I am a 52 year old woman from Russia. I met my scammer on Facebook on 2th of February. He introduced himself as Randy Scott from LA California, USA, an engineer, who has been working for CERN for 20 years, he said that his current place of work is the station in Aruba.
I lost 65,000 USD that I have transfered to the scammer and my apartment in less than 3 months so now I am homeless and with large debts. In total I have lost almost 90,000 USD. I am high educated person, have been on internet since 1995 and on Facebook for 6 years, but I never have faced with fraud there until now.
So I considered me as enough experienced person in order to not become cheated by anyone there. I am divorced but lived with my younger son, 28 and his girlfriend on the moment of the meeting with my scammer. I don’t know how it happened that I got to believe this man because I was sure I was happy to stay alone for 8 years, I was not going to seek any romance relationship at all.
But now I have to realize that scammers work very professionally, their psychological skills are on a very high level. Day by day they involve you in close relationship with them showing the deep interest in all spheres of your life. If you believe in God they use God. They pray with you and they often mention God in their correspondence with you. They make you trust them totally. When you feel lack of communication with your close people they really try to replace your relatives and friends with themselves, to isolate you from other world. Because in that case you realize that the only person who really is concerned in you is the man behind the screen. Even though your mind tries to send some warning signs to you your heart, it just denies and you believe in them. You become blind.
I was convinced by my scammer and so called managers from Comerica bank and CERN that I had to open a bank account in order CERN was able to transfer retired money of my future husband, they sent to my mailbox the scans of my banking card, my US passport and later the video of USA passport of my scammer.
I was confused a lot because of my scammer offered to meet my family and he communicated with my son on Facebook, we openly told him about our suspicions towards him, CERN and the bank but he always gave us necessary explanation. My son found that the all photos my scammer sent to me were of another man, Rande Scott, an American actor. I wrote to him that I had suspected I was involved in Fraud, he confirmed that all pictures that my scammer used on his Facebook page and also sent to me belong to him. When I asked my scammer about this he answered he is a real man, and that he just looks similar to Rande Scott, the actor.
Even though I got to suspect my scammer and tried to send Fraud messages to Comerica bank (I was told I was opened an account on my name at that bank), CERN and even US Embassy in Russia and US Government website I was not able to receive any help from anybody.
My sons were sure that this man was a scammer, so when I make a decision to sell our apartment and transferred the money to my account at the bank they stopped to communicate with me so when I was able to believe I was really scammed and lost 65,000 USD and the apartment. I had to realized that I stay alone without any moral and material support and homeless without any place to live and any money for living.
At that moment I got sick and was on sick leave for 12 days, I lost weight, I really lost the will to live, but I still continued to keep hopes that maybe all around me are wrong, because I refused to believe that the man which became so close and special to you could be so cruel, that I was used by him only for money. Those thoughts simply were killing me inside. I refused to accept that there won’t be any future with this man, Randy Scott. I had nobody to share my issue. I was aware they won’t be able to understand me properly. It was only my fault and my responsibility because it was my own choice to continue to trust that man after my son discovered that he used fake profile on Facebook. It was my choice to trust in the scammer not in my family. It was my responsibility that my family stayed without home and lost large amount. I was told that I deserved all that happened to me so I started to blame myself more and more. I prayed God to take my life right now because I didn’t see any purpose for living further.
I wrote to real Rande Scott asking to verify the USA passport of my scammer, and after he confirmed that the passport was fake I shared that I lost 65,000 USD and my apartment already.
After that he invited me to the Support Group for Romance Scam Victims on Facebook. He was a victim of scammers through using his identity to scam women on internet. So I sent friend request to Diana L. Garren via Facebook and within an hour talked on Skype with her, our conversation lasted more than 6 hours despite of Diana had undergone surgery that day.
That day became a point of my returning to life, of my emotional and mental recovering. It is very important to get support from those who had gone themselves through the same suffering and pain, through all misunderstanding and self-blaming. I visited some psychologist here at my place who is very professional, but I didn’t receive warmness and understanding that I needed so much. I was told the same things that before that I deserved all what happened to me because I have some inner problems on inner level of my being that caused me become vulnerable in face of the scammer. Of course she was right, but at the moment between life and death you need the word of support not judgment and condemnation.
I shared my story with our group and felt such relief after that, because I had to know that the majority of them lost a lot of money, that all of them were well educated women and all their faults were just that they trusted in scammers, in their words of love and the future with those men.
I have realized how it is important to be among those who were able to overcome their mistakes but not to give up, it is crucially to see the examples of recovering mentally and emotionally by your own eyes.
I just wanted to express my deep gratitude and love to Diana for all her attention and support, for all her sleepless nights that she spends with us because of the time difference between us.
Klarisa