Description

Woman was attempting to reach a "Ms Mary" but got my phone. The number was from Arkansas but she said it was a new phone belonging to her assistant. She said her name was Ella, is 39 years old, from Singapore, is a jewelry designer living for 10 years in LA. She asked me to go on WhatsApp. She attempted to flirt, sent me pictures and even video chatted with me briefly (she used extremely broken English). She said her business was called "Arte Oro" but did not have a website nor could I find it as a registered business in California. We chatted for a few weeks. She continuously began talking about her investments in Gold and using crypto currency wallets to move assets because banks ask too many questions. She sent me screen shots of her investments. The pictures she sent me were real but clearly AI enhanced. When I began pushing if what she told me was real she became increasingly agitated and began acting like a victim. I knew it was a scam eventually and played along. She told me her step-father was the head of Temasek in New York and gave her all her investment advice. I began telling her that I would move to LA so we could finally be together. She accused me of wanting her money and because she was good looking and that we were only friends. I kept throwing around scam terms like "Pig Butchering" to get a reaction. It was clear that someone else was in control of the conversations often, as the messages sounded contrived. I eventually sent her all the evidence I amassed that she was part of a scam ring, downloaded the conversation, reported her to WhatsApp and blocked/deleted the message. The number she used on WhatsApp is 213-257-6844.