#301483 by bigdancehawk
Sat Jul 23, 2016 5:39 pm
ETA: This particular con doesn't seem to fall into any of the existing categories, but this seems like the closest one. I've been informed that this scam is by no means unique and others have been similarly victimized.
Over the past several years, my sister-in-law, now age 72, has been conned out of several hundred thousand dollars. She is quite intelligent, not greedy or a money grabber, has two Ph.Ds, is a successful professional and has been entirely self-sufficient her entire life. She has shown no signs of forgetfulness or other symptoms of early dementia. Until now.
The con artist, "Kat," convinced my sister-in-law that she (Kat) had been involved in a terrible car accident, that she was dying from her injuries and other conditions, that a multi-million dollar settlement had already been agreed to as compensation for her injuries, but there had been some delays caused by legal complications, tax issues, bad weather, illness and a host of other excuses, and in the meantime Kat was penniless and homeless.
My SIL took pity on her. Of course, in addition to lodging, food, prescription drugs, etc., Kat needed money to travel to distant places for urgent and important "meetings" and mysterious legal proceedings, money to open 10 bank accounts to spread the settlement money around, money for accountant fees, legal fees, and a host of other expenses which were always essential and always urgent. On at least one occasion, she tearfully told my SIL that, although my SIL had just given her money to open a debit card account, she had been mugged on the street, that the debit card and all of her cash had been stolen, and she would be once again be homeless and without food unless my SIL immediately wired her another $2K.
Out of professed gratitude and because she was doomed to die soon, Kat promised to give my SIL all the millions in settlement money, which was always going to be paid "next week." But next week would come and go with no money because some "tax question" had come up or because some "courier" or "paralegal" had to travel from a distant city with many "papers" needing notarized signatures. Of course, the couriers and paralegals were always delayed at the last minute for a variety of improbable reasons and in the meantime Kat needed money NOW.
If would have been laughably easy to disprove this story, but my SIL would not listen to reason, would not ask Kat hard questions and would not ask for documents to back up any of it. This went on for over two years. I even talked to Kat on the phone. She lied repeatedly and became evasive when I asked her a few simple questions, such as contact information for the Philadelphia "banker" and New Jersey "judge" she claimed were helping her.
I explained to my SIL that Kat was lying, many of the reasons why I knew she was lying, and followed that up with several emails over the next few weeks. I presented her with compelling evidence from reliable sources of information showing that Kat was lying. (For example, one of Kat's many stories was that she couldn't collect Social Security disability benefits because she didn't have a permanent address where checks could be mailed to her. I gave my SIL a link to a Social Security Administration webpage which explained the various ways benefits could be collected other than via mail to a permanent address.) I was sure that disproving a number of Kat's lies would do the trick, but it mattered not. There was just no convincing her.
With the combined efforts of my wife, several of my SIL's friends, an elder law specialist and a retired FBI agent, we were finally able to get the money spigot turned off. Or a least we think we have.
Over the past several years, my sister-in-law, now age 72, has been conned out of several hundred thousand dollars. She is quite intelligent, not greedy or a money grabber, has two Ph.Ds, is a successful professional and has been entirely self-sufficient her entire life. She has shown no signs of forgetfulness or other symptoms of early dementia. Until now.
The con artist, "Kat," convinced my sister-in-law that she (Kat) had been involved in a terrible car accident, that she was dying from her injuries and other conditions, that a multi-million dollar settlement had already been agreed to as compensation for her injuries, but there had been some delays caused by legal complications, tax issues, bad weather, illness and a host of other excuses, and in the meantime Kat was penniless and homeless.
My SIL took pity on her. Of course, in addition to lodging, food, prescription drugs, etc., Kat needed money to travel to distant places for urgent and important "meetings" and mysterious legal proceedings, money to open 10 bank accounts to spread the settlement money around, money for accountant fees, legal fees, and a host of other expenses which were always essential and always urgent. On at least one occasion, she tearfully told my SIL that, although my SIL had just given her money to open a debit card account, she had been mugged on the street, that the debit card and all of her cash had been stolen, and she would be once again be homeless and without food unless my SIL immediately wired her another $2K.
Out of professed gratitude and because she was doomed to die soon, Kat promised to give my SIL all the millions in settlement money, which was always going to be paid "next week." But next week would come and go with no money because some "tax question" had come up or because some "courier" or "paralegal" had to travel from a distant city with many "papers" needing notarized signatures. Of course, the couriers and paralegals were always delayed at the last minute for a variety of improbable reasons and in the meantime Kat needed money NOW.
If would have been laughably easy to disprove this story, but my SIL would not listen to reason, would not ask Kat hard questions and would not ask for documents to back up any of it. This went on for over two years. I even talked to Kat on the phone. She lied repeatedly and became evasive when I asked her a few simple questions, such as contact information for the Philadelphia "banker" and New Jersey "judge" she claimed were helping her.
I explained to my SIL that Kat was lying, many of the reasons why I knew she was lying, and followed that up with several emails over the next few weeks. I presented her with compelling evidence from reliable sources of information showing that Kat was lying. (For example, one of Kat's many stories was that she couldn't collect Social Security disability benefits because she didn't have a permanent address where checks could be mailed to her. I gave my SIL a link to a Social Security Administration webpage which explained the various ways benefits could be collected other than via mail to a permanent address.) I was sure that disproving a number of Kat's lies would do the trick, but it mattered not. There was just no convincing her.
With the combined efforts of my wife, several of my SIL's friends, an elder law specialist and a retired FBI agent, we were finally able to get the money spigot turned off. Or a least we think we have.
