Ask Lemmy

If she's CEO of a company, she can afford a fifty quid webcam to plug into her PC.

Never mind all the other red flags.

It's a pig butchering scam. She won't ever ask for money, she will just start drip-feeding "investment advice" that will typically direct him to an app in the Google Play Store (or Apple App Store) that is a full on fraud. Yes, they have complete scam/fraud apps in the legitimate app stores that look like legitimate investment apps (but sure Google, you have to block side-loading to keep your customer's safe - fucking frauds all the way down...).

Your dad might already be on the hook for thousands thinking he is investing and making a huge return. The victim doesn't know they are in deep until they try to pull the money out and find out it doesn't actually exist. None of it. Not their "profit". Not their original "investments". He doesn't think it's a scam because he didn't send her any money. He just thinks his new friend (or girlfriend) is giving him tips and he is investing with a "trusted" app from a "trusted" source - after all it is on the app store.

Get your dad watching Kitboga. Show him the Last Week Tonight segment on pig butchering scams (it's on youtube). I don't know what else to do, I don't know if there are any legal avenues that can help or not, unfortunately, until he knows he is being scammed. If the idea that a 40 year old CEO absolute smoke-show woman wants to DATE a 72 year old widower retiree isn't sending enough red flags to make him keep his walls up, it's going to be a hard battle to convince him.

May I be as delusional in my 70s to believe I can still pull a 40 year old for reasons that have nothing to do with money

Lots of good info already, so I'll just leave a look to a good podcast episode on pig butchering scams.

https://darknetdiaries.com/transcript/141/

That “company” is the key part of the scam here. Your father will be asked to invest money in it for various reasons. Whether they’ll go for the “it’s a great deal” or “help me Obi Wan” angle is dependent on the mark.

It's easier to scam someone again rather than convince them they're being scammed.

Have him reach out to her through the publicly posted channels, not through the contact info “she” has given him. The real CEO lady will tell him that the scammer he’s talking to is just impersonating her.

No one has a broken webcam in 2026. Especially if ahes supposedly a company CEO, like that is a solved-today problem if it was ever true.

Also unless your dad is also loaded, there’s not a ton of incentive for a successful woman in her early forties to start a romance with someone nearly twice her age, I mean that may sound awful but I’m a woman and that’s just pragmatic. A long distance gamble on a set of old balls? If she’s just in to older men, I’m sure there are plenty in a 10 minute vicinity, she doesn’t need to fw men on the other side of the country.

Your Dad's a moron and probably a "whale" in scammer databases.

Others mentioned it, but this is a clear pig butcher attempt. I get them through text about twice a year. As soon as I politely ask them if they're trying to perform a pig butcher or ir they know what one is, they usually shut up.

Your father will lose everything if you can't convince him of this.

This is definitely a scam, though I'm also confused by your dad traveling, usually that's other way around (and that's where "complications" happen where money is "needed").

Try to tell your dad what you expect coming - there will be complications and she will ask for money. Likely only a little at first, but the number will be rising.

Also, since they are impersonating (or acting like) a public figure, try searchig for the name online. Your dad is likely not the first (or last) that fell for this particular scam. Other people might be sharing stories with this person. There might be messages shared that people exchanged with the scammer - these will likely match those sent to your dad (the scammers usually have multiple people going at the same time). Use that - if your dad reads on the internet the exact message he got from his love interest, that hopefuly will ring some alarm bells. Though in the age of AI this might not be the case anymore, it's worth a shot.

Talk with your dad, ask how things are going and try to be vigilant for money being asked for. Try to poke holes in the stories but be gentle so your dad doesn't shut you out - he will likely not be that willing to listen. One way or another he will get hurt - you can just minimize the financial damage - or limit it to emotional only.

Good luck.

No organs will be harvested: he's too old for that. But it doesn't mean he won't be butchered: he will be butchered like a pig

The meeting will be called off last minute and it will either be a shady investment or ill father in South Asia.

It is utterly important for you to stay with him and plan this through, as it seems like he already trusts the scammer more than you. You are losing him.

Being the CEO of a company and not having a working webcam seems like a dead straight no-brainer giveaway that this is a scam. I mean, you know... a CEO who can't do video Zoom meetings? Come on.

So he's flying to LA and getting in a car with her driver? Dude NO, absolutely NOT. Please talk your dad out of this, srsly.

"her driver" will be a white van

She’s probably going to say her car/something broke down and she needs money ASAP to meet him.
Also, lol @ CEO of a company that doesn’t have any device with a working camera…

Just in case he needs some more red flags

Some variety of a so-called Pig Butchering Scam.

What should we expect next?

Likely she will cancel the trip at the last second and claim to have a work or family emergency. Then she will need money.

Or shortly before the trip she will share an investment opportunity and offer him to join her in it. It will turn out to be fake.

Or both.

A lot of people mentioned the broken webcam as evidence of the scam. I would add that modern AI tools can deepfake a video stream, apparently this already happens in other tech scams where the scammers immitate real people that have a LinkedIn account and existing online presence.

Man, if I had a nickel for every time I saw this:

Wrong number ✅
Beautiful Asian woman living in LA ✅
Owns her own business, jewelry/fashion design/finance ✅
Mysteriously keeps the conversation going even when told it's a wrong number ✅

Tries a romance angle to suck you in to a crypto "investment" in 3-2-1...

Typically run out of boiler room call centers in Myanmar using, essentially, slave labor:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2d3w90x86po

Among your other points, a wealthy 40 year old CEO looking for romance is going to pick a guy below her age, not one who's 72.

Pretty sure the only organ they'll harvest is his wallet but they can cut pretty deep financially, and break his heart.

Know any real women who might make a better match for him?

sounds like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_butchering_scam it's in early phase so far

Scamming old people has grown into a massive and well organized industry that brings in billions in profits per year. It is a huge problem that has continued to get worse. As others have said, this is 100% a scam. They will inevitably use any number of techniques to extract money from him. It is very possible they already have and he just hasn't told you yet, it is not uncommon for the victims to be secretive about what the scammers are getting them to do.

One of my uncle is currently involved in scams like this one with multiple women at the same time. They all love him, they all want his money. Last time I checked, he lost most of his money and almost became homeless.

I hope you can do anything to your father because he will lose a lot.

This is a scam. 1000%. Do what you gotta do to stop it.

Yes it's a scam. Likely there will be money requests forthcoming.

@laranis@lemmy.zip what about check out the registration of that company at Taiwan with official site? https://gcis.nat.gov.tw/mainNew/