Facebook friend stole $78K from elderly Pennsylvania woman


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WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania State Police say an elderly woman's Facebook friend stole her $78,000 life savings by convincing her that they needed the money to import BMWs into the United States.

The friend told the woman that the money was needed to pay "port fees" and that she'd get her money back with interest.

Police say the scam started in August and continued until late last year, but the woman only recently reported the losses because she was embarrassed.

Trooper Thomas Kress tells the (Washington) Observer-Reporter that they're trying to track down the money, which may have been sent to banks in California, Florida or Texas. The victim also told police she wired money to India.

Troopers from the Washington, Pennsylvania, barracks are also still trying to track down the Facebook friend.

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