Elderly woman in Texas loses $600K to fake Elon Musk… what was she thinking?

Online Scams Forum
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A man in Florida, Jeffrey Arthur Moynihan Jr., 56, was arrested for pretending to be Elon Musk. He scammed a 74-year-old woman in Texas out of up to $600,000. Over months in 2023, he made friends with her on Facebook, claiming she could get $55 million back on her investment. Records show she sent him $250,000, but her husband says their total loss is closer to $600,000. Moynihan claimed he was also a victim and blamed a virtual girlfriend for the scam.

Read more here: Florida man impersonates Elon Musk, scams Texas woman, police say | wfaa.com

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How does someone fall for this? And why run this kind of scam while living in the US? Most scammers operate overseas because extradition is a hassle. Running this from home was just asking to get caught. It’s way easier for investigators to track everything when you’re here. Looks like this guy learned that the hard way.

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@Jenner
Yeah, scammers make dumb mistakes all the time. We just don’t hear about all of them.

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@Jenner
Did he really think he could get away with putting the money in his own accounts? That’s like painting a giant target on yourself.

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@Jenner
Turns out he even used his business account. The police said she sent money to accounts linked to him and his company, Jeff’s Painting and Pressure Washing.

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Romance scams hit people hard, especially older ones. Maybe it’s time to limit their access to things like social media if they can’t tell when they’re being scammed.

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Younger folks can fall for these scams too. It’s not just an issue for seniors, though they do get targeted the most.

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Elon Musk impersonators are everywhere these days. He must be the most faked person of the decade.

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VigilantVoyager said:
Elon Musk impersonators are everywhere these days. He must be the most faked person of the decade.

I don’t think anyone’s faking me… yet.

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Some people shouldn’t be trusted with the internet, just like how we don’t let toddlers cross the street alone. It’s the same level of risk.

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I heard the scammer showed up dressed like a Beluga whale. Can anyone confirm?

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Honestly, I can’t feel bad for her. She was greedy. Nobody with common sense believes they’re getting $55 million just like that.

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ashely said:
Honestly, I can’t feel bad for her. She was greedy. Nobody with common sense believes they’re getting $55 million just like that.

Her husband might be a victim though. Imagine watching your life savings vanish because of something like this.

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“A virtual girlfriend was behind it”—that’s a new excuse. What’s next? Blaming Siri or Alexa?

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Maybe it was one of those Japanese AI hologram things. You never know.

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Well, soon the real Elon will be taking your money, but legally this time. Taxes aren’t much better than scams sometimes!