New York Times: The Impact of an Online Romance Scam
Former Glenolden woman Kate Kleinert was the victim of a romance scam that started on Facebook, writes Emily Schmall for The New York Times.
Kate Kleinert accepted a Facebook friend request during COVID isolation in the summer of 2020 from a man who called himself Tony and described himself as a Norwegian doctor working in Iraq.
They communicated daily on encrypted messaging apps for a couple of months, then Tony began asking for money.
By December 2020, the 69-year-old had given Tony and two people claiming to be his children $39,000 in gift cards.
“The loss that hurts the most is losing his love and losing the family that I thought I was going to have,” she said.
Experts said this is a familiar pattern for scammers.
Kleinert went to local and state police but they couldn’t help her.
Even after she thought she was secure, the scammer returned.
A friend set up a GoFundMe page for Kleinert after a fire destroyed her home. After months of silence, Tony got back in touch.
“‘I know you have money,’” she said he told her, “‘I saw your GoFundMe page.’”
“That sent a chill down my spine.”
Read more about Kate Kleinert’s experience with an online romance scam at The New York Times.
See a Good Morning America report about online dating scams.
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