A Veteran Rebuilds His Life After a Scam Takes Everything

The Perfect Scam

AARP

True Crime, Aarp, Fraud, Society & Culture, Scam, Crime, Bobsullivan

4.5 • 980 Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2023

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When David meets a woman, based in the Philippines, on a dating app he feels he’s made a real connection. While not romantic, over the course of a year they develop a deep friendship. One day she comes to David with a problem: She needs some help dealing with a property owned by her ailing grandmother. It starts with a small loan, but as the issues pile up, David exhausts his personal resources and borrows money from family and friends. His life spirals out of control when he loses his home, and the discovery of the scam causes friends and family to turn their backs on him. With the help of a support group, David finds healing and begins to rebuild his life and help others facing the same challenges.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode includes discussion of suicide.
0:03.0	If you are in crisis or you know someone who is,
0:06.0	please call or text 988,
0:09.0	a free nationwide service where professionals can listen
0:12.0	and get you the help you need.
0:16.0	This week on The Perfect Scam.
0:18.0	Ultimately, I was evicted from my condominium because I couldn't pay the rent.
0:25.0	And I had my two sons living with me at the time and I had to tell them that I'd lost our place to live.
0:34.0	Wow, what was it like to have to tell your sons that?
0:37.0	That sounds just awful.
0:38.0	Probably the hardest thing I'd ever had to do.
0:46.0	Welcome back to the perfect scam.
0:49.0	I'm your host Bob Sullivan.
0:51.0	We all know the phrase. I get by with a little help from my friends. And friends,
0:58.1	well they can come from unexpected places. In today's episode we're going to hear from a man who was the victim of a scam that went on for years.
1:08.0	It cost him almost everything. He was forced to live in his car. He was
1:15.0	abandoned by friends and family, but he was able to find help when he reached out and joined a support group.
1:20.0	And he found healing when he started to help others facing the same kind of rock
1:26.6	bottom. Well, it turns out there is a movement of support groups for victims of scams.
1:33.0	And in a little while, we're going to talk with one of the people who started that movement.
1:38.0	But first, let's find out what happened to a man who calls himself David Andreas Brown, that's his pen name.
1:45.8	When he met a woman online he thought he might want to date.
	...

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