Mom (58F) Me (20M)
Background: My mother has sent over $1,500,000 through crypto over the past 6 months through an online task scam. She has claimed every step of the way that “This is the last step, I swear!”. Then something pops up where she had no choice but to put more money in to retrieve all her money & more. She refuses to believe it’s a scam and still has 100% confidence that it is real.
She needs to send them $30,000 within 2 weeks and have no way of obtaining this money besides withdrawing from her 401k. She has already morgaged her cars, borrowed against her life insurance, and taken out loans against her house. From what I know, the only assets she has left is her retirement (401k) & her house (small fraction of the total value). She won’t be able to sell her house within 2 weeks so she wants to withdraw from her 401k. Since she is not 59 1/2, she cannot withdraw from her 401k.
She wants to do a hardship 401k withdraw under Tuition (States she is using the funds to pay for my college Tuition) and then sent that to the scammers. I believe she would need to pay tax on it in addition to a 10% penalty for withdrawing it before she’s 59 1/2. She need a document from the school which can only be obtained by the student, to apply for her 401k hardship withdraw. I’m refusing to help her get this document.
Her perspective:
– We are family and we should support each other in hard times.
– It’s her money and she just needs my help accessing it. She’s not asking for my money
– It’s the “last step” and if she doesn’t get her money after this, she’ll quit.
– It’s only $30,000 compared to the $1,500,000 she has already put in. She has put in this last bit to get it all back
– She would rather lose $30,000 and have the peace of mind knowing they fully scammed her than thinking that she ruined peoples lives and lose her money (She belives that they “lent” her money to get pay since she could not cover the entire amount & that its effecting their lives)
– I’m “ruining” her life becase I am stopping her from accessing her own money.
My perspective:
I just want her to quit sending money and realize it’s a scam. If giving her the document would allow her to lose her $30,000 and accept it’s a scam, I am fine with that. She has lied every step of the way, always saying its the last step and that she will quit but never does. Her promise to quit doesn’t have any meaning and if I enable her to get this money, I’m only ruining her life further when she finally accepts its a scam. I don’t want to be involved in the scam, even if it’s just enabling her to access her money. I don’t think there will ever be an end until her money runs dry and If I don’t help her here, this may be where her money runs dry.
Comments
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Mom (58F) Me (20M)
Background: My mother has sent over $1,500,000 through crypto over the past 6 months through an online task scam. She has claimed every step of the way that “This is the last step, I swear!”. Then something pops up where she had no choice but to put more money in to retrieve all her money & more. She refuses to believe it’s a scam and still has 100% confidence that it is real.
She needs to send them $30,000 within 2 weeks and have no way of obtaining this money besides withdrawing from her 401k. She has already morgaged her cars, borrowed against her life insurance, and taken out loans against her house. From what I know, the only assets she has left is her retirement (401k) & her house (small fraction of the total value). She won’t be able to sell her house within 2 weeks so she wants to withdraw from her 401k. Since she is not 59 1/2, she cannot withdraw from her 401k.
She wants to do a hardship 401k withdraw under Tuition (States she is using the funds to pay for my college Tuition) and then sent that to the scammers. I believe she would need to pay tax on it in addition to a 10% penalty for withdrawing it before she’s 59 1/2. She need a document from the school which can only be obtained by the student, to apply for her 401k hardship withdraw. I’m refusing to help her get this document.
Her perspective:
– We are family and we should support each other in hard times.
– It’s her money and she just needs my help accessing it. She’s not asking for my money
– It’s the “last step” and if she doesn’t get her money after this, she’ll quit.
– It’s only $30,000 compared to the $1,500,000 she has already put in. She has put in this last bit to get it all back
– She would rather lose $30,000 and have the peace of mind knowing they fully scammed her than thinking that she ruined peoples lives and lose her money (She belives that they “lent” her money to get pay since she could not cover the entire amount & that its effecting their lives)
– I’m “ruining” her life becase I am stopping her from accessing her own money.
My perspective:
I just want her to quit sending money and realize it’s a scam. If giving her the document would allow her to lose her $30,000 and accept it’s a scam, I am fine with that. She has lied every step of the way, always saying its the last step and that she will quit but never does. Her promise to quit doesn’t have any meaning and if I enable her to get this money, I’m only ruining her life further when she finally accepts its a scam. I don’t want to be involved in the scam, even if it’s just enabling her to access her money. I don’t think there will ever be an end until her money runs dry and If I don’t help her here, this may be where her money runs dry.
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I believe that I may be in the wrong because it is my mothers money that I am preventing her from obtaining. Even if I know she is being scammed and I am doing it to look out for her, it is her money at the end of the day. Should I be stopping her from accessing her own money? I think I am doing the right thing but I want others opinions
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
Maybe report this to the police to help open her eyes to the problem? This is ridiculous.
NTA. Please take a step back and realize scam or no scam what she wants to do is commit financial fraud and fuck to the no don’t do that.
She is GUESSING there won’t be any ramifications but who knows but it would be clear fraud.
NTA, have you not contacted her bank or any adult protective services yet? You realize your mom has basically given away her retirement and is going to struggle just to survive for the next 20+ years, right?
YTA for letting it get this far. You obviously know about what she’s been up to. You should have intervened!
Don’t let her send them anymore money she being scam..what she get out of it?
NTA.
I do not think there is much you can do unless you can prove your mom is operating with diminished capacity (and participating in a scam does not meet that criteria).
You can feign interest in the scam and hopefully get some details out of her, then you can report it to law enforcement, FTC, whoever.
Good luck.
I’m not sure the most pressing thing is to wonder whether you’re the asshole. You’re obviously not and you need to take measures (and I mean legal measures) so that your mother doesn’t waste anymore money. It’s obviously a scam, and she clearly won’t stop, because the next step will be the last, once again.
You need to contact her bank, the police, and a lawyer asap. Imagine for one second what would happen if the wallets she’s been sending crypto to were to be linked to terrorist networks for example.
NTA
She should seek out help from a fiduciary.
> She needs to send them $30,000 within 2 weeks and have no way of obtaining this money besides withdrawing from her 401k.
Who is “they”? Frankly, at this point? You need to contact adult protective services.
NTA and report this to the bank and to the police. I doubt they can get her money back, but maybe some of the transactions can be reversed. Good luck.
Google task scams. Have your mother read everything. If she still insists, don’t help her. She needs to talk to a therapist to help her figure out why she is susceptible to scare. NTA
NTA
Call the police asap. Maybe google the name of the company she is working with to show her it is a scam. You all will be homeless in the next two weeks and she won’t have anything for her retirement. This is serious. She is going to waste all your college tuition.
NTA obviously. She needs professional help. Find a professional in the area ASAP. She will definitely fall for another one after this.
Regardless of the surrounding circumstances, you are NTA for declining to commit fraud for your mother.
Three words for you: Sunk Cost Fallacy.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Please be assured you are NTA.
She is the victim of a crime but doesn’t recognize it which makes this 1,000 times worse for everyone.
Do not give her any money. Do not give her access to any of your accounts…ever. Don’t sign anything she asks you to or help her in any way in this regard.
Crypto, romance, pig-butchering scams…they’re all evil and will literally tell her anything to get her money. Which means she will tell you anything to get your money.
My mom has been entangled in a romance scam for years and it’s heartbreaking. I’m fortunate in that my dad recognizes it for what it is and hasn’t left her over it. He keeps the keys to the finances and we have a system set up between the two of us to protect her from the scammers and herself as much as we can.
Call Senior Services and tell them what’s happening. They may have some resources to help. Also contact the FBI. $1.5m is not a small loss…it makes it worth the FBI’s attention.
ETA: go to this board and read up – https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/
NTA. Don’t help her in any way, it’s fraud.
Tell your mother to look up “pig butchering scams” . That’s exactly what is happening to her. She’s never getting her money back and the scammers will keep doing everything they can to bleed her dry. The sooner she realizes they will never stop asking for more money the better.
OMG SOOOOO NTA.
Please get law enforcement involved, this is the only way your poor,clueless mother is going to be prevented from giving away her retirement and any interest you might have in an inheritance.
Really, she needs to be in some form of conservatorship if she’s making decisions this reckless to the extent that she’d try to convince you to partner up with her in just a little friendly family tax fraud. That’s beyond the pale.
Make sure that your credit is locked. I wouldn’t put it past your mother to use your social security to get a loan or line of credit
She’s asking you to be a party to her fraud by obtaining a letter under false pretenses. If you do that, you’re an accessory and co-conspirator. Pretty sure it would be a federal felony.
