A 75-year-old retiree has come forward with his devastating experience of losing his entire $715,000 life savings to a sophisticated scam. In a candid interview with The Wall Street Journal, the man, who chose to remain anonymous, recounted the intricate deception that stripped him of his financial security.
The scam began in May 2023 when the man received a LinkedIn message from an individual posing as a 37-year-old successful Chinese woman living in San Francisco. She complimented his LinkedIn profile and expressed a desire to get to know him better. The two quickly found common interests in food, travel, fitness, and pets, which helped them forge a bond.
“We will be very happy in the future… I really thank God for letting me meet you,” she assured the elderly man, weaving a narrative of a future together that would never materialize.
Their relationship progressed, and she began sharing details about her “uncle’s” company, which she claimed had made her a small fortune. Over time, she convinced the man to invest his life savings into what he believed was a legitimate trading opportunity with promises of high returns and a future together.
The scammer skillfully manipulated their conversations to keep the pensioner’s trust. Whenever he showed signs of doubt, she would guilt-trip him with messages like, “Your distrust of me once again made me feel the fickleness of men,” and “I think all my good intentions and sincerity has been let down. I just want to complete our future goals and plans.”
Once the man transferred his $715,000 savings, the scammer disappeared. After a series of unanswered messages, the last communication he received from her in September was cold and dismissive, saying she didn’t ‘want to have anything to do’ with him anymore and criticizing his ‘mind as horrible.’
This type of scam, known as “pig butchering,” targets vulnerable individuals, building a relationship and trust before financially devastating them. The retiree has come to terms with the harsh reality that he likely won’t recover his lost funds. He has reported the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, hoping that his story might prevent others from suffering a similar fate.