Woman details how an unexpected friend request morphed a $100,000 romance scam

    BALTIMORE (WMAR) -- As we celebrate love this Valentine’s Day, some people are learning they fell for the wrong person. Anh Tran wasn’t looking for love then one day she received a friend request from a stranger on Facebook.

“And I clicked on it, and he started talking to me,” said Tran.

The man convinced Tran to give him her phone number and they started messaging.

“He talked to me everyday, everyday,” Tran said.

And he told her he was a traveling doctor working a few weeks in Greece. They chatted for 6 more weeks then he asked for a loan to pay his workers.

"He said, ‘If you help me out to borrow this much money, I will finish my job, [I’ll be] done sooner and then I could be home sooner,” Tran recalled.

She wired him a few thousand dollars and then he needed more. And when the job was done, he claimed he’d been detained at the airport and had to borrow additional money to pay back taxes.

“And he borrowed like $12,000, $17,000, $22,000, $15,000, $6,000, and $20,000,” said Tran. “What was the total amount you sent this guy?” asked WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii. “$100,000 not including some wire fees,” Tran responded.

Tran caught onto the scam, and called him out. She reported it to her bank, and they were able to recover $5,000, but she’s out the rest.

“The scammer promised the victim that they were going to repay all the money that they put upfront, but of course, that didn't happen,” said Clay Campbell, the director of marketing for the Better Business Bureau of greater Maryland.

Campbell’s office receives hundreds of romance scam reports every year, including Tran’s, and he said there are clear patterns.

“High pressure kind of tactics to get you to act in the moment without using logic and they're using emotion to get you to act right then and there. Those are huge red flags,” Campbell warned.

Another obvious tell is if they refuse to meet in-person or make up reasons for why they can’t video chat. Tran’s love interest said he couldn’t FaceTime because he worked in a hospital.

“If they cannot meet you in person within two weeks, they are a scammer. And you need to block them and move on,” recommends Ally Armeson, the executive director of FightCybercrime, a national nonprofit organization helping victims of cybercrime.

“We have a romance scam recovery group program. This is a 10-week peer support program,” said Armeson.

Participants receive assistance navigating the financial turmoil as well as emotional.

“I mean, their world has been turned upside down. They thought that they were going to marry this person, or they were going to start a future with this person, and it turns out it was all a lie. So that really can mess with your head,” said Armeson.

And it’s impacting more and more people. Last year, 42,399 victims reported losing $823 million, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

“Not everybody reports. In fact, most people don't report, so that number is huge. And keep in mind where this money is going. It's going to transnational organized crime rings, because those are the groups that are usually perpetrating these scams,” said Armeson.

And with the evolution of artificial intelligence, Armeson expects scammers will become more sophisticated in their already elaborate ruses.

“They research you. If your profile is open to the public and the world can figure out who you are, scammers love that because then they can better approach you. They know how to approach you and find your scam kryptonite,” Armeson warned.