She’s crying saying “he took money from my children and grand children”. NO, SHE took money from her children and grand children. She preferred giving it to a man who she never met to giving it to her children.

Dating apps NEED to offer a mandatory 5-minute video on romance scammers to everyone who joins their app/website. I feel this would seriously help older people who are looking for love but aren't aware of these liars.

She shouldn’t be blaming the bank. She should be blaming herself.

Her husband never talked to her like that. Well her husband wasn't trying to scam her.

"The minute he asked for money I hung up!" - Proceeds to send half a million

The first sign of scam, asking for money.

OMG I hate when they whine and cry and blame everything on the scammer. "He took everything from me.." No, dummy--YOU GAVE IT TO HIM!!!

Her: "You should work for Hallmark!" Scammer: "Actually I'm doing pretty well at my current job."

When they call you “my Queen”, it’s a dead giveaway.

What loneliness does to a person is frightening.

How can these ppl not hear the scammer's accent? 🤷‍♀️

When she said "the first time we met..." my heart sunk because she didn't ever "meet" him. It's so obvious he's a foreigner just by hearing his voice. 😮

Even if this guy was real and wasn’t a scammer she still shouldn’t have sent him a dime!

The minute she started blaming the bank I lost sympathy.

Two red flags: He has a young voice and strange accent He says "I love you my queen." RUN GIRL RUN!!!

I don't understand how you can be so reckless with an inheritance, like I inherited my grandma's house and I guard it with my life, I am so thankful for the opportunities this has given me, the financial freedom and a great place to live. My grandparents worked all their life to pay off that house and I will honor that effort forever. I have no one to look after but myself but I'd still never waste that gift I have been given, I'd feel too bad towards my grandparents

She could have paid for college for all her grandchildren for heaven’s sake. How can a person send a fortune to someone they have never met?

What's sad is that these adults probably taught their children not to talk to strangers but never took their own advice.

You'd think maybe after giving away $100,000 and not meeting this man Joan MIGHT catch on... but a half a million dollars? This is the financial equivalent of the Darwin's Award

What does she think the police can do about it ? You gave your money away deliberatly. In a legal sense there is no crime.

Never never never never send a friggin’ penny to any stranger who has the audacity to ask for money!

Listening to the scammers voice she should have realized that man was clearly not American. 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

Queen, king, bitcoin, gemstones, gold bars, stuck somewhere, “I think I love you”. All these scammers use the same lines! Unreal how gullible these victims are.

Goodness me. A naive teenager might have some excuse getting scammed but after many decades of life experience, falling for this. Absolutely speechless.

After watching a few of these videos, I think if anyone, ever, called me "my queen " I would probably bust my gut laughing.😂

DAMN. The scammers hit the jackpot with this woman.

Mining for gemstones?! Lmao. How do they come up with this nonsense? 😂

The second they call you “queen”, RUN 😮

To send money to someone you never meet is horrible.

Blaming the police for not getting back money people have willingly given away is so unfair.

If your date lives more than 25 miles away and can't meet you in person, they are geographically undesirable. Immediate pass - good bye

Her saying that "the bank should have suspected fraud" is ridiculous. Blame shifting isn't going to get her money back. Yes, sometimes people who work at the bank can detect fraud, but the onus is on the account holder to make good choices.

I honestly do not understand how she can listen to that voice and not know he's a scammer from Africa? Seriously? I'm sorry she was victimized but the guy doesn't even remotely sound like his picture.

He called you 'his queen'. American men never speak this way.

Gemstones mined in Alaska, sent to Dubai, etc. A kid wouldn't fall for such idiotic crap.

At the end when she said she had her attorney looking into her bank & why they didnt notice, I couldn't help but scream, IT'S NOT THEIR PROBLEM/RESPONSIBILITY. She's to freaking old to not take accountability.

She's the type who is told it is a scam from the beginning and still won't listen. And no, it's not the bank's fault.

