wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |Scam victim on loss of $2,500: "They had me."

Scam victim on loss of $2,500: "They had me."

Posted: Updated:
By Taylor Kearns - email
The scam victim, who did not want to be identified, said scammers got away with $2,500. The scam victim, who did not want to be identified, said scammers got away with $2,500.

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FOREST ACRES, SC (WIS) - Forest Acres Police are searching for a pair of con artists they say scammed a woman out of more than $2,000.

The victim does not want to be identified, but says she never thought this would happen to her.

"They got inside my head," said the victim. "My thought process was totally warped."

The woman says she'd just come from Bible Study and was trying to do what she thought was the right thing.

It started when a woman approached her in a parking lot. The victim says while the woman claimed to be an old acquaintance, a man approached them.

The man said he needed to give away $100,000 and that if they didn't help, a high priestess in Sudan would execute his parents. First though, they needed to hand over their own money as a sign of trust.

"I said I really wouldn't want his parents to be killed because of something that I couldn't do to help him," said the victim.

The victim says the other woman played along, appearing to get $40,000 out of a nearby bank. The victim handed over $800 and then drove them to her house where she gave them $1,700 more. She says they talked the whole time.

"They had me," said the victim. "They distracted me to the point where my mind was not focused on what I was doing."

The victim says the pair then convinced her to drive to Sumter, where she would take $20,000 out of an investment account. Fortunately, the money couldn't be withdrawn on such short notice.

It wasn't until the victim talked to her daughter that she realized she'd been had -- taken by a scheme she says sounds insane when she relives it.

"How can you allow someone to go to your bank, get your money out and put it aside as an element of trust? But I found myself in the same situation doing the same thing I'd never do," said the victim.

As the police search for the woman and her partner, the victim wants others to be aware how easy it is to be sucked into a situation you'd think you'd never find yourself in.

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