This is sadly a very common occurrence.
Between my wife and her boss, they figure they’ve prevented upwards to $200,000 in scammer theft targeting aging parents, lonely men and other overly trusting individuals.
I have altogether too many stories like this one in my notebook…
In some of the more depressing cases, the victim absolutely refuses to believe they are being scammed and will go through hell and high water to send their life savings to thieves in foreign countries. Other times, there’s a win, resulting in grateful customers, sometimes in tears, thanking the staff for saving them from being ripped off by organized sociopaths.