Honestly, I’m at a complete loss here…
My dad is being scammed, and no matter how many times we’ve tried to explain it to him, he just won’t hear it. He genuinely believes this person is real and has good intentions. We’ve tried everything — calm talks, showing him obvious red flags, even bringing in other family members. Nothing gets through.
The scariest part? He’s already sent them money. And not just once. This has been going on for a while, and I’m terrified he’s going to lose everything.
The only solid thing I’ve managed to get is the scammer’s phone number. That’s it.
So I’m here asking:
Is there anything I can do with that number?
Is there any way to trace it, prove this person’s fake, or gather something to finally snap my dad out of it?
If anyone’s dealt with something like this — or has any tools, advice, or even just success stories — I’m all ears. I feel helpless watching this happen and I need to do something before it gets worse.
Comments
I’d take that number and report it everywhere you can, FBI, FTC, even your phone carrier, and maybe try showing your dad proof of other people who got scammed the same exact way.
Watch scambaiters YouTube shows with him. Kitboga is hilarious, pleasant green is nice and calm, Jim browning is dry and technical. There’s others. Someone will be covering the specific scam your dad’s going through
I know of a couple things you could do but it’s hit or miss – message me (anyone else can too I’m not trying to gatekeep lol I just don’t wanna have a long ass comment thread)
Show him real-life scam documentaries or stories. Sometimes he needs to see someone else go through the exact same thing
So maybe bad news.
This is a sign of cognitive decline. It can be one of the earlier ones. Not just the getting scammed part, but the intransigence. Have you had him evaluated by a doctor? You really should think about it.
A family member dealt with something similar (but not nearly for so long as the scammers revealed themselves) and the person who got scammed was just irate while it was happening that it ”couldn’t be a scam,” and that they were helping. It was really kinda scary because my family member was calling me and asking me for help – they recognized it was a scam immediately and tried to say something but weren’t listened to – and we just kinda had to watch in horror as the train wreck unfolded. For this person, they are getting older too but also drink heavily and may be starting to get that kind of dementia.
Edit – like if this is really that bad and he’s getting taken to the cleaner, I think it may be possible to get a court to give you the power to intervene in his finances if it’s immediately obvious that this is a scam and if he also shows himself to be willfully ignoring this evidence. Like does it suck? Yes, but like, if your dad refuses to see what is happening to such a degree that he’s letting himself get cleaned out, I’d be concerned for his cognizance anyway. That isn’t the sign of someone who’s well.
Report it to the police!!!
Have you suggested he FaceTime with her?
If u need help, message me. Im pretty good at finding out stuff about people with little information
He probably sees some red flags by now, but problem is when flags are seen, one is usually pretty deep in, or enough, and the idea of losing what’s gone is to heavy so one continues to hope and usually makes it way worse.
Sometimes giving perspective helps. Like if he is out 30% then point out it can be 150%(yes loans and such).
Another problem with people not listening it’s because who says it. Sometimes it needs to be the right person or someone in authority in relation to the person.
Can you contact his bank and speak to them?
Search youtube for whatever the scam is, guarantee its been covered by a reputable channel.
Find a few of those old Dr. Phil episodes where he featured scams like this.