OXFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — An Oxford woman was scammed out of nearly $500,000, her life savings, by someone she thought she'd marry.
Sandy Selvan told us that she sold her car and her house. She gave absolutely everything to a scammer who had convinced her that they were "NCIS" actor Mark Harmon.
Extended Interview: Sandy Selvan shares more about how she was scammed out of her life savings
Selvan says she is sick to her stomach looking back on nearly a year's worth of messages.
"Just beyond devastated. He ruined my life," she said.
It’s hard not to tear up seeing the pain and honest turmoil Selvan is in today.
"I would have never, ever, ever done anything to jeopardize my family for this, ever," she said.
The 68-year-old woman from Oxford keeps to herself most days, tending to one of her adult sons who has special needs.
"My son's sick over it... I don't know what happened, what this guy did to me," she said.
The small family was happy, until what started last April, when Selvan got a message over Facebook.
"This person was talking to me. I didn't think it was any big deal. I just talked for a few minutes. I didn't see really any harm at that point," she said.
A relationship began generating hundreds of messages a day. The person then asked Selvan to switch over to an app Zangi, where they revealed their identity.
"He portrayed himself as Mark Harmon," she recalled.
She says the person said they were Mark Harmon, the actor and "NCIS" star.
Photo courtesy: Associated Press
With their identities revealed, over the course of the next 10 months, the alleged Harmon would ask how Selvan's son was. He would tell her how much he loved her and he would talk about their wedding and being together — but just one thing stood in the way.
"He had told me that he was in Italy, that he was under a contract," she said.
The fake Harmon told Selvan that his money was tied up in California; he just needed to be loaned a couple hundred thousand dollars to pay his crew off, get home and get his own money. Then he said he’d be able to come live with Selvan and her son. He said he had more than enough money to take care of them both.
Selvan started wiring who she thought was her future husband the money he said he needed.
"He shouldn’t have had any of it. I think it was like a total of 400 and some, 475," Selvan said.
That's $475,000. Selvan sold her car and her family home to get the money. She has no money left.
"I don’t know what to do," Selvan said.
With her life savings now in his pocket, the fake Harmon told Selvan he was boarding a flight to her. Then his account disappeared.
"Everything in my life is just gone. I’ve never been so sick about anything in my life," Selvan said.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, romance scams like this are on the rise nationwide.
Info courtesy the FTC. For more information about romance scams, click here.
In fact in 2022, almost 70,000 people reported being the victim of one.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he's heard of these types of scams a lot.
Extended interview: Sheriff Bouchard talks about how scammers operate
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department is investigating Selvan’s case.
Bouchard told me these scams are often targeted and come from overseas. The criminals are reportedly searching for older individuals who have lost their life partners.
"As soon as the obituary is in the paper, they'll start contacting a widow," Bouchard said. "They're bottom feeders."
I asked Bouchard if there is anything that can be done to get your money back after you've sent it.
"Well a lot of times, these are offshore and in many cases, they're with countries in which we don't have a treaty. So after a certain period, especially if they're in those non-treaty countries, it's gone," he said.
Bouchard said it’s impossible to know how many people this has happened to because victims are so embarrassed they won’t come forward.
The cash company that bought Selvan’s home will be kicking her and her son out on Thursday.
"We have no place to go…. 40 years, and my parents' things will be in the street, and all our belongings. If we lose this house, it's the only house we have," she said.
She’s trying to find the money to buy her home back, but Selvan gave every cent she has away.
All she has left is this bit of courage to share her indescribable loss in hopes that it saves someone else’s future.
"Just been a nightmare and I can’t wake up from it," Selvan said.
Selvan has created a GoFundMe as she works to find the money to keep her house or find somewhere new to live.
