The Barefoot Investor has been left stunned by the ‘awful’ tale of a struggling Aussie single mum who’s too embarrassed to tell her family about how she got caught up in an online romance scam.
Kelly, 56, sought advice from financial guru Scott Pape on how to recoup the $240,000 she lost to a scammer as quickly as possible.
‘Last year I got caught in a romance scam and lost $240k. I was just so stupid to send money to the stranger, but I thought there were lots of signs to believe him.
‘I haven’t told any of my family about this. I’m 56 years old, a single mother and working full time as a nurse.
‘I didn’t have $240k, so I sold my house (making $100k profit) and then took out three loans for the rest.’
She has since moved in with her adult daughter to keep expenses to a minimum as she repays the $140,000 in loans.
‘I was just so stupid to send money to the stranger, but I thought there were lots of signs to believe him,’ Kelly wrote.
The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape has given advice to a single mum who lost $240.000 in a romance scam
In his latest weekly newsletter, Mr Pape thanked Kelly for sharing her harrowing ordeal.
‘Each week my editor wades through hundreds of questions and gives me five (or so) to look at. He wrote a note on yours that simply read ‘awful,’ he began.
He noted that Kelly was paying $140,000 off at high interest rates around dozen years away from retirement.
He first piece of advice was to not tricked again into the multibillion-dollar a year business of romance scams.
‘First, don’t let them rob you again: these scammers took you for $240,000 – but don’t let them take your self-respect,’ Mr Pape said.
‘The fact is that romance scams are a multibillion-dollar a year business. You’re not the first, and (sadly) you won’t be the last.’
The financial guru (pictured with his wife) urged the woman to contact a financial counsellor for advice
‘Second, don’t suffer in silence. This is too big to shoulder on your own. You owe it to your daughter to explain what’s happened,’ he said.
Finally, Mr Pape suggested getting free advice from a financial counsellor.
‘The banks are running a mile from all this scam business, but there may be a one per cent chance that they’ve lent irresponsibly, and if I were in your situation, I’d be chasing down that one per cent,’ he wrote.
If you need free financial advice, call the National Debt Hotline on 1800 007 007.
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