Barefoot Investor Scott Pape offers advice to Aussie mum after her big mistake

The Barefoot Investor has been left stunned by the ‘horrifying’ tale of a struggling Australian single mother too embarrassed to tell her family how she was caught up in an online romance scam.

Kelly, 56, sought advice from financial guru Scott Pape on how to get back the $240,000 she lost to a scammer as quickly as possible.

‘Last year I got caught in a romance scam and lost $240,000. I was just stupid enough to send money to the stranger, but I thought there were many signs to believe him.

‘I haven’t told anyone in my family about this. I am 56 years old, a single mother and work full time as a nurse.

“I didn’t have $240,000, so I sold my house (for a $100,000 profit) and then took out three loans for the rest.”

She has since moved in with her grown daughter to keep expenses to a minimum as she repays the $140,000 in loans.

In his latest weekly newsletter, Pape thanked Kelly for sharing her harrowing ordeal.

‘Each week my editor goes through hundreds of questions and gives me five (or so) to look at. He wrote a note on yours that simply said “terrible,” he began.

He noted that Kelly paid $140,000 in high-interest rebates about 12 years away from her retirement age.

“Firstly, don’t let them rob you again: these crooks took you for $240,000 – but don’t let them take your self-respect,” Mr Pape said.

‘The fact is that romance scams are a multi-billion dollar a year business. You’re not the first, and you (sadly) won’t be the last.

‘Secondly, don’t suffer in silence. This is too big to carry on its own. You owe it to your daughter to explain what happened,” he said.

Pape also suggested getting free advice from a financial advisor.

“The banks run a mile from all this scam business, but there may be a one percent chance that they have lent irresponsibly, and if I were you, I would chase that one percent down,” he wrote.

If you need free financial advice, call the National Debt Hotline on 1800 007 007.