An 80-year-old Perth man has been forced out of his home after losing his life savings to a romance scam that bled him dry over three years.
Lyle Lambie could do nothing but watch the heartbreaking sight of his life being packed up in front of him, his home stripped bare after being repossessed by the bank.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Grandfather loses home to romance scam
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“Devastated. Absolutely devastated,” Lambie said.
The grandfather was looking for love when he thought he’d found it online with a woman overseas.
“I met her on Facebook and I thought it was a genuine woman,” he said. “She was saying she’s madly in love with me and everything.”
But the virtual relationship soon turned to requests for money through prepaid gift cards.
“A few times she said she was in hospital and needed help,” Lambie said “I paid [for an] airfare from America to Australia and paid for passports and everything else and it was just never-ending.”
The relationship went on for three years, long enough for Lambie to lose up to $300,000 to the con artist.
Now the home he spent more than two decades living in is gone.
“We lost everything,” he said.
Lyle Lambie could only watch as his life was packed up around him. Credit: 7NEWS
Experts say the grooming techniques used by scammers are becoming far too common.
“Scammers will rely upon secrecy so the most important thing is to talk to people you trust about what you’re experiencing and also to never send money,” Consumer Protection’s John McMaster warned.
For Lambie it’s too late, but he has bravely spoken out about being conned in the hope of saving others from the same costly heartbreak.
“Just be fair and weary and stay off in his scammers,” he said. “It’s online because they’re out to get everything out of you as much as they can.”
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