She had my whole sympathy until started pointing the finger at the bank. When I was 19 and a bank teller, an old lady withdrew $2000 (from her bank account with $21,000) from me and she had her son with her. Then a week later she and her daughter came to the bank practically foaming at the mouth. Apparently she was duped by the guy that was with her posing as her "son", some kinda scam was afoot. And she was blaming ME because I LET her withdraw the money. I lived in a country where $2000 is a LOT of money. My family and I could not AFFORD to pay her back $2000 and I was crying and terrified because she and her daughter blamed me as if it was my fault and wants me and/or the bank to pay. Lady, you gave the money of your own accord, why are you blaming the bank/someone else? Y'all gonna get mad if we ask why you're taking out a large sum of money and tell us it's none of our business what you do with your money, but you also want us to stop you and/or be accountable for your foolishness. Ugh idgi

We monitor our kids online to keep them safe from predators while Granny is giving Junior's college fund to one!

I'm sorry but the call audio between her and the scammer SENT ME 🤣💀

I'm surprised this lady didn't realize from the phone call that the scammer had a different accent than a typical American guy.

how do you go from hanging up on someone to giving them 500 grand?

She hides what she's doing from her family, but thinks the bank should be on the lookout....Sad to know there're people willing to be tugged around by their heart strings.

Seems like this woman spent all her life shielded from real world and its dangers by her late husband. When he was gone, she was an easy prey.

My sister fell for one of these. When they are in the middle of it, you can't convince them they are being scammed. They think you're crazy for even suggesting such a thing. It was a disaster.

The saddest thing is, people want so bad for love to be real they'll believe anything.

Heartbreaking her husband set her up so nicely and she gets scammed out of it. Her children sounds so nice.

How these women dont hear those accents and horrible voices is beyond me

Imagine working your whole life to provide your wife financial stability upon your death, just for that same wife to give it to another man.

I'm a senior single lady and I've told my kids not to worry I'd fall for this crap...I actually get approached by scammers and jerk their chain. I take great pleasure in cussing them out when I get tired of the b.s.

If i would be her i would dissapear with a new identity. Out of shame.

I worked in a bank for over 40 years and heard stupid people like her blaming the bank for their own stupidity. It happened many times.some people more than once.

She didn’t give all these money to her big family, but gave it to a man she never saw. That says a lot about most people today

She basically gave him her entire savings account. I can't believe she tried to blame the bank 🤔

It pisses me off when these women give their dead husbands money to a scammer. Disgusting. Whether you thought he was real or not. Doesn’t make it any better.

She's blaming the bank for not stopping her ??? 🤦🤦😂😂😂

Always amazes me when people say 'theyre taking my kids inheritance' 1: No, youre giving it away 2: Why do your kids have to wait till you die to get money from you but a stranger gets it right now?

She was expecting to marry a man she had never met. That disconnect from reality is heart-breaking.

She has financed an entire village.

"somethings gotta be done" yeah dont send massive amounts of money to someone youve never met, especially when their voice doesnt match their picture....

I got 2 family members that keep falling for this. You want unconditional love. Get a dog. 🙄

Omg all her husband worked for in his life to leave her and his children and grandchildren gone to a scam… she must feel so awful 😣

I'm in the wrong business

It baffles me that they never pick up the fact that he has an African accent.

It’s always kinda enraging to hear that they send the money their late *husbands* worked so hard for , & left for them & the family… & send it to a man that simply fed their ego.

Hard to feel sorry for people who fall for this, especially after all the warnings. A man wouldn't get $5 out of me much less $500K.

If anything ever happens to my wife and I end up alone (married for 18 years) - I'm not even going to bother with a new relationship. I've been alive long enough to know that it's impossible to truly trust people and know their true intentions. I think the next phase of my life would be to get to know myself better and do the things I want to do with the time I have remaining. Scammers are scum, but the people who get scammed also have a part in it.

Dating apps should be vetted

Here’s my biggest issue with watching all these victims: they are voluntarily giving away their money. Makes it really hard for me to have sympathy. You willingly give them your money, then cry about it like they stole from you, and have never met them in person. I wouldn’t give anyone I don’t know IN PERSON (and often not even then) a single cent.

Gave away her kid's inheritance, Way to go mom

I cant believe these people. Its obvious they are so lonely that it clouds their judgment. Get a dog. They are always happy to see you,great listeners,and good protectors.

If you can be tricked out of 500,000 by someone saying "i love you" then you shouldn't have that much money.

If a man is asking a woman for money, he doesn’t have any business dating because he wants to be a child and have money handed out to him. This applies to online romance, or in real life. Please don’t fall in love with someone that you never met.

Real men can talk sweet to a woman they love, but real men definitely don't beg women for money

Her deceased husband would be rolling in his grave. Imagine working your entire life only to have all your money be given away so foolishly.

