A woman in Westlake, Ohio finally stopped believin’… in a scammer claiming to be former Journey lead singer Steve Perry. But unfortunately, not before they conned her out of around $122,000.
Westlake police say that an unnamed 75-year-old woman reported the deception to them late last month. The entire ordeal started where far too many of these tales do, by responding to a Facebook message. In January, the woman received a private message from someone claiming to be Perry.
“The fake Mr. Perry had a business opportunity for investment and of course ‘needed a woman in his life’” the police explained.
The Long Con
Over the coming months this sham Steve was able to manipulate “thousands of dollars” out of her via text messaging and WhatsApp. A police investigation revealed that the woman gave the scammer $72,000 through wire transfers to “various persons in various different states, designated by ‘Perry,’ through her bank.” In addition to this, she also purchased roughly $50,000 in gift cards for the flimflammer.
She ended the ruse when the scammer “became more demanding,” including insisting on pictures of passports and driver’s licenses. Authorities told her to report the crime to her bank and IC3.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
This investigation is still underway but hopefully, the wheel in the sky will stop turning for this con artist.
The Federal Trade Commission provides a helpful guide on how to recognize online scams here. Know the signs and protect yourself from some of the predators stalking cyberspace.
