Elderly Widow Left Homeless After Falling Victim to a Facebook Romance Scam Worth $70,000
In a heart-wrenching tale, a 76-year-old widow found herself homeless after being deceived by an individual she met on Facebook and fell in love with.
Jennifer Dennis, a resident of Georgia, connected with a man named Caleb on Facebook. Caleb claimed to be a doctor working for the Red Cross in Yemen. Over several months, they engaged in online conversations, and Caleb proposed the idea of buying a home together in Cary, North Carolina, to start anew.
Dennis found solace in the idea, as the house and the area reminded her of her late husband, making her decision all the more poignant.
Caleb assured Dennis that he would contribute $600,000 towards their new home and asked her to cover the remaining $70,000, along with an additional $8,700 for various expenses.
Following this agreement, Dennis and her son, Raymond, packed their belongings, sold their Georgia home, and embarked on a journey to the Cary house. It didn’t take long for Raymond to realize that something was amiss.
“When I noticed that someone was still living in the house and knocked on the door, I automatically knew that it was a scam,” Raymond recounted to the TV station. “The owner of the home told them he had lived in the home for years and had no intention of ever selling.”
When Dennis informed Caleb of this discovery, he sent her a picture purporting to show that he had been assaulted and then disappeared, leaving her in despair.
Dennis lamented her situation, saying, “I had all that money, and I don’t think I’ll ever get it back.” As a result, she and her son found themselves homeless, seeking refuge in their car. Thankfully, a compassionate member of their church later donated a camper for them to live in.
Dennis hopes that her painful experience can serve as a cautionary tale to others. She expressed her gratitude for having her son’s support, acknowledging that some women in similar situations are entirely alone and fall victim to such scams.
Romance scams like this one have inflicted substantial financial losses on countless individuals. According to the Federal Trade Commission, these scams cost nearly 70,000 people approximately $1.3 billion in losses just last year.