LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Victims nationwide have unwittingly helped online scammers set a new record: bilking Americans out of $10.3 billion in 2022.
Anyone can be a target.
"I'm college educated, I'm smart, and I remember coming out of this and going, how the [heck] did I get here?!" mused Orlando, Florida resident Rebecca D'Antonio.
In Nevada, newly released data from the FBI and Federal Trade Commission shows 9,090 victims lost $127,315,394 to online scams last year. The toll is much greater than money.
"I spent two years being homeless because of this," said Henderson resident Terri Hampton. "I didn't want to live. I had shame, I had guilt, I thought, 'how could I be so naive?'"
A four-time scam victim, Hampton is a walking cautionary tale. She was newly divorced, "probably not thinking clearly," when a scammer befriended her on Instagram.
"He is supposedly a country western singer," she said. "I did speak to him one time."
It was mostly texting for a year and a half. His story? Separating from his wife, he needed money to build a new house for a new life with Hampton.
"I'm thinking, wow, God answered a prayer, brought me a wonderful man, and I'm gonna have this gorgeous home."
The currency was cash, checks and crypto.
"He probably got, I would say, about $600,000 from me," Hampton said.
Rebecca D'Antonio went through something similar with a romance scammer who imploded her world.
"My marriage ended," D'Antonio said. "I did that whole swearing-off men thing for about two years."
A friend convinced her to try online dating.
"It was a new experience," she said. "I was sort of putting myself out there and wanted to be really smart about it."
She soon met "Matthew from Australia." They began communicating through Facebook Messenger, email, text and over the phone.
"They spend time building a rapport, building trust," explained D'Antonio.
In time, Matthew claimed an issue arose and turned to her for help.
"He was traveling with his son internationally, and a credit card he used for his expenses had stopped working. And I didn't want to be that person — that monster — leaving an innocent five-year-old child in a bad situation," she said. "So, that's what got me started sending the money, and things escalated from there."
She said she lost about $100,000,
"I ended up having to file for bankruptcy," she said. "By the end, Discover Card was suing me. I was being evicted from my apartment. I actually became suicidal."
As for Hampton, she wasn't just victimized once. She also fell into a military romance scam that took three years of her life and about $40,000.
"He was in Texas, supposedly, begging me to bring him home. He loves me. I mean the world to him," Hampton recalls him saying.
The same scenario was perpetrated by Chris Maxwell, a reformed Nigerian scammer who shared his story with 13 Investigates. He targeted women primarily on Facebook using a stolen military photo and fake profile.
"Women that are divorced, single, lonely, and needed someone to love and care for them," he explained.
Making them believe they were in a real relationship with a deployed military man, he eventually said he could come home if they helped him pay for a military leave form.
"And usually I tell them my leave form is around $15 to 20,000, and most of them pay $5,000, some pay $3,000, some pay $10,000."
Over a five-year period, he says he made about $40,000, which, he explains, is more than enough for a comfortable living in Nigeria, where a depressed economy has made scamming a full-blown business sector.
So why did he stop?
"I stopped in 2021 because I scammed a woman out of, I would say, about $20,000. She became sick. She was seeing a doctor because of me. Her kids stopped talking to her because of me. She is in debt because of me. She's 61 years old. I have a mom and would not want something like that to happen to her, so I spoke to her on video call," he said. "She saw me; she cried but didn't block me. We still talk up to now."
We asked him why so many victims miss what you might think are obvious red flags.
"It's common sense," he said. "But sometimes we can be so convincing."
Hampton has boxed up the paper trail of her deception. A box, she says, represents "How naive I was. How desperate I was to be loved."
Using government data and a new poll of 5,500 online scam victims like Hampton and D'Antonio, Social Catfish, a company dedicated to preventing online scams through reverse search technology, published this 31-page study.
The key findings: Crypto accounts for nearly 25 percent of all losses. Other top scams include tech support, data breaches, romance and investment.
Since most victims send money to foreign fraudsters, U.S. law enforcement has no jurisdiction, and the overwhelming majority of money is not recovered.
Romance scam victim Rebecca D'Antonio got some money back, "But it's a drop in the bucket compared to what I lost, and it was not from the scammers. I got money back because there was a class action lawsuit that the Department of Justice and the FTC had brought against Western Union and had brought against Moneygram."
Lawsuits that resulted in hundreds of millions in penalties against the two companies in 2017 and 2018 for aiding and abetting wire fraud, in many cases to scammers overseas.
Victims in the Social Catfish study reported the apps where they were scammed most often included Facebook, Google Hangouts, Whatsapp, Instagram, and Plenty of Fish.
Though seniors remain the most victimized group, teens and children saw the largest increase in money lost to scams.
Victims 20 and younger grew nearly 2,500 percent from 2017 to 2022, losing $8.2 million in 2017 compared to $210 million in 2022.
Though Hampton's experiences are painful to relive, "The way I look at it is, if one woman or one man gets the message and it doesn't ruin their life, and they don't have to start all over again... Glory God. I don't want anybody to go through what I went through."
So, how can you avoid falling victim?
Chris Maxwell says, "When you're talking to someone on social media and you ask them for a video call, if they refuse to show you a video call, it's a scam. If they're asking for your personal information, it's a scam. If they're asking you for money, it's a scam. Very simple."
The study underscores that with these five tips:
- Never give money or personal information to anyone you haven't met in person
- Confirm their identity through a reverse image search to ensure they are who they say they are
- Do not invest without consulting a trusted financial adviser and doing thorough research
- Red flags include poor grammar, refusing to video chat, and seeking payment in gift cards or crypto
- Be skeptical of all things crypto
Experts warn that scams will continue to evolve and become more convincing with artificial intelligence and the ability to fake video and voice calls.
If you've fallen victim to an online scam, taking immediate action to minimize the impact and report the incident to the appropriate authorities is important.
Here are some authorities you can contact:
Local Law Enforcement: Start by contacting your local police department. They may be able to document the incident, provide you with an official report or case number, and offer guidance on further steps to take.
Federal Trade Commission: The FTC handles consumer complaints and helps investigate and take action against fraudulent or deceptive practices. You can file a complaint with the FTC through their official website (www.ftc.gov) or by calling their toll-free hotline.
Internet Crime Complaint Center: The IC3 is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). It accepts and analyzes complaints related to internet crimes and scams. You can file a complaint through their website (www.ic3.gov).
Your Financial Institution: If the scam involved financial transactions, such as unauthorized charges or fraudulent bank transfers, contact your bank, credit card company, or any other financial institution involved. They can guide you on how to report the fraud, dispute charges, and potentially recover lost funds.
Online Platforms: If the scam occurred on a specific online platform, such as a social media site, online marketplace, or dating app, report the incident to the platform’s customer support or abuse department. They may have specific procedures in place to address scams and take action against fraudulent accounts.