I’d look into what’s actually happening here. If it’s true that she’s being scammed, then law enforcement needs to be involved and she needs a psych evaluation and potential conservatorship over her assets established.
But I also wouldn’t be shocked if she’s using that scam as a front for a gambling addiction or something similar, especially since she’s now trying to involve you in fraudulent withdrawals from her 401k. She seems to have enough mental capacity to be able to understand the steps of the fraud she’s trying to perpetuate so that tends to indicate that it’s not a diminished capacity issue. Could be a psychosis issue still though.
NTA
It’s best you look for help with professionals in how to talk to her out of going forward with this. Something like this
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/stop-check-protect/help-someone-whos-being-scammed
She needs to be educated about what a pig slaughtering scam is
Uh NTA? I know of someone that got scammed out of $30k from this exact scam and I thought he had it rough. $1.5m is wild.
Really she should stop sending them money but at this point idk what you should do if she isn’t yet convinced after basically indebting herself into a hole so deep she couldn’t possibly climb her way out.
Dear mom, you need help. And better judgement. You do not throw away 30k just because you’ve already thrown away more. You are a victim of a cruel theft. I’m sorry but let your children protect you.
NTA. As long as she’s mentally competent, it’s her money to do with as she pleases. You have no say so. But you also you don’t have to participate in this mess. You’re well within your rights to not “help” her with this.
NTA. Do not commit fraud for the purpose of helping people steal from your mother.
– We are family and we should support each other in hard times.
Helping people steal from her is not supporting her.
– It’s her money and she just needs my help accessing it. She’s not asking for my money
True, but not a good reason to commit fraud to help people steal from your mother.
– It’s the “last step” and if she doesn’t get her money after this, she’ll quit.
She is lying. This is not true.
– It’s only $30,000 compared to the $1,500,000 she has already put in. She has put in this last bit to get it all back
This is not true, of course.
– She would rather lose $30,000 and have the peace of mind knowing they fully scammed her than thinking that she ruined peoples lives and lose her money (She believes that they “lent” her money to get pay since she could not cover the entire amount & that its effecting their lives)
They have not lent her money. If they had lent her money, she would have money.
– I’m “ruining” her life because I am stopping her from accessing her own money.
No, the scammers are ruining her life. You are helping her to hold on to some scraps.
What is a task scam? Can anyone ELI5?
I’ll go google it too
I really hope this story is fake because you need to get the fucking police involved for elderly/adult protective services as she is not sound enough to drop 1.5 fucking MILLION on a scam. she will fall for it again. she has absolutely nothing anymore and authorities need to be involved ASAP holy shit
NTA don’t enable her. Report to FBI and APS.
NTA. Even if this was not a scam, if she is taking the money out for any reason other than paying your tuition, she would be committing fraud and you should 100% NOT be a party to that.
Can you call the local FBI or Police explain and ask if someone will come talk to her? they can be really kind about that sometimes.
NTA. You should contact the FBI and local police about this. Hopefully they will launch an investigation. You may also want to contact a lawyer and see if there is a way to take conservatorship over her accounts
Don’t participate in any fraud that your mom is attempting for a hardship withdrawal. Just let the money dry up. Mentally she can’t admit to herself that she was scammed.
You ought to try to talk her into filing a police report. They can attempt to recover the money, but the chances of getting it back are slim since this has been going on for 6 months.
You absolutely need to call Adult Protective Services and alert the bank. The bank may already have been alerted as they tend to keep tabs on people who are transferring a lot of money to crypto, but you definitely need to report this to the bank, the SEC, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, and your state’s attorney general (https://www.occ.gov/topics/consumers-and-communities/consumer-protection/fraud-resources/financial-and-investment-fraud-.html).
At a certain point, your mother is complicit in this fraud, not to mention absolutely torpedoing her future. If you falsify documents for her, you will also be complicit. At 59, she cannot afford to lose any more money, let alone be found guilty of participating in fraud or money laundering. You may have to file with the court to find her non compos mentis because of her lack of ability to handle her own finances, and you may need to assume power of attorney for her. Losing a million and a half dollars is actually unhinged in this economy. If you do not do whatever you can to stop your mother from doing this, you ARE the asshole.
Tell her you cannot help her with the tuition letter, because that is clearly fraud and you do not want to do anything illegal. Then please contact the police. How is she going to pay back all these loans? She may have to declare bankruptcy.
