A personal story of the effects of fraud on a friendship.

I wish this was a story I didn’t know. Unfortunately, it is one that has had a deep personal impact on myself and my family.

I’m not going to identify the person I’m writing about as I have no desire to add to their pain and suffering. All I will say is that it’s someone I care about and have known for many years.

This is a story about being scammed by intelligent and persistent criminals who have managed to convince a friend of mine to send substantial amounts of money to them over the past three years (about the cost of a new truck or modest home in Pictou County).

It is also a story of a good human being who wants to do good for those around them who can’t see they are being scammed ... proof that the road to hell may be paved with good intentions.

This friend is challenged by technology and sees the good in people to their own detriment.

From what I can tell, my friend believes they have had incredible strokes of luck, both winning a BMW on the internet with a large cash prize and being left a substantial sum by a philanthropist who also found them on the internet.

From the initial contact they started calling and texting the scammers and eventually were contacted by “The FBI” (scammer impersonating an FBI agent). The supposed FBI agent has convinced my friend they are helping to get them their winnings. There have been countless dates (since 2017) to collect the promised money, each delayed by fees that don’t actually exist, always at the last moment. I witnessed my friend mail a $4,000 bank draft to a private individual in the UK to pay a “lottery tax” that doesn’t exist.

One of the reasons I have come forward to share this story is that my friend is so convinced of the scam (despite many friends and family showing them proof of it being a scam) that they think we are working against them. The scammers have the trust of my friend more than I do.

It has gotten to the point that my friend has unwittingly become the scammer themselves, attempting to borrow money from friends and family to pay more fees after exhausting their own resources.

This is painful to watch. It is hard to watch someone you care about spiral into financial ruin and then start hurting others by borrowing money they will never be able to repay.

I’m also sharing this as it is far too common a story.

Scammers rely on hope or panic to hook their victims and there is a stigma and shame that many who have been scammed feel, often not reporting to family or the authorities.

Scammers often target vulnerable sectors of the population as well. Often gaining the trust of seniors or people who are lonely.

I’m at the point where I no longer have a relationship with my friend due to their being scammed. They see me as the enemy when I warned those in our circle to not contribute to my friend as they are very charming and convincing ... for a while I wanted to believe myself. My friend allowed me to see the communications they had with the “lottery company” and “FBI agent” and what I saw was poorly written and often blatantly false when checked with a quick internet search.

I hope to help reduce the stigma of being scammed and to let people know that it happens so frequently that we need to talk about it.

Scammers are intelligent, and diligent in their attempts. They are criminals willing to exploit their fellow human beings for profit, often at a great personal loss to their victim.

Please talk to your friends and family about scams.