Portage Woman Reminds Everyone Of The Danger Romance Scams

One of the worst things that we have to deal with on a daily basis is having to avoid scammers. There are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people who spend their time trying to take advantage of gullible people or people with caring spirits. Most of the time they are on a quest to take the victim's money and/or personal information.

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There are several different methods that scammers will use to try and gain access to the information or financials they are after. Most of the time, scammers will send someone an email, text, or call that involves a link or exchanging personal information in hopes that they will have success. As anything else in the world, scammers have continued to evolve with the times and find new methods to use.

One method I was unaware of were romance scams. These are scams where scammers will begin an emotional relationship with a victim to gain their trust and find a way to extort them for large amounts of money. One Michigan woman in Portage found out just how predatory, manipulative, and destructive romance scams can be.

Have You Ever Been Aware Of Romance Scams?

Beth Hyland found herself in the middle of a romance scam after turning to dating apps to try and find her soulmate after a divorce. That's where she met Richard, a project manager from France that she had a lot in common with, or so she thought. Things progressed quickly and they began to look at wedding rings and homes, but that's when the bomb was dropped.

WWMT via MSN reports:

Things got even more complicated when he told her he couldn't get into his bank accounts while he was in the Middle East but needed to pay his lawyer and translator. "I remember thinking, 'If he asks me from money, I'm going to feel really uncomfortable,'" Hyland said. "I thought that's where he was going but he never did." Richard had sent Hyland pictures of his bank accounts that claimed he had millions of dollars. At that point he asked her to log into one of those accounts and transfer money.

After transferring the money, Hyland figured she had helped Richard out and things would begin to get better. Unfortunately, this was not the case as Richard tried to extend the scam.

"He never asked me for money," Hyland said. "He he just said he needed to raise the money. So I messaged him and I said, 'I want to take out loans for you. Let me do this for you, I want to help.' Then he called at night and he's crying, saying no one's ever loved him like this before. And those tears sounded so real." Hyland got a loan for $15,000, a cash advance for $5,000, had $1,000 and was ready to pay another $5,000 in ATM and transfer fees for a total of $26,000, all to help the man she loved. Richard told her the best way to get the money to him was through a Bitcoin ATM and sent her a special QR code. She recalled seeing a warning about scams on the ATM itself. "I thought, 'Oh that doesn't apply to me, we're in love!'" She said. "So I went to two ATMs that day, sent him some money, and this was done over the course of like, six days."

This raised some red flags for Hyland, so she reached out to her own personal financial advisor and learned that this was all a scam. She had been taken advantage of for her caring heart. She mentioned that the betrayal, isolation, and lying are more hurtful than the monetary losses she took.