Retired sportswriter reveals how he lost $270K – Business News
A retired journalist says he lost his life financial savings — almost $300,000 in 10 weeks — after a scammer posing as a younger girl lured him into a so-called “pig-butchering” scheme.
Al Levine, an 82-year-old former Atlanta Journal-Constitution sportswriter, mentioned it began with an unsolicited textual content message from one “Daisy Miller” inviting him to a cookout. Even after the texter mentioned they thought they had been contacting another person, Levine saved answering pleasant questions on issues like his age.
“I took 10 years off my 82,” he wrote in a first-person account for the AARP web web site.
The rip-off started with a random textual content from a girl calling herself “Daisy Miller,” who rapidly struck up a relationship with Al Levine. terovesalainen – stock.adobe.com
Levine mentioned the exchange rapidly was a relationship with a girl claiming to run a jewellery business in Los Angeles.
According to the scribe, “Daisy” started telling him that she “wanted to spend her October birthday with me.”
“Glamorous photos followed,” Levin wrote.
“She was young and gorgeous. A flirtation broke out.”
Levine wrote that the textual content messages between the 2 “quickly moved from budding romance to business.”
Levine mentioned the scammer used glamorous photographs and fixed messages to construct trust earlier than steering him towards investing. M-Production – stock.adobe.com
“I believe there are many beautiful things waiting for us,” learn one textual content message from “Daisy.”
Levine wrote that “Daisy” then advised that he “join her in investing in short-term gold futures.”
Levine, who resigned from the Journal-Constitution in 2005 after he was caught plagiarizing, admitted that he was “lonely” and “believed her despite all the red flags waving in my face.”
“What made it so believable was her tactic of telling me where she was and sending pictures along the way – the San Diego Zoo, Catalina Island,” Levine wrote.
“One Friday night, we cooked a meal together through texts and screenshots.”
Levine mentioned he harbored “suspicions” about “Daisy” — going as far as to vet her with the Los Angeles Police Department’s fraud division — although he wrote that he “came up empty.”
The retired journalist mentioned he ignored repeated warnings from his daughters as he poured more money into the scheme. Smile Studio AP – stock.adobe.com
He additionally did a reverse image search on Google, “but 10 photos revealed nothing.”
“After those cursory efforts, I let down my guard completely.”
According to Levine, “Daisy” began exhibiting him screenshots of profitable investments she made by trading in gold via a web site known as SunX.
While there may be a professional trading web site often known as SunX.io, scammers have been utilizing an imposter web site often known as “SunX” to “carry out illegal fundraising, investment scams, and Ponzi-like activities,” based on the true company’s web site.
“I had no idea I was dealing with a fake site until it was too late,” Levine wrote.
He mentioned he instructed his two daughters about “Daisy” — even exhibiting them photographs.
“How do you know she’s real?” one of them requested. “I hope you’re not doing any kind of trading with her.”
Despite his household’s advice, Levine wrote that he was “blind to all the warnings.”
“Daisy” nudged him into trading, and Levine dipped in with $20,000 — mendacity to his longtime financial adviser about needing the money for a car. Early “profits” hooked him fast.
The faux online relationship rapidly shifted from romance to investment, with the scammer pushing gold trades. sebra – stock.adobe.com
“The first night I invested, I almost did handstands when I seemed to make a profit of $1,920,” Levine wrote.
Within days, he pulled one other $70,000, then emptied the remaining of his $133,000 portfolio underneath false pretenses, whilst his daughters warned he was being scammed.
He ignored them — and doubled down, taking out a $20,000 loan after “Daisy” promised larger returns.
By early October, his account appeared to show $1.3 million. It was all fiction.
When he tried to withdraw funds, he was instructed to pay $216,000 in bogus taxes — the ultimate purple flag.
A relative later confirmed the trading platform was faux and the money had been funneled to scammers.
Levine lost $271,000 complete — all the things he had.
Now dwelling on Social Security and a pension, he’s been pressured to sell off personal valuables to get by.
Investigators say the money is probably going gone for good, wired abroad via channels which can be almost unattainable to hint or get better.
As for “Daisy,” she by no means existed — and her photos had been doubtless stolen or AI-generated.
The fallout hit hardest at home, the place his daughters say the deception shattered their trust — harm that will take far longer to restore than the financial loss, based on Levine.
A pig-butchering rip-off is a long-running fraud that blends phony romance with faux investment schemes, usually involving cryptocurrency.
The trading platform “SunX” appeared professional however was really a fraudulent web site used to funnel victims’ money to scammers. SunX
Scammers construct trust over weeks or months, then lure victims onto fraudulent trading platforms that show faux income to encourage bigger deposits.
Once the sufferer tries to withdraw, they’re hit with bogus charges — and finally the scammer disappears with the money, which is normally unrecoverable.
Incidentally, “Daisy Miller” is the title of a celebrated Nineteenth-century novella by American author Henry James, although Levine made no point out of that in his essay.
Experts say the scheme follows a calculated playbook.
Former cybercriminal Brett Johnson — as soon as dubbed the “Internet Godfather” by the Secret Service — instructed The Post that scammers should first win a sufferer’s trust earlier than going after their money.
“In order for me to defraud you … I have to get you to trust me,” Johnson, who stole hundreds of thousands via online fraud schemes, instructed The Post.
He described the painstaking course of during which victims are steadily lured into the rip-off.
“It doesn’t start with, ‘Send me money,’” Johnson mentioned, noting scammers first construct a relationship earlier than making any financial ask.
“He’s not looking for one payday; he’s looking for everything that you’ve got,” he mentioned.
Johnson mentioned the best protection is easy: don’t ship money.
“Money should never be given at all,” he mentioned, including that slick photographs and even video calls shouldn’t be trusted.
“Photos, voice notes, video calls — that’s not proof in today’s age of deepfakes,” Johnson mentioned.
