Little did Liza Jane Likins know that a simple update to her social media profile following the death of her husband of 23 years would change her life forever.
Likins, a backup singer who toured with Fleetwood Mac and Linda Ronstadt, fell victim to a Nigerian online dating scam and were robbed of more than $1 million in cash and cryptocurrencies.
Over the course of two years, Likins became involved in a “very sophisticated scam” by a man who claimed to be an Australian gold miner and who swindled him online with stolen photos of a German life coach. .
STEVIE NICKS TELLS KATY PERRY TO 'GET OFF THE INTERNET'
Liza Likins, Stevie Nicks' roommate and former backup singer, was bilked out of more than $1 million by a Nigerian mobster. (Liza Jane Likins)
“I had nothing left. I sold my house,” Likins told Fox News Digital exclusively. “This scammer wanted me to sell my car, but luckily that's when I saw the show 'Social Catfish', so I didn't sell my car.
“At first I wanted to kill myself, because my husband left me in a very good situation, and after two years of this fraud, I had nothing but my car with my clothes and I just wanted to kill myself, I didn't know what to do.”
Likins added, “I had no money for food. I had no money to pay for my utilities. My electricity went out twice. I lost 40 pounds. I got Covid. I had no money for a doctor. I mean I was in serious trouble.”
His problem with the cheater started right after a small change in him social media account.
MANTI TE'O IS OUTRAGED BY A WONDERFUL EVENT.
“When my husband died, me Facebook statusI added that… I was already a widow. Big mistake,” Likins said. “It's like branding yourself as scam bait. That's how it all started.”
Likins sang for years with Linda Ronstadt (right) and roomed with Stevie Nicks (left). (Liza Likins)
Likins recalled that the scammer was “the perfect guy” in their first online chat, and said that while he wasn't interested in anything romantic, she would text him “one day and one every six months.”
“When my husband died, on my Facebook page, I posted that… I was already a widow. Big mistake. It's like branding yourself as scam bait.”
“One day he sent me pictures, and each picture had a complicated, confusing story that went with it,” he recalled. “All the photos were stolen from the public space of a German life coach on Facebook. One day, he sent me a picture of himself, so-called, next to a Buddha statue, and that made so when I got that picture I thought, 'Okay, maybe this person is fine.'
LIKE WHAT YOU READ? CLICK HERE FOR MORE NEWS
Little did Likins know that a web of lies had begun. He was told that his webmaster was a gold mine manager, and he was currently in rural Australia with a team of 20 men on his last job before retirement.
He was running out of time on the tour, and was already $8,000 in the hole. To make matters worse, if they wanted to talk to each other, he would have to send her $1,000 and cryptocurrency so that she could buy a decent Wi-Fi connection for her phone so they could stay. they met while he was working in Australia.
Likins said they talked on Facetime in a “very free” way using compatible audio and video features. When the video segments were “paused,” the cheater would say, “I can't hear you anymore. Let's go back to texting.”
Likins started talking to a boyfriend after she changed her Facebook status to “widow.” (Liza Likins)
Each request for money got more complicated, but Likins was still caught by the scammer, who displayed 24-karat gold bars and asked for an address. his home so he can send a safe deposit box containing $100 bills to his home.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE FOR ITALIAN NEWS
“I have a video of this purple helicopter taking off,” Likins said of another elaborate project. “I checked all the details, address, email, phone number, everything checked. And they sent me emails that they were on their way to deliver this safe to the address of I went home.
“The scammer said if I could develop a real estate company, I would have it in three days. So I did. That was the first big money.”
Nothing was ever brought to his house.
“I went to the airport four times to pick up this person, because he was sending me pictures of his name on the boarding pass that arrived at a certain date and time,” Likins said. “I would go to the airport, and sure enough… the plane wasn't there, and he wasn't there either.”
The television show “Social Catfish” helped him realize that he was being scammed. (Liza Likins)
The scam ended accidentally when Likins tuned into a television show called “Social Catfish.” She “freaked out” within minutes of the show after watching a similar story to hers play out on television, and wrote to the producers asking to be contacted.
Through research, “Social Catfish” (a company that verifies online identity with the latest AI search technology) found out who the fraudster is.
“I would go to the airport, and sure enough, … the plane wasn't there and he wasn't there either.”
Despite losing everything, Likins found strength in an unexpected person and met the real person in the photos sent to him by the perpetrator.
“Actually, the reason there was a picture of him with Buddha is because he's a German spiritual and business coach,” Likins said. “He's like the German version of Tony Robbins.“
She added, “He started doing everything he could to advise me on how to heal myself and remind me to love myself and forgive myself and move on. And that I had to to do it is to tell my story to help other people so that other people like me are not cheated.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP