My Dad Has A Relationship With His Scammer.

Location: New York, USA Hey everyone, I’m pretty exhausted from trying to explain this situation to my 70-year-old dad and I’m wondering what legal options, if any, we actually have. For some context, my dad has worked and owned businesses his whole life and has always been independent with his finances. Recently, though, he has been scammed multiple times by what appears to be the same person and has lost around $15k total. The person is pretending to be a woman and has built what my dad genuinely believes is a real platonic relationship with him. He always wanted a daughter but unfortunately never had one, so I think that emotional connection is a big part of why he trusts this person. Eventually they ask for money, he sends it, and the cycle continues.

The hardest part is that he refuses to accept that it’s a scam. When I point out the red flags, he thinks I’m attacking a genuine relationship rather than trying to protect him. I don’t want to treat a capable 70-year-old man like a child or take away his independence, but I also can’t keep watching him lose thousands of dollars. I’ve been looking into practical protections as well, heard about services like Cloaked that can help with exposed personal information and unwanted calls, and I’ve considered blocking the numbers this person uses. But realistically, I understand that no privacy app or call blocker can prevent him from willingly sending money to someone he trusts.

From a legal perspective, is there anything a family member can actually do in a situation like this while the parent is still considered mentally competent? Should we be reporting the scam somewhere even if he refuses to cooperate? And is there realistically any way to recover money he has already sent? I WOULD appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with repeated financial exploitation of an elderly parent and what legal steps you took.