Culture Wars/Current Controversies

How I Got Scammed out of $50,000

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Last fall, when Charlotte Cowles told me her personal-finance column that week would be a little late, I didn’t think much of it — until she got me on the phone and told me why. It was one of the wildest stories I’ve ever heard. In this propulsive essay, she lays out exactly how she fell for a sophisticated, cruel scam involving accusations of drug smuggling, money laundering, and CIA investigations and that ended with her handing off the contents of her savings account to a stranger five hours later. Millions of Americans report falling for scams every year, and they keep losing more money: a record $8.8 billion in 2022. You might be certain you would never fall for something like this. Or maybe you’ll read to the end and wonder if you just might.

—Jordan Larson, features editor, the Cut     

The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger I never thought I was the kind of person to fall for a scam.

Photo: Hugo Yu
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Categories: Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Economics/Class Relations

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