How a man in the US lost US$500,000 in savings to an elaborate scam on the rise

Because of the investment angle, these scams often come with the highest reported losses, according to cybercrime statistics, and the consequences can be dire. Victims have reportedly been driven to suicide. — Pixabay

Even now, face to face with his decimated savings, it’s hard to reconcile the five-month relationship he had with a Finnish woman in Florida with the elaborate scam it now clearly was.

It felt different than a typical con – too personal, too involved, too reciprocal.