If she’s really tanking her finances this hard she has no business being in control of them. If she wants support and help the best thing to do would be putting a stop to this
NTA, of course. Come on. Duh.
Obviously NTA. I obviously don’t know anything about this but I would be more likely to wonder if she can be declared mentally incompetent somehow. To waste $1.5 million yet still think it’s not a scam would show me she’s not got the mental capacity to continue to exist as an adult. If she can get someone else in the family to try to recover the money and pay the bills because obviously she can’t be trusted. These kind of things are like weeds. My mil fell for one “only $20,000” but she realized she got screwed. Then another 10 popped up trying other things. My husband and I got her a new email and new phone number but there’s really no way to stop them.
YTA for not contacting elder abuse services earlier and getting power of attorney over her finances.
She is obviously unwell and needs to be cut off from financial access.
Don’t do anything to help her obtain any money. Don’t documents, don’t sign anything, don’t even say anything in text messages that can be held against you. Either call the cops and let them handle the scam or let your mom run her self dry. THere’s no other way to around it. I’m guessing she’s a boomer who, at this point, has no awareness of anything but themselves and even that is arguable. The only way she’s going to learn the lesson is if the cops are involved or she loses everything. The latter means you most likely will get the grunt of it because she’ll expect you to take care of her.
So many strange choices here I don’t think it’s real. What is AITH going to accomplish here? NTA she’s delusional.
My FIL was scammed. I went straight to the bank and they contacted the FBI. We got the money back.
Absolutely not!!! YOU could be charged with a crime if you lie on any paperwork about this.
NTA. Sadly, welcome to being an adult child of a senior (even though your mom hasn’t hit “senior” yet). My mom lost $10,000 in a gift card scam a few years ago. Might not seem like a lot, but she’s 78 and has a total of $20,000 to her name. We’ve had to step in and buy stuff for her when things break in her house & my husband has to do all repairs because she can’t afford to hire anyone. Protect her money at all costs.
NTA
Another old fool 🙄
Call the FBI and the Attorney General
Make a copy of all the emails
Proceed with this maybe she’ll believe them
Do you live with her? I would have shut off her Internet years ago. Do not commit fraud for her. If you don’t live with her, disown her.
1.5 MILLION???
Wow this is next level dum. Sorry OP. Looks like you will be her 401k. Dont give her any money. She is still young enough to work.
Don’t aid and abet her. She’s willfully choosing to be ignorant at this point. Anything she needs to precur will only be precurred by her. She is choosing to ruin her own life, not you. Unfortunately, some people need to hit rock bottom before they accept the truth about these scams.
NTA please put this in r/scams. Also do not respond to any messages claiming to help or get her money back, it is also a scam
Some people really just have to much money. Honestly
Go to TikTok and make a video and tag @youthpastorryan and see if he can help.
His name is Ryan Kelly and this is right up his alley.
She is probably going to hate you for a long time, but you are doing the right thing by keeping her from losing more money to these scammers.
No you are not the AH for refusing to commit fraud. Which is a crime. If your mom cannot keep participating in her scam without breaking the law then she simply cannot keep participating. Too bad so sad 🤷♀️
NTA
NTA.
Some people refuse to believe the truth because it’s easier to live in the lie. You’re trying to do what’s right and if your mom can’t see it, she can’t see it.
You do need to let her know that she’s gone too far for you to be able to trust that she will stop, due to her saying she’ll stop over $50,000 ago.
The $30,000 that she has in the 401K is worth WAY more than a possible $1,500,000 return that is likely another scam(Bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush). Plus, it’s not just a $30,000 loss this time, she’ll be paying an extra $3,000 on taxes on top of it that she can’t ever get back.
NTA. Do not participate in what is clearly fraud as there may be repercussions for you.
Additionally, I would freeze your credit. If your Mom is desperate enough, she might attempt to commit identity theft by taking out loans in your name. If she has access to any of your personal financial information, lock that down asap.
NTA. Sit her down and show her some videos from trilogy media. Idk what scam she is falling for but they are bound to have her one that is similar or even the same on. Here is one of their most recent videos.
https://youtu.be/yPxNfIGCPZo?si=lcge8CbfGi05IToo
You need to contact the holder of her 401(k) and explain the situation so they are aware not to let her access it.
