In A Nurse & A Purse…Beware ! I wrote about the dangers to women from predatory men.
Just recently, I learned that a grandmother whom we all thought had her act together fell prey to a much younger man.
Here’s the Upshot.
Grandmother meets a charming younger man.
Grandmother begins relationship with younger man.
Grandmother gives younger man substantial amounts of money.
Younger man disappears.
Grandfather finds out and is livid. He moves out and files for divorce.
This is So Sad.
They have been married for over 50 years.
They have to sell their home and vacation home to cover the money she gave away and to be able to live separately.
Their adult children are upset.
The grandmother is embarrassed.
The grandfather feels betrayed.
What a Mess!
Were there warning signs?
Their life together was very non-eventful…kind of what you expect from an older, retired couple.
In retrospect, the adult children recall their mom needing time away. She would go often to their vacation home alone which is where she met the casanova.
I think she enjoyed the attention not realizing the high price to be paid.
My Bank Steps Up
A few years ago, I wanted to close my savings account and withdraw the money.
Before I could do that, I had to talk with a manager who wanted to be sure that I was not being coerced or led astray. It was a bit irritating at first, but as I thought about it, I was glad that my bank took that extra step.
When I wrote a large check my bank also called to make sure that the check was legitimate as it was out of the ordinary for me. Once again, I was grateful.
These are important steps but obviously not enough. I know that I would resent my adult sons monitoring or controlling my spending. However, I know that day may come.
I would prefer my sons’ intervention to living under a bridge!
Lori Greer in Portland 
This kind of scam is becoming more prevalent, and people of the older generation are easy marks because they grew up in the times when a handshake and a promise meant something, and most people were honest and honourable. In today’s generation there seems to be an increasing percentage of self-centered, me-me-me people. One of their worst flaws, I think, is their lack of empathy towards others and certainly a lack of respect for the older generation. Thankfully there are still good people among that younger age group, but it seems to me the number of wolves is an ever increasing. Sheep beware.
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Sons watch out for their Mom’s even if it takes us a lot of time to learn this is an opportunity and a responsibility. 😎
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Well said! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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WOW, an eye opener!
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Such a sad, but all too common story. And at the heart of it is loneliness and a desire to connect with someone, even if that someone turns out to be a crook.
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Thank you for sharing. This is indeed a sad but often too common a story. In our case it involves a simple beach house on an island. No one could be bothered going to visit regularly (I did as a child, once. It was remote and very beautiful I remember. Years later my widowed Gran re married and she seemed very happy but it was only many years later we discovered he (new grandfather) had realised the future value of this position and home and somehow got the deeds and title to the then,(not very valuable house and land)in his name and under his control. Long forgotten until my Mum queried why none of her sisters or brother had been included in an incredible windfall when the Island home became worth $millions. It certainly doesn’t matter now but it is a lesson that even with marriage an astute younger man can have ulterior motives. (I am grateful though I do believe he cared for my Gran and she was happy…..but years later….we think……clever, clever guy). R.I.P. to them both. Your grans story is really far more tragic.
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Thanks so much for sharing this!! This happened to my wife’s aunt’s husband (she had alzheimer’s at the time) when the aunts caregiver got the uncle to put the caregiver on all the bank accounts. Funny, he died 3 months later with 1.2 million.
xoxoxo
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Such a sad story! I’ve fallen prey to predators masquerading as dateable guys. The only financially bad situation cost me $13k before I realized my confidence had been betrayed. The other situations were just emotional bankruptcies.
But at the end of the day, it’s just me. The fallout for this last, her husband and her kids is gut wrenching.
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Since we are good people, it is hard to believe that others can be so treacherous. Our radar is not working. Sorry about the 13K. Emotional bankruptcies take their toll also. It’s hard to be open to new relatinships and yet be on our guard at the same time. Take care, Lori
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This type of scams are very common nowadays. I hope the grandmother is okie…
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Things are slowly on the mend. I am not sure if the divorce is going through or not. Thank you for reading and commenting. Best to you in the New Year.
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