Before realizing that her connection might not be what it seemed, Terri, an older American woman, sent about $80,000 to her virtual partner.
During her appearance as a guest on “Dr. Phil,” Terri revealed she met her boyfriend “Ricardo” two years ago through Facebook Messenger.
They had been communicating for a month when Ricardo encouraged Terri to invest $10,000 in Bitcoin, promising a quick return of $1 million in just six months.
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With just phone calls and images to show that her online partner actually exists, Terri has been sending Ricardo money ever since, but she has never seen a return on her investments.
Despite claiming to be a Los Angeles native and citizen of the United States, Ricardo claims that his move to Canada for business has supposedly prohibited him from proving his citizenship.
According to James, the photos are taken from his social media and “used for romance scams.”
“I’ve been dealing with this for over 10 years,” James said in a video sent to the “Dr. Phil” show. “I hope this video can show that I am the person in the photos, but I am not the person that Terri has been talking to and sending money to.”
While Terri was devastated to discover that her lover wasn’t real, she vowed to block the scammer and get a new phone number.
“I’m heartbroken,” Terri said to Dr. Phil, “but I’m done.”
Even though she was sad, Terri was able to joke about the situation and say that she didn’t blame James at all.
“If I see [James],” she said, “I won’t punch him out.”
Whenever Terri tried to make arrangements to meet in person, she told Dr. Phil, Ricardo “always had an excuse.”
Terri’s sister, Tammy, felt she was being scammed and went with Terri on the show.
“People are still telling me that Ricardo isn’t real, that he’s scamming me, and that he’s not in Canada,” Terri lamented. I don’t believe them … I believe Ricardo’s real.”
Dr. Phil agreed with Tammy’s skepticism and exposed “Ricardo” as a scam by fact-checking the story he fed Terri.
The man who really appeared in the photos Ricardo sent to Terri is named James — and this isn’t the first time his likeness has been stolen.