My Scam Story #16

A Romance Scam Victim/Survivor’s Story

Survivor’s Origin: CANADA

This is the original victim’s story, enhanced by the SCARS Institute Editorial Team to improve comprehension, readability, and continuity.

WARNING: THIS SCAM VICTIM/SURVIVOR’S STORY MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME PEOPLE. DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

ADVERTENCIA: LA HISTORIA DE ESTA VÍCTIMA/SOBREVIVIENTE DE ESTAFA PUEDE SER INSENSIBLE PARA ALGUNAS PERSONAS. SE RECOMIENDA DISCRECIÓN.

If you need help, join our free SCARS Institute Support and Recovery Program at support.AgainstScams.org

Si necesita ayuda, únase a nuestro Programa gratuito de Apoyo y Recuperación del Instituto SCARS en support.AgainstScams.org

My Scam Story

On March 4, 2020, I received a friend request on Facebook Messenger from someone named Mohmmad Ansar. The profile picture showed an Asian man alongside a young girl who appeared to be around eight or nine years old. Thinking he had mistaken me for someone else, I informed him that he had made an error. He apologized, introducing himself properly as Armani Chang Wei. Armani expressed a genuine interest in becoming my friend, explaining that he had seen from my Facebook profile that I was from Singapore, and he felt a connection due to his heritage—his father being Singaporean and his mother Korean.

Armani’s personal story quickly became deeply emotional and engaging. He claimed to be a widower, raising his young daughter, Isabella, on his own after tragically losing his wife Katherine and baby son George in a car accident in California a few years earlier. Armani described himself as an Oil Rig Engineer currently working on a significant project in the Gunashli oil field off the coast of Azerbaijan. During his offshore assignments, Isabella stayed with his elderly aunt in Istanbul, Turkey. This aunt, he explained, was a retired nurse from the United States who remained in Turkey after her Turkish husband’s passing.

Armani further revealed that Isabella suffered from hydrocephalus since infancy, a serious medical condition requiring careful monitoring and surgery. He said Isabella was scheduled for critical brain surgery in San Francisco on April 5, 2020, and assured me that they would return to the United States in time for the procedure once his oil rig project concluded at the end of March. At this time, COVID-19 had not yet triggered the widespread travel bans and border closures.

Within days, Armani persuaded me to move our conversations from Facebook Messenger to WhatsApp and occasionally Google Hangouts, claiming these platforms were more secure and private. He regularly sent me numerous photographs of himself and Isabella. Furthermore, I even had video chats separately with both Armani and Isabella, making me feel confident that the individuals I was communicating with were genuine. During these conversations, Armani exhibited consistent care and affection, asking daily about my well-being, rest, and meals. He invited me warmly to visit him and Isabella in San Francisco and hinted at our bright future together.

Isabella frequently wrote me affectionate emails and messages, addressing me as “Mom” and expressing excitement at the prospect of meeting my adult children. Her sweet and innocent nature deeply touched me, making me increasingly emotionally invested in their lives. Armani shared ambitious future plans with me, talking about relocating to Alberta, Canada, after selling their California home. He envisioned us purchasing a beautiful family home together in Cochrane, Alberta, promising a joyful and comfortable life.

Throughout our interactions, Armani persuaded me to keep our relationship confidential, claiming it would be better to introduce him and Isabella to my friends and family personally. Trusting his reasoning, I reluctantly agreed.

However, a few weeks into our communications, tragedy seemingly struck. Armani reported a catastrophic explosion on the oil rig in Azerbaijan, resulting in severe injuries to one of his crew members. He stated he urgently needed to pay for an airlift to transport the injured worker to a hospital in Baku and subsequently cover repairs for the damaged rig out-of-pocket. Armani insisted that his contract clearly stipulated he could only receive payment after the project was fully completed, leaving him unable to access emergency funds.

Compounding the urgency, Armani expressed growing concern over Isabella’s health, emphasizing that the delays caused by the explosion jeopardized her scheduled surgery. He urgently requested financial assistance, initially seeking help with the substantial shipping costs of replacement equipment amounting to over 26,000 Euros (approximately CAD$40,000). Wanting to assist Armani and Isabella, I agreed to this initial significant loan, wiring the money directly to the shipping company, Osuman CM Logistics, located in Toronto.

As time progressed, Armani’s requests for financial help became increasingly frequent and desperate. Isabella’s surgery could no longer occur in San Francisco due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, forcing Armani to arrange her medical care in Istanbul instead. He claimed that his elderly aunt lacked sufficient funds to cover the mounting medical expenses, including hospital stays and regular checkups, leaving me feeling morally obligated to assist further.

Subsequently, Armani revealed more undiscovered damage on the rig, requiring additional costly repairs and spare parts. He persistently pleaded for my help, sending detailed invoices which appeared genuine. Trusting him implicitly and driven by compassion, I continued acquiring bank loans and wire transfers to meet his ongoing financial demands.

Finally, Armani announced that the rig repairs were complete, and he was prepared to return home. Yet, another issue arose: his contractual obligation mandated he must fully clear and restore the oil rig platform before receiving any compensation. Again, Armani desperately requested my help to secure the necessary funds, promising repayment immediately upon receipt of his substantial contract payment. Emotionally and financially entangled, I felt trapped, compelled to support him so he could reunite with Isabella and repay the substantial debt incurred on his behalf.

In total, between shipping, medical costs, rig repairs, and other fees, I transferred more than CAD$425,000 to Armani’s contacts in Canada and Turkey.

Devastatingly, my trust was shattered when, at the end of August 2020, Armani completely disappeared. His WhatsApp account was abruptly unregistered, and I was blocked from communicating via both of his email addresses. Recognizing the depth of the deception, I immediately filed a detailed police report with the Calgary Police, initiating an official investigation.

The experience left me financially devastated, emotionally traumatized, and betrayed beyond measure. I had trusted Armani implicitly, moved by compassion and love for a child in need, only to discover it was an elaborate and heartless scam. The emotional wounds remain deep, but I share my story in the hope of preventing others from enduring a similar tragedy.

SCARS Institute Notes: