Woman comes forward as romance scam victim, to share her story

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - $1,300 gone into thin air.

That’s exactly what happened to one woman who says she was taken for her money.

Amanda Danczyk met a man on a dating app and after a month, told her a tall tale.

According to Danczyk, the scammer told her that “he was from Las Vegas and he went out to Chad, Africa to dig up some crude oil and then he got robbed in a hotel he made up this long story that was “like” reality.”

Realizing she was duped she made attempts to get her money back

Recouping her funds was a no-go she says when asked, “I did not…I reported it to cash app and unfortunately they could not the funds back and them I reported it to the sheriff’s office and they couldn’t find where the money went…so I lost it completely.”

She says they never found out the true identity of the scammer nor was he ever arrested.

Amanda's main objective now is to raise awareness.

Danczyk says the entire ordeal "was sad because I lost the money but in the end, I feel great about it because I’m now bringing awareness about the cause about what actually goes on in reality with these dating apps that people aren’t aware of.” 

The current Federal Bureau of Investigation report states that victims across Arizona have totaled more than $18 million in losses due to romance scams.