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Online dating may seem like the beginning of a romantic comedy, but it became a financial nightmare for Annette Ford, 57. After losing more than Rs 4.3 crore ($780,000) in life savings to scammers while looking for love online, the Perth-based woman was forced to live on the streets. According to a report, Annette Ford is couch-surfing in Western Australia in the hopes of finding a place to live in an affordable retirement community while the scammers are still at large.
After her 33-year marriage ended in 2018, Annette Ford entered the dating scene as her ex-husband moved on fast. In an attempt to find a romantic partner of her own, she signed up for a dating service called “Plenty of Fish” and began talking to a man named “William.”
Before asking Annette Ford for money, the stranger was able to gain her trust over several months. “William” stated that he required Rs 2,75,000 ($5000) because his wallet was stolen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “He said he had been mugged outside the site he was working on (in Kuala Lumpur) and they took his wallet and his cards,” Ford recalled as quoted by .
“The next thing I know he’s in hospital and I’m being landed with a $5000 hospital bill payable to an Australian doctor. I (paid) that. Then there was a hotel bill, and he said he couldn’t pay the workers on the site because he didn’t have access to his cards,” Annette Ford added.
The demands for money persisted, and by the time Annette Ford realised she had been duped, she had spent her self-managed super fund and was out of Rs 1.6 crore ($300,000). She reported the case to the Australian Federal Police but received no response.
Annette Ford encountered another scammer named Nelson on Facebook four years later. The stranger informed her that he was from Amsterdam and that he had a friend in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who wanted $2500 to assist with a current investigation. She initially refused since she knew the danger, but the stranger persuaded her to use a Bitcoin ATM to deposit the money he sent her.
According to Annette Ford, her account was depleted of Rs 1.5 crore ($280,000) before she realised that money was entering and leaving her account without her knowledge.
Annette Ford, who lost everything, is now pleading with Australians to avoid falling for these frauds. “They say all the right things, they sweep you off your feet but they are going to take your money and they are going to leave you broke,” a heartbroken Ford warned.