Also, you need to contact the credit bureaus and freeze your credit.
She will 100% ruin you financially if she can.
Call the bank and let them know what’s going on.
Contact Silver Mill Law and see if they can help.
If you have her on any of your accounts close those accounts and open under your name at a new bank.
A completely new bank she doesn’t use is what you need so she cant sweet talk a teller to give her access to your money because the account was closed in error.
I cannot stress this enough SHE WILL RUIN YOU FINANCIALLY IF SHE CAN
She is an addict. She is addicted to this. Do not let her ruin your life as well.
I’m sorry for saying this, but I hope my mom is never this dumb.
My dad did a similar thing where he lost a lot of money to scammers. They are really, really persuasive. It will never be enough. Even after the initial scam ends, they will pretend to be FBI or other law-enforcement prosecuting the scammers to try and get more money out of her. Don’t let her take you down with her.
Aside from the $1.5m she lost, try not to let her fall for a recovery service. They cannot retrieve her money. Also a scam.
Task scams create the illusion of making money | Consumer Advice
From the FTC.
NTA
I once listened to a talk by a man whose wife behaved like your mum, she turned out to have early onset dementia. Something is very wrong
NTA, but honesty with how stupid your mom is, it’s honestly more her fault than the scammers at this point.
NTA. Get the police and FBI involved! You may need to get a lawyer and have her declared incompetent.
NTA. She might not be asking you for anything right now, but she will be when she’s broke/ in debt from this.
NTA, the scam subreddit is full of these stories.
The saddest thing is that if she wants to continue with the scam there is nothing you can do to stop her. Until she finally accepts that she was scammed she’ll just lie to you and hide it to keep it going.
The bad news is because she was successfully scammed it makes her high risk for being scammed again, or falling for a recovery scam. That would be the same scammers under new names saying they know she was scammed and can help her get her money back for more money. You’ve probably already received DM’s here from some because of this thread. Don’t believe them.
NTA for not wanting to commit fraud.
If you help your mom with her plan its fraud.
Eventually when she realizes shes been scammed you’ll both have the added stress of explaining the fraud to the police.
Contact the FBI and your local police station.
NTA, Your mom is really desperate and asking you to commit fraud. Id also make sure your own money/credit is safe.
This is an easy fix if you are in the US. Take your mom down to the FBI. Not only can they try to catch these wicked jerks, they can explain it to mom so she understands
Call your local police department. Maybe she’ll believe a detective when they explain what is really going on.
NTA I can’t even imagine. Can you contact the police?
NTA- but you should call the non emergency number for the police department and ask if you can talk to someone who might be able to help you. They may be able to send someone over to assist your mother with the information she needs to realize it’s a scam and she has lost everything she has already sent. That she will never get anything back, just a broken heart from all of this. She definitely needs someone in some type of authority to step in and help put a stop to losing what she has left. She is not listening to you because she thinks she is older and wiser than her child but she needs help. I hope you make the call and you can get her help she definitely needs. Good luck!
Contact your regional FBI office. They handle the online scams and track the scammers’ tactics. The money may be gone, but local police is not the agency equipped to assist.
She can withdraw from the 401k without your involvement, and take the 10% penalty NTA
NTA and she won’t stop and you’ll have enabled her
Please report this scam to the fraud dept at her bank and government. Even if they can’t stop her they might be able to convince her it’s a scam or stop them. See articles on pig butchering.
I’m sorry she’s not listening to reason.
If you give her money (or the document to do so), she will blame you for not stopping her.
If you dont give her money( or the document) she will blame you for not helping her.
She’s gonna blame you either way. But at least by not getting her that document, then morally you know you did the right thing in the end.
NTA. Don’t defraud the government so that you can support her involvement in a scam. Scamming the government in order to enable yourself to be scammed is doubly dumb.
That’s illegal so all you have to say is “no mom, I’m not committing fraud for you”.
There will be another step.
Surely it is apparent that they are able to make up endless nonsense. “Oh this is the last 30k that will release the funds” “Oh no there has been a block placed on that account we need a certificate that will take 2 months, unless we can show evidence of XYZ or use a dinglenoodle, but they cost 7k” “Ah, the dinglenoodle needs an adapter for wifi7 to transmogrify, which costs another 2k in our country” “a dodgy policeman has been sniffing around and says he’s going to shop us if we don’t give him another 500” “the 500 will need an anonymising service for 100, or we can pay 300 to get someone else he crossed out of jail to testify against him” “oh no it missed a deadline, it’s another 50”
What legitimate investment can possibly give her $1.5m, or nothing, contingent on a 30k payment. Surely she would be able to negotiate to only receive 1.4m, giving someone a cool 70k profit for lending 30k?
