One Pennsylvania woman has been scammed out of $50,000 by someone she believed was Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner. The 70-year-old Phillies fan thought she was speaking directly to Turner through social media, and by the time she found out it was an imposter, it was too late.
The woman, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, told FOX 29 Philadelphia the conversations began when she defended Turner from social media criticism. Someone on Facebook posing as Turner then asked to Google Chat with her.
While the woman doubted she was actually speaking to Turner, the conversations became more convincing. The faux Turner began incorporating details about his family and personal life into the chats.
After weeks, the 70-year-old fan gave in and started to believe it was actually the Phillies' shortstop on the other end of the online chat.
"He was relentless, but he's convincing, he's repeating things that I knew Trea Turner did on the ballfield," she explained to FOX 29. "He kept harping on it for about three weeks so finally I said, 'Alright, what do you want?'"
That's when the financial scam really started to unfold. The fake Turner said he and his wife hadn't been getting along, and he wanted to hide properties from her. The imposter requested that the woman send large amounts of money to different accounts.
Roughly $50,000 later, the woman realized it was a trick and went to law enforcement.
"I was gullible, I believed him," she said. "I should've known better but, I just, I overlooked it."
The Towamencin Township Police are investigating the crime, but they believe the Turner imposter may be located outside the United States. Lt. Geoffrey Wainwright advises others to be wary of any strangers asking for money on social media.