Tue Feb 18 18:11:29 UTC 2025: ## Perth Woman Loses $780,000 Life Savings to Online Dating Scammers, Now Homeless
**Perth, Australia –** A 57-year-old Perth woman, Annette Ford, is homeless after losing her life savings of over $780,000 (Rs 4.3 crore) to online dating scammers. Ford, seeking companionship after her marriage ended in 2018, fell victim to two separate scams over several years.
The first scam involved a man calling himself “William” whom she met on Plenty of Fish. Over months, “William” manipulated Ford’s trust, eventually convincing her to send him money for various fabricated emergencies, including a stolen wallet, hospital bills, and unpaid workers. This first scam cost Ford $300,000, depleting her self-managed superannuation fund. Despite reporting the incident to the Australian Federal Police, she received no response.
Four years later, Ford encountered another scammer, “Nelson,” on Facebook. This scammer, claiming to be based in Amsterdam, tricked her into transferring $280,000 through a Bitcoin ATM under the guise of assisting an FBI investigation.
Ford is now living on the streets, couch-surfing in Western Australia, and hoping to secure affordable housing in a retirement village. She has issued a warning to others, urging them to be cautious of online scams. “They say all the right things, they sweep you off your feet, but they’re going to take your money and they’re going to leave you broke,” she cautioned. The scammers remain at large. This incident follows a similar case in Britain, where a woman lost a significant sum to a long-term friend orchestrating a catfish scam.
First Piper 