How does this scam work?

Hand off the information to Kitboga so he can make some videos about it.

Yep. My grandpa has lost everything after my grandma passed away. So many young women want him! And he could make so much money if he just buys some supplies! And this and that and scam scam scam.

I'd feel bad for him if he hadn't disrespected the memory of my grandmother so damn quickly after being sucked into these scams.

Good opportunity for him to say he doesn’t have the money right now, can she buy him the plane tickets and get himself a nice little free trip to LA. She’ll obviously say no, and boom he’s out of it.

These scams can get fairly complex. Sometimes they even employ models to video chat to make the whole thing seem legitimate.

Sometimes these are people who are trapped inside of a compound where they can't leave unless they scam enough victims.

Jim Browning gives us a behind the scenes view on how these work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu-Y1h9rTUs

Skipping ahead to 4 minutes will show how they typically use the call/text by "accident" method.

Another good video here by Pleasant Green:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS1ge8-31IY

web camera is not working

In 2026 that's the most obvious sign it's a scam. However even these days you can have live AI visual and audio filters.

fwiw sometimes the people playing the "bait" are themselves victims of human trafficking. If they don't bring in enough money, they are forced into prostitution. source.

You are to be applauded for watching out and caring for your father - I”m sorry for both of your loss of your dear mother and I know, you are hurting as much as he is…

You will have to tread carefully, depending upon his level of dementia -since he firmly believes this scam and will not respond well to being told he’s wrong and trying to convince him

The best approach will be to gather some solid empirical evidence on paper - do your research on everything you can get about the company - look at the company website suspiciously (source code) - everything you can find with her name, her phone number, the company address (on Google maps) etc…

be sure to do this research anywhere other than social media, everything on social media will support her story/lies - It will take some work, but will be worth it for when you talk to him

Once you have the evidence in hand and are ready to talk with your father, began by telling him how much you love him and care for him and will do anything to protect him - make sure it’s all about him and not money -

Then you can show him the evidence and help ease his way to understanding-

This is all a part of his grieving the loss of his life partner, and trying to ease his own pain

I wish you well in taking care of your father, please DM me and tell me how it went


(Source: an elderly man who went through much of the same with his elderly father)

If it's none of the above could be a marriage / immigration thing. Met a dude once who had married like six times. Would find needy women with money, woo them, divorce them and then collect.

There is a 0.001% chance this isn't a scam. Make sure he doesn't give money and has backup plans of what he would do in LA if this is a scam. If you are going to LA anyway then meeting someone can make it more enjoyable. If it doesn't work out (either a scam or real but the don't click) he can enjoy his backup plan. I want to visit the USS Iowa there someday as one example of something to fill a day. I assure you there is more and I've not even been there

A lot of the comments are about to scam and not about what you should do to help your father.

Make him aware that it's a "romance scam" and that this was set up from the beginning for money. Tell him what to expect and hopefully when this person finally starts with the money requests he will remember what you said and understand for himself what is happening.

Second, the biggest concern would be his inability to get out of the situation and feeling pressured in the moment to give an answer or send money. I don't specifically have a recommendation for how he can avoid this, but generally it's best if people have their own transportation and can leave at any time.

Also, I would stay in touch with him frequently. He is interacting with this person. Talk on the phone several times a day. It's going to be impossible for him to walk away unless you can help him.

LA is relatively close to the Mexican border.

Nobody's interested in a 72 year old's organs.

I'd be most worried that it's a kidnapping for ransom, since seniors generally have savings and retirement assets, since they'd be alone with strangers in unknown territory.

I know someone who seems to be addicted to meeting people online and they just pretend to be broke once they’re tired of the attention, ask for money, and the person disappears.

Here's the thing: Even if she could do a video call, that doesn't really prove anything.

Having said that, she's 40 and she's a CEO. If her "webcam is not working" she has the means to rectify that quickly. Not to mention, there's basically no chance a 40 year old CEO of an international organization doesn't have a phone that can do video calls, let alone no laptop/device capable of it. It's pretty much going to be essential for that type of job. She'd buy a new laptop, new phone, get the existing stuff fixed.

Yes it's a scam. There are many variations of how these work and there's not always a one size fits all script. They'll say whatever it takes and it could be anything.

Some will ask for money directly. Some will lure the target into crypto scams. This general type of romance scam typically involves building trust over time, and then suddenly concocting an urgent situation requiring money. The idea is that they need help ASAP, and if the target doesn't act quickly, the scam artist is going to be in a lot of danger/trouble. For instance, she might claim that she traveled abroad and something happened (ex: lost passport, stolen purse) that requires lots of money now. Or maybe because she's stuck in another country without ID, she needs someone in the USA (your dad) to cover some bogus financial transaction for the company or they will face big fines/bankruptcy/lose the biggest client/etc.

Also, people who are being scammed often lie about whether or not they've sent money. Deep down they know they may suspect they've been taken advantage of and feel embarrassed/ashamed about it. Even people that you feel 100% would never lie to you about that, will lie about that up to a point.