing scam so if you get asked for money over text, always give them a ring
These scammers have the same old story. They have a child. Their wife has died. They work on an oil rig or they are a surgeon. They are due to get a huge inheritance. They call you My Queen. The child needs urgent medical care which they need money for and so on. You would think the scammers would have some new stories to tell their victims?
Ever heard of the old saying "If it aint broke don't fix it"? Those stories absolutely work. Why should they change them?
Besides, they are only familiar to you because you've probably watched dozens of scam videos. The victims usually haven't come across the scammer stories and that is why they fall for them.
One thing to say 'Meet the person first' no excuses
More red flags than a Chinese military parade. 🚩
Also got to watch out for E mail scammers as well,I often get E mails saying Your TV Licence is out of date or your tax is unpaid other related E mail scammers,All about clicking on to the link and enter your Bank details to update or they take further action with the law over it,Not sure,Can contact the real companys to make sure,Still got to be sooooooooooo careful !!!!!!!!!
why would you even send money to someone you don't know or have never met just mindless talk about gullible she actually believed this man liked her, he only liked you for your money love
Never met? Oh,really... 😮
@@marknewton6984 try watching the video she never met the guy
How can you be an 'online lover'? It is a contradiction.
These scammers all tell the same story. Oil rig businessmen. Widowed men, single fathers,too many unfortunate events and asking for money 💵 this so called oil rig guy, why can’t he afford medical care? Once you put them under pressure they will break
Boomers: "Dont trust anyone on the internet!"
Boomers:
It’s not just boomers..gen z.y.and x get scammed..this is what hiding behind a screen does..
Ime a boomer don’t go on any social media these women won’t listen what ever you say too them
Men get scammed too
@@user-qy9rt9cy2b I’ve been scammed as well it’s not just that generation, it can happen to anyone. it’s just funny to me that they always tell you to be careful but fall for the same things
@@user-qy9rt9cy2b Boomer is a generational thing. Nothing to do with women. ANd yes anyone can get scammed, old are young! they are getting smarter. It's just funny to me that they always warned you about the dangers but then fall for them
6 month . The scammer I had messaging me the another night wanted gift cards after hour . I Must of bored him 😆
Why are these women desperate for love SMH as soon as the word ‘money’ is said alarm bells should ring
Can't Buy Me Love -- old Beatles song.
Shes been around long enough to know better....
These guys are meeting women online and convincing them to send them all their money. Meanwhile I can't even convince a woman to return a text
😂😂😂 right
Tell 'em you're rich. They'll soon be flocking around you
I know a couple of women who had online male friends. It's funny but they were both engineers working on an oil rig, and both had wives that had died leaving these poor heart broken men with a teenage girl. I did warn them and they both responded by cutting them off once they asked for money. One of my friends was heart broken but knew she did the right thing. She told me that she had never felt so loved.
FOREIGNERS CONSTANLY PRAY ON THE ENGLISH...SHE SEEMS VULNERABLE
She fell for it
@@NieceyWeesey Oh well that’s ok then.
My heart go out for her😢, that's so wrong. When that man asked for money I would shut him down. Boy bye.👋🏾
Same here .. mind you I wouldn’t have any money to give 😂
Please please use your common sense. Never ever send monet to anyone! If you have older relatives/parents etc warn them!! And do not use internet without proper skills.
Common sense? Not them! 😅
I don't even give money to people who I see often talk more of some stranger on the internet. It takes a level of delusion to fall for just pictures and chats.
You know it would be really nice if the tv presenters had to use proper sentences and grammar when they speak. In school, they would not have learnt to say a sentence such as: “Was you feeling quite lonely? Where was you at?” I know this is a casual way to speak in certain areas of England, but it’s not correct as a professional tv presenter surely!
I don’t know how Alison and Dermot refrain from telling her how naive she’s been. Professionalism right there.
Giving money to someone who they've never met. God bless this woman for highlighting this. The money is used to fund other criminal activities like money laundering, people, drugs, and arms trafficking, terrorist groups, child prostitution and slavery. 31.5 million pounds last year.
So sorry for you.
Unfortunately some people are in love with the idea of being in love & will pay money for that delusion!
People have to remember her generation are clueless about online scams, yes she wasn’t bright but I imagine no one has given her attention for years so she ignored her own suspicions if she had any
I LOVE the fact that the victims were able to leave that message to the assistance team. They were ables to tell that guy, they are no longer victims! you are such an awesome force *VortexTrace* be reckoned and that is why I watch you!! Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The scammers are heartless. The victims are brainless. Perfect match.
Hello This morning.
People need good news...
You are driving in to deep here
The people need good news
Paying for a fantasy. Paying for company. She got what she paid for. It's not a scam or fraud.
Thank you for telling your story.
There's a lot of desperate older women out there.......
This is known as the romance scam my bank was telling me about this scam
People have lost their minds with social media.
Social media is creepy.
I don’t know how women can fall for these scams. No offense to these woman but why would these men who look like models be looking for old ladies for romantic relationships. The scammer is always a well to do man with a good job but is in a crisis situation and needs help with money.
Accepted a friend request from a complete stranger? Why?? People who supposedly work on oil rigs are not poor!
That blue looks AMAZING on Amanda!
🙄🙄🙄🙄 silly woman
Don't call her that , because thats not nice.😡
@@krispowell3233… of course she’s silly …. Why why why would she send money to such an obvious fake person !!?
I'm afraid I can't agree with the expert. I haven't been scammed yet because I'm LUCKY but because I don't respond to friend requests from strangers and I don't give them money. Simple.
I have no sympathy for these people, we have been warned for years about these scammers, why do women especially, fall for this over and over again 🙄
I never have any sympathy for people who fall for the scams, must have gullible written on their foreheads. Never ever send anyone money unless you know them and have known them for an extremely long time
Terrible so terrible that is a lot of money to loose
*lose
Don’t give personal details on social media, don’t publish photos of yourself, never go on date sites, no Tic Tok, and never ever send money to sone9ne you have never met!!!
Yep happens all the time..Reverse the question, Asked them to give you money. Then they disappear.
Why would u tell them or let them know u have money? Not good.
I know some people are vulnerable but there were so many red flags i feel for her and wanted to shake some sense into her at the same time
Rule no 1 you don't meet ppl online and give money to someone u never met
What's with all these weird comments...yes there were loads of red flags and an obvious lack in critical thinking, but some ppl can be lonely and desperate, and when being in that state, are vulnerable. I think pulling these types of scams are the lowliest of human behaviour.
She was a willing participant. No one forced her to do anything.
You think that ones gullible, a middle class lady ( article in the daily mail a few months back ) handed over £100,000 after loans & remortgaging house, after reality had sunk in weeks later, decided it was her banks fault for not stopping her 🙄, she got every penny back off the bank. This was an educated woman. Beggers believe.
Oooooo! The oil rig scam many times over. Bottom line: Do not give anyone money you've never met in person or don't know well enough to trust.
The more information you share about yourself on social media. The more people know about you: where you live, family/connections, lifestyle , hobbies. Too much information!
“It definitely wasn’t your fault”
Erm, pretty sure it was - You sent a load of money to someone you didn’t know, regardless of whether they were a scammer
the sad thing is that if you ask the victim which is more important , getting the money back or finding true love, they will often choose the latter.
My sister was in contact with someone it was scam we kept telling her not to send money they pretend to have amazing jobs but ask for money .They believe every word they say