Middle-aged woman loses $100,000 to romance scammer via Facebook and phone calls

Summary

Anh Tran, a woman from Baltimore, received a friend request on Facebook from a stranger who initiated a conversation and eventually convinced her to exchange phone numbers. The man, who claimed to be a traveling doctor in Greece, developed a romantic relationship with Tran over several weeks before asking for financial assistance. He persuaded her to wire him multiple amounts totaling $100,000, fabricating stories about needing money for workers and airport back taxes. After realizing she had been scammed, Tran reported the incident to her bank, which recovered $5,000, but she lost the remaining amount. The Better Business Bureau and FightCybercrime, a nonprofit organization, highlighted common scam patterns, such as high-pressure tactics and refusal to meet in person. The Federal Trade Commission reported that 42,399 victims lost $823 million to romance scams in the previous year, though many cases likely go unreported.