Comment about bulletin cover story, How I Lost My Life Savings in 76 Days

[ElseT439075]

There was no way to comment on the actual Bulletin feature online, so I am posting my comment here.

This feature was more about mental health than a scam, in my opinion. It said more about the victim needing help with loneliness, risk taking/gambling, delusion and lust than anything else. The victim needs help. Where was his family while all this was going on? Didn’t they see that their dad was having other, more dangerous problems?

Just sayin’. Good grief.

[KarinK653204]

Having just seen the article, I have to agree and then some. I appreciate the writer's willingness to be open with readers about this scam, but wish he had been willing to delve into this more deeply. This is frankly the problem with the other romance scam stories I have read on AARP. This scam was so extraordinarily transparent, the red flags being raised so fast and furious, that this does not service as a precautionary tale for others. The real issue is what was going on with the victim psychologically? He never goes into that. He says he was hooked, he was totally confident, etc., but he never examines why this happened.

Loneliness? A sense of romantic excitement, a sort of infatuation, that fed his dopamine levels to the point where rationality wasn't working? A hot desire for one more roll of the dice in life? How was he spending his days before this happened that led him into it? Something, probably many things, was terribly missing in his life.

I'm also interested in his daughters whose only concern here seems to be that their father lied to them. Have they bothered looking into WHY he lied to them? What might be going on in his life that calls for their attention and help instead of their anger?

Until the stories plumb deeper levels, and until we as a society, we as older people, and we as the families of older people confront this and try to do something about it, no number of scam anecdotes will keep the elderly lonely who deeply crave something new from being victimized.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[5/28/26] Karin @KarinK653204 , I guess I am TOO BROKE to be scammed by a romance setup. While I feel sorry for the victims, I don't care how LONELY I get (age 68 this year) - I am NOT "giving" no man my money.

Personally, I donot read these stories as I believe they resolve nothing.

But hey, they may help people & that's a good thing.

Luv your thoughts!!!

Take care,

Nicole!

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➡️[*** KARIN @KarinK653204 wrote:

Having just seen the article, I have to agree and then some. I appreciate the writer's willingness to be open with readers about this scam, but wish he had been willing to delve into this more deeply. This is frankly the problem with the other romance scam stories I have read on AARP. This scam was so extraordinarily transparent, the red flags being raised so fast and furious, that this does not service as a precautionary tale for others. The real issue is what was going on with the victim psychologically? He never goes into that. He says he was hooked, he was totally confident, etc., but he never examines why this happened.

Loneliness? A sense of romantic excitement, a sort of infatuation, that fed his dopamine levels to the point where rationality wasn't working? A hot desire for one more roll of the dice in life? How was he spending his days before this happened that led him into it? Something, probably many things, was terribly missing in his life.

I'm also interested in his daughters whose only concern here seems to be that their father lied to them. Have they bothered looking into WHY he lied to them? What might be going on in his life that calls for their attention and help instead of their anger?

Until the stories plumb deeper levels, and until we as a society, we as older people, and we as the families of older people confront this and try to do something about it, no number of scam anecdotes will keep the elderly lonely who deeply crave something new from being victimized.

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