Greg's Corner

Scammed for Kindness and Cash

By Greg Collier

A woman in Pomona, California, was recently tricked out of her life savings in a scam that’s part of a larger pattern known as the ‘blessing scam.’ It all started when she was walking home from the dentist on a Thursday morning and was approached by two women. One asked for help finding an immigration office. The other claimed she had won a large sum of money but needed someone with legal status to help her claim it. In return, she promised a share of the winnings.

What seemed like a simple favor quickly spiraled into something much more manipulative. The two women convinced her to get into their car. Once inside, the tone changed. They said they had been robbed in the past when trying to claim prize money and now needed someone who could show they had access to sixty thousand dollars, just to feel ‘safe.’ They weren’t asking her to give them all that money, they said, but just enough to show she could be trusted.

That was enough to convince her. They drove her home, and she walked inside, visibly shaken and emotional, though still smiling. Her daughter was there and noticed immediately that something felt off. Her mother’s eyes were red from crying. Her face was flushed. But she didn’t say anything about what was happening. She simply went into her bedroom, gathered what amounted to her entire life savings, about $29,000 in cash and jewelry, and left the house again.

Minutes later, she came back briefly to find a utility bill or something that could verify her identity, then disappeared again. Within five minutes, the phone rang. On the other end, her daughter heard panicked screaming. Her mother could barely breathe. She kept repeating that they had taken everything and driven off.

Now the family is left trying to recover emotionally from the shock. The loss goes beyond money. It is a deep violation of trust. Her daughter has been replaying the moment over and over, feeling that instinct she ignored, wishing she had spoken up or intervened. There was a feeling in her gut that something was wrong, but she pushed it aside. That feeling turned out to be right.

The incident has been reported to the Pomona Police Department, who are investigating, but the damage has already been done. What the family hopes now is that their story will serve as a warning. These scams depend on kindness and vulnerability. They work because the people behind them know how to push emotional buttons and how to create just enough urgency, fear, and hope to override reason. They count on silence and hesitation. The safest thing to do in those moments is to walk away.