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The original was posted on /r/scams by /u/Manatronic on 2025-09-30 19:20:21+00:00.

My 65 year old father lives in a very rural area and isn’t very tech savvy.

Today I found out from a family member that he has “an online girlfriend” and is planning to leave for Europe in 2 weeks and isn’t sure how long he will be gone.

Family member also says my dad hasn’t met the woman. The one time they tried, she had a sudden trip to Italy for weeks because her dad died. She claimed she needed $80,000 to settle his estate and is making my dad her beneficiary of $3M because she doesn’t have family. My dad “jokingly” told the family member that he sent $90k but she isn’t sure if it was a joke. He also wants to give away his dog because he’s going to be traveling and think it isn’t fair to the dog.

This man took 10 years to visit me out of state, he’s never left the country. I didn’t even know he had a passport. In addition to being financially and romantically scammed, I’m scared her going to travel somewhere and be stuck by himself and struggle to get home.

My dad is a stubborn old farm guy. Exactly like Beau Bennett from The Ranch. This family member and his friend both said he’s being scammed and he won’t listen. I live a 6 hour drive away and don’t have access to his finances.

I guess I’m looking for advice here on how to get him to see reason from afar (if I have to make the drive or have local family stage an intervention I will), steps on locking down finances, and what else to do to keep him safe.

TYIA

ETA: The family member took the woman’s phone number off my dad’s phone, so I have “her” number. I didn’t turn up any records through search and I called and got a generic voicemail.

ETA 2: I called him to talk and just gently ask for some info first. She’s claiming she’s there in court to wrap up her parents estate and unpaid property taxes in Rome, then wants to come back with him to the US after. They’re also trying to get him to download Gemini. Just as a heads-up for anyone else in this scenario.