YOUNG blind woman left penniless after 'scumbag' con woman scammed her
by Chris Matthews · Mail OnlineA 'scumbag' trickster left a blind woman penniless after scamming her out of hundreds of pounds by falsely claiming she had cancer.
Last year, MailOnline exposed how 'scumbag' Zoom tutor Louise Handley, 51, from Derby, made thousands by tricking caring parents into giving her thousands for hoax classes.
Now a blind youngster who scrapes by with the help of a disability grant has lifted the lid on Handley's latest con.
Ana Cloudy, 22, from the West Midlands, has been blind from birth and receives a disability grant from her council so she can survive. She uses a specialised program to send messages.
After Louise Handley befriended her on Facebook, Ana said she was manipulated into giving Handley £500 — leaving the disabled youngster penniless. Although Handley said she would return the money, she never did.
Ana said Handley had changed her style of scamming since last year and gone to the 'next level' with 'completely different tactics' to con people out of money.
She told MailOnline: 'She made me feel that she would take her own life. Her tactic was cry, cry, cry, until I felt really bad.
'She's desperate. I felt I had to help out, otherwise there was going to be a tragedy in the family.'
Nine different County Court Judgments from 2018 to 2022 that show Handley has unpaid debts of £8,922. However, it is feared the total of sums involved may be much higher.
Ana first met Handley after she received online hate for posting a message on a Facebook group saying she wanted to send flowers to a missing person's family.
She said Handley comforted her, which sparked what she initially thought was a genuine friendship.
Ana said: 'She sent me a message to say, ''It doesn't matter that you didn't know him. Don't be discouraged.''
'We talked a few days before she started to really talk about her financial situation in terms of it being really bad.
'She said she had hardly anything to eat and has to care for Ryan [her 18-year-old son].
'I said, ''If there is anything to live for, it is helping others.''
'Offering to help was my one mistake. She realised that I would be someone who was willing to help.'
Ana said Handley also told her she had cancer and that her son Ryan, 18, was also visually impaired and had postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS).
While it is true that Ryan is visually impaired and has PoTS, Handley has never provided proof for her claim of having cancer - despite repeatedly promising MailOnline that she would.
Ana added: 'When she was hungry and poorly she would say, ''I have no one,'' even though I would say, ''You have me.''
'I would get concerned. What could she do to herself?
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'I know from my own mental health that I don't want to be here because I'm blind.
'But I have a stable support network. She's a cancer patient, I thought. I would freak out. It would take nothing for somebody like that to hurt herself.
'I contacted the police [to ask them] to do a welfare check on her [but they said it was a job for social services.]'
'Before she was targeting families. Now she is targeting vulnerable people.
'She's applying psychological pressure to these people to make them feel awful and give the last of their savings to her.
'It's madness. She can't be allowed to do this. She is making money out of people's tears.
'I still call her Lou. Maybe I love her still. I trusted her. I'm hoping this can be stopped once and for all.'
Facebook messages from Handley show that the trickster asked Ana for money to pay for NHS prescriptions.
However, she had already told Ana she received Universal Credit, meaning she would be entitled to free prescriptions if her monthly take-home pay was less than £935.
It was only when Ana returned from going away to see her family earlier this year that she started to think something might be wrong.
She said: 'As soon as I came back it straight away appeared to be Ryan's 18th birthday.
'She said she needed to buy a gift for him. I only had £35 left at the time. I sent her a Tesco voucher worth £25.
'I said, ''That's it, that's all I can give you. Lou, I have nothing more to give.''
'My gut told me to look her up and I saw MailOnline's article.
'When I confronted her about it, she said, ''Do you really think I would lie? I do have cancer.'''
Ana blocked Handley but said she never went to the police because she was terrified her parents would find out and be angry with her.
In tears, she added: 'They know I am wise enough not to throw money about. But I have lost £500 to that c***.
'It was my disability money. If they realise I have thrown it in the trash - money that the council gives me to live - I couldn't face them.
'I would rather fall to the grave than them being aware of it all.
'I feel betrayed. There was a personal connection. I was able to talk about stuff that troubled me.
