A 57-year-old Perth woman, Annette Ford, was scammed for more than Rs. 4.3 crore ($780,000) by online rogues in pursuit of love. Ford is homeless now and couch-surfing throughout Western Australia after losing all her life savings. She cannot afford a flat in a retirement village, while the scammers remain on the loose.
From Heartbreak to Deception
Ford went online dating in 2018 after her 33-year marriage collapsed. She signed up with Plenty of Fish and soon was chatting with a man called ‘William’. William won her trust over the next few months before asking for money, saying his wallet had been stolen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“He told me that he had been robbed on the street where he was working and they had stolen his wallet and his cards,” Ford said. His demands increased, and Ford ultimately paid for hospital bills, hotel stays, and salaries for employees he allegedly couldn’t pay because his bank cards were missing.
By the time Ford discovered she had been cheated, she had lost rs. 1.6 crore ($300,000), using up all her self-managed super fund money. She alerted the Australian Federal Police to the scam but got no follow-ups.
Not the First Time
In 2022, Ford was also targeted, but on Facebook. She encountered ‘Nelson’, a man claiming to be from Amsterdam, who said that his FBI friend needed $2500 for an investigation. Despite the initial distrust, Ford was convinced to load money on a Bitcoin ATM. Soon after that, she discovered unauthorized transfers and lost another Rs. 1.5 crore ($280,000).
Now financially broke, Ford is warning others: “They say all the right things, they sweep you off your feet, but they’re going to take your money and leave you broke.”
