Experiening a scam

[Daisy_totoro]

My daughter became acquainted with a friend named Rose last October. Rose claimed she could help my daughter chase away the demons that I believed were haunting her. From that point on, Rose encouraged my daughter to leave home for six months without any contact with us. Since my daughter is already an adult, we were unable to bring her back during this time. After six months, my daughter finally returned home but had lost weight and bore numerous scars on her face; her condition was truly concerning. Now, four months after returning home, Rose suddenly informed me and my husband that we needed to pay a bill related to her knee replacement surgery. The amount exceeds AUD 10,000 because Rose has been fabricating stories about how my daughter supposedly pushed her at night when she came back home. As a result, my daughter is now confused about what is true; she believes that if we pay the bills, it will alleviate her stress and refuses to listen to our concerns.

[smallwolf]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

Firstly, what you have said sounds incredibly painful and distressing. It must be heartbreaking to see her caught up in something so manipulative and to feel powerless while trying to protect her. You have already been through a lot.

On "paying the bills"... my son was involved in a scam of sorts. He was getting calls at 1am and someone askng him for money. I won't go into the details. He thould that if he paid the first part that would be the end of it. Unfortunately that is when it really starts. I told him (it took a few repeat requests) not to pay anything to them and deal with whatever fallout there was. None. Between calls to the bank, cyber crime people and police (the day after) things calmed down.

On the basis this is a scam of a different sort ...

I am wondering if it would help to reach out for professional advice, perhaps from a counsellor, or legal service, or similar, so you are not facing this alone and can find the best way to safeguard your daughter’s wellbeing and your family’s peace of mind.

[sbella02]

Daisy,

Firstly, I am so sorry to hear that you've gone through this, how terrifying this must've been. Thank you so much for your vulnerability in sharing your story with us, welcome.

There are services available where you can get free legal advice, and that may be something to look into if you're wanting to see what your options may be. It will also help start a paper trail to corroborate your side of the story, which could be useful later if this situation escalates further. Did you happen to get any kind of medical evaluation or assessment when your daughter came home? Did you take any pictures of her injuries? These may also be good to track down, if so.

Legalities aside, it is so important to protect your wellbeing at this time, because it sounds like this has been a really emotionally taxing experience for you and your family. The Beyond Blue 24/7 chat is always available, or you can give one of our counsellors a call. If you'd feel comfortable reaching out to a GP, therapist, or psychologist, it may also be useful to have some professional tips and support during this time. This could also be beneficial for your daughter as well, to help her talk through what she has experienced and what she is feeling.

I hope this helps, and I wish you all the best of luck in navigating this difficult situation. We're here to talk if you need.

Take care, SB