GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – It’s Valentine’s Day, but not all sweethearts are looking for love. The Federal Trade Commission reports the number of victims in romance scams at an all-time high.
A local woman reported her story to the FTC and Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin. Vicki spoke with Consumer First Alert in hopes of preventing other people from falling victim.
“Like in a book, you’ve got the mystery, you’ve got the romance. Pretty soon I was investigating,” said Vicki. “Is he a real person?”
Vicki says she wasn’t looking for love when she met a stranger through a game on Facebook.
“You start talking to each other. In a matter of a month or so, you develop feelings because it was every morning, every night, during the day,” Vicki says.
The scammer sent Vicki messages saying he was a widow. Vicki is a widow.
He said he worked on an oil rig and was unable to meet in person.
He used her faith to lure her in.
“All the time I talked with him it was ‘prayers’,” Vicki says.
In three months, his devotion turned into deception when he asked for money.
“To start, it was just a couple thousand dollars,” Vicki said.
He asked her to take out a loan for $72,000.
That was the end. Vicki reported it to the Better Business Bureau.
“These scammers take several months really to get to know their victims, and what they’re really doing is trying to get as many details about the victims as possible so they can figure out the best way to use them in their…
