Woman gets involved in 'romance scam' and swindles close to R11m from her family!?
Romance scams are the worst, because they break your heart and your bank account...
These days the sanctity that comes with getting to know someone on a genuine basis is slowly depleting.
With a variety of red flags, how do you know whether you're speaking to someone who has your best interests at heart?
It's almost as if you are either walking around with a protected heart, being suspicious of everyone.
Or you walk around naive and walking around vulnerable to being caught out in a scam.
One woman from Ohio, USA, got swindled into a romance scam. She was swindled by a fake military officer for thousands of dollars via mail.
But what's worse is that she then further involved her family members.
"Linda Matson, 62, was arrested in 2021 after federal officials discovered she persuaded relatives to send a total of $590,000 (R10.75 million) to "someone claiming to be a lieutenant general in the US Army," (Business Insider)
Matson was said to have convinced her family to give her money, "to aid in the purported recovery of a portfolio containing cash and diamonds valued at $20,000,000 (about R364 million)." (Business Insider)
She was discovered by the US Postal services, who found a total of $100,000 (around R1.8 million) inside packages sent from Matson to the accused con artists from a PO Box in St Louis.
When she was questioned about it, she came up with the most horrendous lies.
She eventually pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to two years in prison.
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