Husband is rolling in his grave. The husband should have enjoyed his money while he was still alive rather than saving it all for her wife to give it all away to her lover. SMH!

Her husband left her a reasonable retirement, and she squanders it falling for an obvious scam looking for a replacement. It's pathetic.

This lady was probably mourning her husband. Instead of telling her to 'go online and find someone' better advice would be to have qualified grief counselling. Then join a group - a real life one where you do stuff you enjoy. That way you meet people and are actively engaged in a new hobby.

When a person is continually asking for money, "supposedly" having a job, a house and so on... Ayyy, lady. Can you blame the scammer once, twice, but such amounts? I felt so sorry but, …

SHE is to blame!! How dare she blame the bank and even blame the scammer!! Scammers are deplorable but SHE has taken the money meant for her children and grandchildren and SHE has given it to a total stranger!! SHE is an absolute desperately deluded ‘woman’!!!

She sent all her husband's hard-earned money to some random dude. So disrespectful and cruel, she is very lucky her children still wants her around.

"My husband never talked to me like this" - Right, real men don't talk all lovey dovey. If they do, they are trying to scam you. Stop reading romance novels.

I've been widowed 17 years now. I've been scammed a number of times on dating sites. I never went through with sending money or anything of high value. I'm still alone, it's just me now. I gave up on dating sites. Loneliness can impair good judgement, but you still have your family AND you're still good looking... so you can still find your knight that'll care for and protect you. Don't lose hope because of that one scumbag.

If I had a girl that I spent everyday in person with and she asked me for $100 I would put my foot down...how on earth could you give someone you never met 500k? If this woman's cousin came to her she wouldn't give them 500k but she'll give it to someone they never met??? I don't understand how you could be this delusional.

Such a lovely lady but very sheltered. She had no idea how much the world has changed. Tough lesson. Thanks for telling your story.

Romance Scammer Checklist: 1. He or she is out of your league 2. He or she started asking for money $$$ 3. He or she wants gift cards instead of real / actual gifts 4. He or she sends his or her Identification Cards (or other legal documents as proof of legitimacy without being asked) 5. He or she always has a back story with drama and need urgent financial assistance 6. He or she asks money for food 7. He or she asks if you’ve eaten 8. He or she calls you King/Queen, Dear, Hunny, and very poetic (not to mention confesses love early on) 9. He or she won't video chat often (mostly due to a bad internet connection) and will usually refuse to answer phone calls 10. He or she will delay your meet-up for months or worse, years Let me know if I missed other signs. Hope this helps!

Shes so vulnerable, so sad. Being sad and lonely after death is such a real easy way for vulnerable people to be scammed. If youve never been through it you will never understand what she felt. Praying for her.😢😢🙏🙏

Damn this scammer made more in a few months than I did in 40 years of work!

It's ridiculous how they want to blame the bank for their stupidity 🙄😒🤦🏻😑 It's like me blaming the department stores for my overspending instore purchases . Willingly walked into the Gucci shop and spent all my money yet I want to blame the store manager for letting me buy too much.... I mean. Take responsibility and accountability ffs!!!

Blows my mind, how can people be so ignorant, and give away so much money to someone they never met in person.

Can't take responsibility for her own actions. Feels the need to blame another. Sad.

It never ceases to amaze me how people can fall for these scams. Once the scammers had this woman brainwashed with love and got her to send money the first time they just bled her dry - it was all to easy.

I feel so sorry for her! He sounded like a Nigerian. I’m a Nigerian myself

She tries to throw her bank under the bus for not catching her withdrawals. She did it herself, she chose not to involve her family in sending money.

I really do get intolerant when the 'victims ' say "They TOOK my money!" NO, you GAVE gave it to them!

Omg this is so sad. There are a lot of cunning and horrible scammers that prey on fragile women. How awful😢

I'm so grateful that I'm not susceptible to loneliness. I live alone with my dog and am always glad to go home after being out. I work from home, so I'm always with my dog. She and I are happy and grateful for what we have.

This makes me glad my grandmother only knows how to use a flip phone.

I have no empathy for them. Let's blame everyone except for yourself.

And these same people try to blame the banks too. You can imagine how much these people would complain if banks put tighter restrictions and safety measures on their accounts in order to protect them.