Protect your mom from your mom.
Have her listen to scam factory, the podcast.
NTA. She is under 59 1/2 so there will be tax consequences as well as a 10% penalty for withdrawing money from her 401(k). Not only that, she is getting scammed and refuses to acknowledge it. She sounds like she needs a cognitive evaluation. Do not get that form for her.
NTA of course.
One idea… involve the police. Have THEM speak to her about these scams, maybe she will believe an authority figure.
NTA. Show her the John Oliver video on pig butchering scams
I think this one might be beyond Reddit’s pay grade.
You don’t need advice. You need a lawyer and a law enforcement officer.
NTA. Your mother is asking you to engage in fraud with her. That could have serious repercussions for you further down the track. Do you have any actual insight into what is happening to the money, where it is going etc? Tell her that this is fraud and you are not getting involved. Then stick to your guns. Good luck – it is going to be bumpy!
NTA. You need to seek out guardianship to protect her from herself.
She needs therapy to cope with her loss. She won’t let herself believe it out of self preservation. Fooling herself into believing that it can come back is always easier than facing the shame and embarrassment and feeling of being wronged that she will ultimately need to face. It’s just a choice between facing them when she has SOMETHING left, or facing it when she has nothing at all. You are GOOD FAMILY for drawing a line for her, since it seems she can’t at this point. Do everything you can to stop her, and do research about the kind of scam she is experiencing. Maybe the more you line it up with other scams, the more she will believe it.
She’s being scammed. Sending more money means she will lose more. The demands will only stop when she has neither money nor credit lines left.
You’re way over your head and need professional advice on who to report the scam to and how to save what you can.
A friend of mine was scammed out of $250,000.A teller at the bank warned her that this was probably a scam. She carried on with it, sending thousands until her adult daughter called her boss in the sheriff’s office. The FBI was called, and they discovered it was a huge ring of people in six countries. Eventually, some of them in the United States were caught and jailed. The money, however, is forever gone.
OP, NTAH. Do NOT allow your Mother to throw away her money… There is never “just one last expenditure.” They will keep asking for more until her money is totally gone and she is living on the street.
Save your mom. Call the police. Once the reality of the scam is revealed, she will thank you for saving her retirement, house, and car.
NTA, is your mom exhibiting any cognitive decline? I’d be concerned she has early onset Alzheimer’s or Dementia.
NTA Someone out there has banged a lot of hookers with your mom’s money, while simultaneously also screwing her.
NTA… your mother’s faculties are in steep decline. You need to get control of the estate
NTA
She needs to stop. They will drain her till she has nothing. It’s hard sometimes to get parents to believe you, and they don’t want to admit they got scammed. The AARP has info about scams, try showing her that. Or get someone else less related to tell her, or even ask the cops to try and explain it to her. Sometimes having someone not related can be helpful to get them to stop.
First off post this in the scams reddit as well. These scammers will not stop when they get the 30K. The next wave will be the “recovery scammed. The same people pretending to be law enforcement who will claim they can get her money back but will need some money upfront to do that.
She has fallen for a very common scam. She is not getting any money back and is not thinking clearly. Don’t let her send these scammers another dime. After she realises she’s been scammed, someone else will reach out to her claiming to be able to get the money back. That will be a scam, too.
Also, try posting this to the scams sub. You might get some additional advice.
Please report this to the FBI office in your area. A case of this magnitude would get their attention. I’m a retired fraud investigator. They might be able to persuade your mom this is a scam. This is so tragic.
Go to the police/FBI, not to Reddit. If you don’t you’re definitely an AH.
Contact the FBI – it’s possible they can set up a sting if they’re still asking for stuff, but probably not if it’s crypto. Either way, report it, and don’t help commit fraud (since that’s what it would be as the intended purpose isn’t what is claimed).
I sweae the dumbest people get rich
What a tragic story. It should be posted on r/Scams.
Maybe have mom read that sub-reddit ? plenty of similar stories.
You need to call the police.
ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
NTA.