3 men jailed for conning woman out of €254K

About 10% of people in their 60s have Mild Cognitive Impairement - it's like pre dementia. The person may be living independently or mostly independently but be very susceptible to scams. Also, a lot of elderly people would have considerable savings.

Travellers routinely target these people for scams, offering to do "work" around the house etc.

That's what I was wondering too. People here are very quick to judge as if they've never done anything foolish in their life. This person was obviously vulnerable in some way whether it be loneliness, neurodevelopmental condition etc. I really hope she gets something back, at least to pay back her friend, what a horrible situation to be in. Hope she's getting some support some where.

There have been plenty of men and women scammed online and not all middle aged either. People have lost their life savings to romance scammers as well as false investments. Scammers like this are just scumbags.

I would think this lady did not tell her friend what the 50K was for and might have said it was something for herself.

Scamming is very prolific, but also very obvious once you are tuned into it. Nobody would get 5cents off me, never mind 50grand.

Poor woman.

Nigerian? how surprising I was always under the assumption that Nigerians were law abiding decent folk

she was massively naive. To put it politely, but naivety is not a crime….

that said the sentences as handed down by the fûckwit of a judge should have landed them in jail too… what use is it, that when individuals scam / steal a six figure sum of money from a person… deliberately engineered, schemed, organised and premeditated every step of the way….and yet thanks to another of our glorious ‘public servants’ ( hahaha ) they will be back on the streets in two years… probably without getting deported…

Ireland, I dunno. Ffs.

Desperate sad, but she must have been consumed with it all. How did it go on for so long? I wonder had she family ( children etc) and if so, did they know nothing?

Giving over a quarter of a mill to someone you never met nor even had a video call with, how in the jaysus did she ever accumalate that money?

No, it is not one of those occasions.

You have no idea of the victim, or their circumstances, to be able to judge people.

The blame always lies with the people who carry out the crimes, not the people who are the victims of it.

At that rate of going is anyone responsible for themselves at all, I'll just leave my keys in my jeep tomorrow and I'll leave my wallet on the dash as well, it won't be my fault of course, and that'll be my defense when the insurance refuse to pay out, personal responsibility seems to be a rare thing these days with people looking to blame someone else for their mistakes

maybe being a doctor or an engineer doesnt pay as well as we think.

It doesn’t sound like the poor woman knew she was interacting with Nigerians. They were using the alias Neil Turner or something.

Either way, they are utter scum and should be deported. Feel sorry for the victim; this case really highlights how insidious loneliness can be.

Used to travel to South Africa the odd time with work. On the flight back to Heathrow, we would always fly over Nigeria. Struck me every time, looking at the flight map on the seat in front of me, how so many Nigerians ended up in little old Ireland, a rained soaked rock off the edge of Europe.

Anybody can be scammed.

When your young you can be duped into sending nude pics on sating apps or getting cat fished.

I think in cases like this tough the victim can have some type of dementia.

Also, they may have fallen out with family, etc and are desperately lonely.

They can be flattered with the attention they receive off these guys and will do anything to keep it going.

It seems very popular with our Nigerian friends. BTW How did so many end up here and get citizenship?

The 419 scam is an infamous advanced fee fraud tactic that originated in Nigeria and has since spread around the world. The most well-known source for these emails is Nigeria, but they can originate from anywhere. In Nigeria, the crime has become a significant source of income for some, although section 419 of the Nigerian legal code prohibits it (hence the name).

Romance/lonely hearts

Online dating scams typically begin on forums, dating apps, and other public spaces that attract single or lonely people. Scammers work to convince victims that they are in love with them but there is a reason they can’t meet yet – that they need money. Soon the scammer will request money for investments, help with living costs, hospital fees or demand extravagant gifts.

Tinder Swindler though, these scumbags are all over the shop