MARYSVILLE, Calif. (KING) – Police in California are investigating after an elderly woman was scammed by a person she believed was a popular cable TV host.
The Taylor family said they are sickened by the scam their mother was dragged into that has cost her thousands of dollars and turned their family inside out.
The family said 73-year-old Patricia Taylor is a big fan of cable news.
She is such a big fan of MSNBC’s Ari Melber that she messaged him on Facebook. Or at least she believed she did.
What she actually messaged turned out to be a fake profile. The fake Melber then began messaging Taylor back.
The profile began asking Taylor to send him money and gift cards to treat his sick dog, Penny.
The victim’s son, Joey Taylor, said his mother was somewhat suspicious of what the fake Melber asked.
“My mom is asking, ‘Hey, aren’t you … you’re on TV, you should … don’t you have money?” he said.
She was told in response that the money was “for Penny. Please don’t let Penny die.”
The fake account was asking for at least $20,000.
The scam did not stop there.
Over the past four months, the family said the scammer convinced their mother he was in love with her and they would be married.
Meri Taylor, the victim’s daughter, said the scammer even sent her a ring.
“We find the ring. It’s a $30 ring,” she said.
When Patricia Taylor became more suspicious, the scammer doubled down.
That’s when the scammer sent an AI-generated message replicating the real Melber’s voice.
On Monday, Patricia Taylor boarded a plane from SeaTac, Washington to travel to New York City to finally meet her mystery man.
Fortunately, a relative intercepted her during a layover in Portland and brought her back home.
Meri Taylor said she is afraid the scammer may have taken her mother and demanded a ransom from the family.
“That we have your mom. See how much money they could get out of us,” she said.
All of this occurred despite two interventions with Patricia Taylor, who had worked at both Boeing and the University of Washington for decades.
Her family said they don’t understand how their mother fell for the scam and are worried she will try to meet up with him again.
They are now hoping for some way out of the mess.
“We just want our mom back,” Joey Taylor said.
MSNBC said the real Ari Melber has no connection to the scammer.
Scams like this one happen all too often and usually target the elderly.
The FBI said more than 101,000 people 60 years old or older reported being scammed just last year, a 14% increase from 2022.
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