When you download a fitness app, you expect step counts and encouragement, maybe a digital high-five from a stranger chasing their own goals. You don’t expect to lose your entire life savings. But that’s what happened to Karen, a woman who thought she was making a new friend on her wellness journey.
Karen isn’t telling this story herself. The shame of being scammed runs deep, and many victims stay silent out of fear of judgment. Instead, she gave Malwarebytes threat researcher Pieter Arntz permission to share what happened in her words, not just to unmask the manipulation, but to warn others before they fall into the same trap.
It all began with a single “like.” On January 1, 2020, a man calling himself Charles Hillary tapped on one of Karen’s Fitbit posts. Unlike most strangers, he didn’t stop there. He kept reaching out. At first, it felt harmless, one fitness enthusiast supporting another. The attention felt encouraging. Kind. Normal.
This Fitbit Scam Drained a Woman’s Bank Account and Left Her Shaken
Soon, Charles suggested they move to Google Hangouts. Karen already used it for work, so it didn’t feel suspicious to her at the time. He claimed he was from Atlanta, though his messages always landed in the middle of the night. When pressed, he said he was working offshore in Ireland. The excuse was thin, but plausible.
By late January, Charles had his hook. He told Karen he needed help retrieving a box of money from a security company. It wouldn’t cost her anything, he promised. But once she agreed, the bills started rolling in. First, $3,900 for shipping. Then, tens of thousands for “forms.” Each time Karen hesitated, he had an explanation—frozen bank accounts, an ex-wife who drained his money, illegal drilling profits that couldn’t be claimed without risking prison.
“This is when the nightmare began,” Karen admitted.
By the time she realized she’d been trapped, Karen was $65,000 in debt across loans and credit cards. And when she tried to break away, Charles turned cruel. He threatened her family, even sending her son’s wedding invitation and claiming Russian hit men would turn it into “a blood bath.”
The scam escalated with a second persona, someone who pretended to sympathize and offered to “help” if Karen paid more. Fear from one side, comfort from the other—a calculated psychological assault.
Karen eventually reported everything to the FBI and her local police. By then, the money was gone and the damage permanent. She still receives daily emails from the same scammer.
“The devastation they cause is real,” Karen told Arntz. “I saw the signs, but they make it so real you can’t wrap your head around it.”
She logged on to a fitness app to track her health. Instead, she walked straight into a trap that happens far too often.
How to Spot a Scammer Before It’s Too Late
- Platform switch: If someone pushes to move off the app where you met, that’s a red flag.
- Weird timing: Pay attention to when messages arrive. Time zones that don’t match their story are a giveaway.
- Shady paperwork: Fake documents are common. Show them to someone else before you act.
- Two characters, one story: Scammers often play both “bad cop” and “good cop” to wear you down.
- Pressure tactics: Urgency, threats, or emotional blackmail mean you should stop engaging immediately.
Scams thrive on silence and shame. Talking about them, even when it hurts, is how we keep the next person from falling into the same trap.
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