A vulnerable widower has been left homeless and “truly suffering” after being tricked into sending £85,000 to a woman who did not exist.
Rodrick Lodge, 69, was living in Leiston, Suffolk when a friend he met three years earlier in Kenya introduced him to a “woman” named Anita.
After starting a relationship on social media, he felt himself falling in love for the first time since his wife Pauline died in 2019, and he later agreed to relocate to Nairobi to marry her.
But Mr Lodge was actually falling for an elaborate scam that would eventually drain his entire life savings from his bank account, leaving him with nothing.
“She said she had a four-bedroom house but to get married I would need to give her a dowry, so I agreed to do up her house for her, that was the agreement,” said Mr Lodge, who previously lived in Surrey.
“So, I started sending her money for various parts for the home and she would send me pictures of the house being upgraded, as well as other intimate pictures.
“She told me she was the managing director of a beauty products company which had about 30 employees, so I thought she was a woman with substance.”
Mr. Lodge only realised what had happened when it came time for him to fly out to Kenya to reunite with what he thought was his new love and future bride.
However, when he arrived at the airport, she was nowhere to be found, and his desperate attempts to meet up with her were met with excuse after excuse.
After some investigation, Mr Lodge discovered that the woman posing as Anita was actually his friend, who had introduced them to each other.
“The agreement was that we’d properly meet in Nairobi, but that never happened and it turned out to be a scam and Anita never existed,” added the former United Nations worker.
“She is the worst of the worst, but I was an idiot and a fool, I know that, and now I am paying the terrible cost of that. I truly believe she existed. I’m embarrassed.”
After returning to the UK, Mr Lodge spent three days sleeping rough at Heathrow Airport.
“After losing my wife, the most important person in my life, I was so vulnerable because I wanted a partner and quality of life,” Mr Lodge said.
“Now this has ruined my future life – I’ve got no life now and I have got nothing to get up for. I have no family, only a few friends who call me an idiot.
“I am truly suffering because I have got zero. It has taken every penny I had and so I truly hope this evil woman rots in hell – I’m sorry to say that, but I really do.”
He is now living in a homeless shelter in Woking and expressed little hope for the future.
Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, has issued guidance on how to identify a “romance scam”.
It stated that you should not send money to someone you have not met in person, no matter how long you have spoken with them.
It also advised against granting bank access, taking out a loan on their behalf, providing copies of personal documents, or agreeing to receive or send parcels on their behalf.
Victims of romance scams should contact their bank right away and report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Add Comment