Do you ever get a text that’s a wrong number, with a strange message? You should block & delete. It is likely part of a scam called “pig butchering” where criminals “fatten” a victim with false attention and fake returns before “slaughtering” them by stealing all their money.
A widower from CA recently fell for such a scam, which led to a fake crypto investment. He not only lost his life savings but may also have to pay a significant tax penalty for the early withdrawal from his retirement account, potentially forcing him to sell the home he built with his wife.
Unfortunately this does happen, when the scammers drain a person’s assets, they talked them into running up debt. It’s all built on the premise that eventually there is going to be a huge payday. Last year I helped someone who was contacted by a cloned profile of a guy he knew in high school, and the last scam was that all of the money plus a huge return was going to be sent to him, but he had to pay $12,000 for special luggage. That tapped him out and they never saw it again.
While this is something people end up being ashamed of, publicity that it can happen is helpful. And if your debts have been run up due to a romance scam, we can help get them discharged.