'She said I was the one who she can trust and looks after her, because I care.
'She manipulated me into this. Why would she do this to me? I helped her out. She called me kind.
'I feel almost like she anaesthetised me when she provided me with encouragement and support and then she threw a bullet in me with her scams.
'I have the scars left by her. I have the pain from it. I haven't been able to cry until now.
'I just don't know what I'm going to do.'
Addressing Louise Handley, she said: 'I have seen my loved ones die of cancer and here you are using it to commit such horrific crimes - both legal and moral.
'I did everything for you. You have taken advantage of my vulnerability and the fact that I help people.'
According to one of Handley's friends from college, she used to be a 'lovely' girl from a 'well-to-do family' who lived in a 'nice area'.
However, her life seems to have gone downhill after she left college.
The friend, who was in the same psychology class as Handley, said after a school reunion years later, the con artist started begging her college friends for money.
Screenshots of messages show Handley asking for money to book taxis and pay her rent.
Louise Handley denied she had scammed people and lied about having cancer.
When approached this year, she said: 'I'm just an ordinary person. I'm not scamming people.
'I may not be here for much longer [because of the alleged cancer].'
Although Handley has promised on multiple occasions to provide proof of her cancer, she has never sent any.
Action Fraud has received multiple complaints about Handley, including one from Ana that the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau at the City of London Police were assessing.
Pauline Smith, the former Head of Action Fraud, previously told MailOnline: 'With more than 850,000 reports coming into the NFIB each year, not all cases can be passed on for further investigation.
'Reports are assessed against a number of criteria which include the vulnerability of the victim.
'However, the reports most likely to present an investigative opportunity for local police forces, those where a crime is ongoing and those that present the greatest threat and harm to the victim or victims concerned, are the ones that are prioritised.'
What are the psychological tactics fraudsters use to con people?
Criminals know exactly what buttons to push to get what they want. It doesn't matter if they're turning up on your doorstep, in your social media feeds or in the games you play online. Here are some of the psychological tactics they use (sometimes called 'social engineering') to get you to act fast without having time to stop and think.
Being aware of them will help you stay alert to fraud.
Authority or a 'trusted' voice
Does the message claim to be from someone official? Your bank, doctor, energy supplier or a government department for instance. Criminals can pretend to be important people or a well-known organisation, often using their logo and branding, because they know you're more likely to take notice of a name you're familiar with.
False urgency
Are you being told you have a limited time to respond? If this is accompanied by threats of penalties, fines or other negative consequences, you should be suspicious. The same applies if you're being promised a reward or benefit for a limited time only. Anyone who tries to rush you into a decision should NOT be trusted.
Emotion
Do they use language that makes you feel fearful, hopeful or curious? Perhaps they'll tug at your heartstrings, or appeal to your generous nature. Criminals will often use emotional levers to make you follow your heart not your head.
Scarcity
Are you being offered something that's in short supply or not widely available? Tickets for a concert? An amazing holiday deal? Criminals will often use fear of missing out on a good deal or opportunity to make you respond quickly.
Current events
Does the message seem timely? Criminals often exploit current news stories, big events or specific times of year (like the tax reporting deadline) to make their approach seem more relevant and genuine.
Building relationships
Is someone showing particular interest in you, your family or your circumstances? They may be asking a lot of questions, or making references to aspects of your life that they may have already learnt about from looking at your online profiles. Fraudsters often try to earn your trust by building rapport and finding shared interests before they ask you for money or personal information – before you've even met them in real life.
More warning signs to watch out for
Fraudsters ultimately want to steal your hard-earned money, so their approaches often include a way for you to hand over cash, financial information or security details. If you EVER receive one of these requests, it should be a warning sign. Always take time to stop, think and check if it's real.
Be wary if anyone:
- Asks you to share a one-time-passcode
- Asks for your PIN or password in full
- Asks for payment before sending a prize or lost delivery
- Asks for a direct transfer of cash or cryptocurrency
- Asks you to move away from an official payment site to make a direct payment
- Asks for money before you've met in person
- Asks you to click on suspicious links
Source: Home Office