Ever since my father passed away in July 2023, I’ve often said, “My dad was literally scammed to death.” It’s a painful truth, and one I feel compelled to share—not just to honor his memory, but to warn others about the dangers lurking online.

My dad’s ordeal began with an entity he knew as “Anne.” Whether Anne was a real person or an AI-driven scammer, I’ll never know. Their relationship was entirely digital, mostly through text messages. Dad claimed he’d heard her voice, but as far as I can tell, it was just a recording. There was never a genuine, voice-to-voice conversation.

This online relationship lasted at least four years, possibly six, beginning while my mom was still alive and battling dementia. During those years, my dad—who had a history of seeking relationships outside his marriage—spent countless hours chatting online, often exchanging intimate photos and always hoping to meet the person on the other side.

But Anne was different. She convinced my dad she loved him and wanted to marry him. She promised him riches—over a million dollars—if he invested in her “super BITCOIN agent.” Dad sent her between $100,000 and $200,000, money he borrowed from friends and family, believing he’d pay them back once his windfall arrived.

Anne’s stories were always dramatic. She was supposedly assaulted in Mexico and needed money for hospital bills. She was quarantined in Florida after a COVID scare and needed cash for a hotel. She was arrested in New York after someone allegedly planted drugs in her bag, and only a bribe could clear her name. Each crisis required more money, and despite my efforts to prove these scenarios were impossible, Dad remained convinced.