Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 
Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “And I lost it all, for being so stupid and foolish.”

This Triangle woman lost tens of thousands of dollars, and is now sharing her emotional and financial heartbreak, hoping to prevent others from falling for this kind of romance scam.

Troubleshooter Diane Wilson has warned us of this scam before, but unfortunately, people continue to fall for it.

Diane Wilson, Reporter: “That is a sad truth. It’s the week of love with Valentine’s Day just days away, and what’s known as romance scams continue to trick people out of more than $1 billion a year.

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Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “I worked all my life for this, and he just took everything I’ve ever worked for. I have nothing.”

Nothing is what Nancy Newcomer is left with financially, after she thought she met a celebrity and had a connection.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “He started to get pretty friendly right off the bat.”

Friendly in Facebook messages. Nancy thought she was talking with Paul Ahn, a famous actor in a K-pop drama series she liked.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “That’s who I, honest to God, thought I was speaking with.”

The romance quickly took off.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “He said, ‘Oh, I would love to meet up with you.” And I thought, ‘Oh, that would be cool, you know, a celebrity.’”

Nancy got these emails that claimed to be from the pop star’s business manager.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “He told me if I wanted to meet with him, there’s a reservation fee of $18,500. And I thought, ‘Oh my God, where in the world am I going to get that?’ My retirement? God, why would I even think something so stupid?”

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Nancy took the money out of her retirement account and wired the entire $18,500. She got this confirmation that her private meeting would happen . . .

But first, now they needed $39,500.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “That pays for the jet and his five security guards. I just emptied my retirement. Where in the world am I going to get this from? Oh, let’s go put another nail in the grave. We went to two different banks and got two loans.”

Nancy says she was so focused on meeting Ahn that she ignored the red flags.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “We were both, I thought, in the relationship, in love. I was so stupid and blinded.

Nancy sent a total of more than $67,000, and she thought it was finally time to meet him — until they asked for more money.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “I said, ‘There is no way that I am giving you one red penny, absolutely not.’ And he said, ‘Then it’s over.’ That quick, all communication done.”

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Her retirement drained plus loans, she now had to pay back, totaling close to $40,000.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “He put me into poverty, is what he did.”

To make matters worse, Nancy learned that since she took money out of her retirement early, she now owes thousands to the IRS in penalties, even though she was scammed.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, where am I going to get that money from?’”

Nancy was caught up in a romance scam where scammers impersonate someone like a celebrity or soldier overseas and form an online relationship, all with the goal to gain your trust — and then money.

Nancy Newcomer, Scam Victim: “$67,748. It breaks my heart, makes me want to cry.”

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The biggest red flag for romance scams is that the relationship moves so fast and the scammer says everything to make you feel secure and comfortable. Also, the scammer makes excuses why they can’t meet you in person.

And of course, as you see here, they ask for money.

She just got so wrapped up in it she wasn’t thinking clearly because she thought it was for real, as opposed to the red flags saying stop sending all this money.

Nearly $70,000 she lost so tough for her.

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Questions

 
Fraud, Cheat. A hacker had broken into Nancy Newcomer’s bank account and siphoned off her savings. True or false?

Steal, Theft. Did this incident happen around Christmas time? Was it a coincidence that it took place around the fourteenth of February?

Lie, Deceive. Romance scams defraud people out of millions of dollars a year. Is this right or wrong?

Dishonest. What had happened to Nancy on Facebook? Describe what had happened to her on Facebook.

Treachery. After paying a reservation fee of $18,500, did Nancy meet Paul Ahn?

Swindle, Rip Off. Do the scammers use sophisticated technology to rob their victims?

Con, Con Artist. What is Nancy’s situation now? Does she place all the blame on the scammers?
 
 
 
Slick, Manipulate. Have you received fake or suspicious emails, texts, unsolicited calls or invites?

Fine Print. Do you hear a lot about scams and online scams on the news and social media?

Honest, Trustworthy. What do your friends and colleagues say?

Clear, Transparent. Who commits cybercrimes, online and phone scams? What drives or motivates them?

Open, Clear. What has been the trend in cybercrimes, online scams and cybersecurity?

Reputable. What might happen in the future?

Integrity, Probity. What could or should people, tech companies and authorities do?