A 76-year-old Riverside woman lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and her home after a romance scam built around a man who claimed he had millions of dollars.
Bonnie Doose was described by her attorney as a “perfect” victim, according to The Press-Enterprise. The phrase does not mean she was careless. It points to the way romance scams are built around trust, isolation, hope, and repeated promises that make each new request feel temporary.
The man allegedly claimed he had $7 million. Once the relationship took hold, the money requests followed, and the reported loss eventually reached Doose’s Riverside home.
By the time the damage was clear, Doose had lost not only savings but the property tied to her financial stability.
The Scam Was Built Around a Promised Relationship
The Press-Enterprise reported that Doose was drawn into a romance scam by a man who claimed to have millions of dollars. Her attorney described the moment bluntly: “The hook was in.”
That kind of claim can make a money request sound less like a loss and more like a temporary bridge. If the victim believes the person has real wealth that is delayed, blocked, or just out of reach, each payment can be framed as the step needed to unlock repayment or preserve the promised relationship.
The Loss Reached Her Home
The reported loss went beyond transfers or credit card charges. Doose lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and her Riverside home, according to The Press-Enterprise.
For an older victim, a romance scam that reaches a home can wipe out retirement security, housing stability, and decades of financial work. The emotional damage can also make the financial damage harder to stop, because the victim may be trying to protect the relationship and avoid admitting that earlier payments are gone.
The Claimed Millions Kept the Requests Going
The man’s claim that he had $7 million matters because it explains how the scam could keep moving even as the losses grew. A victim may continue paying if they believe the money will be returned once an account is unlocked, a deal closes, a legal problem clears, or a supposed emergency is resolved.
The cycle can become harder to break after the first payment. Stopping means accepting that the relationship may be false and that the money already sent may not come back.
Romance Scams Use Trust Before Money
The FBI describes romance scams as schemes in which criminals use fake online identities to gain affection and trust, then use that relationship to manipulate or steal from the victim.
People outside the relationship may focus only on the payment requests, but the scam usually starts earlier. The criminal builds intimacy, creates a future, explains why they cannot meet or access money, and then turns each crisis into a reason the victim must help.
The “Perfect Victim” Label Should Not Become Blame
Doose’s attorney used the phrase “perfect” victim, but that should not be read as a judgment on her intelligence. Romance scams are often patient and personal. The scammer adapts to the victim’s hopes, fears, and doubts while making the relationship feel private and urgent.
Victims may also feel ashamed once doubts appear, which can keep them from telling relatives, friends, banks, or police while money is still leaving their accounts.
Family Members Should Watch for Repeated Emergencies
A person who has never met the victim in person, claims to have wealth that cannot be accessed, creates repeated emergencies, and asks for money to unlock a future together is creating a financial trap.
Relatives and friends should focus on the pattern, not one single message. Repeated requests for wires, gift cards, crypto, loans, home-equity money, mortgage changes, or secrecy are serious warning signs, especially when the online partner avoids meeting in person or speaking openly with the victim’s family.
What To Do When a Romance Scam Is Suspected
The Federal Trade Commission advises people not to send cash, gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency to an online love interest.
If money has already been sent, the victim or a trusted relative should contact the bank, payment app, wire company, crypto platform, lender, or mortgage company immediately and ask whether any transaction can be stopped, reversed, frozen, or flagged. They should also save messages, names, phone numbers, email addresses, profile photos, payment records, bank statements, loan documents, wire receipts, and any instructions the person gave.
Romance scams can be reported to local law enforcement, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov, and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.