‘Devastating’: Lonely grandfather loses $1m in Apple gift card scam

A “lonely” grandfather was conned out of over $1 million of his life savings after speaking to a woman online. He died shortly after.

A “lonely” grandfather lost over $1 million after he was scammed into handing over his life savings in Apple gift cards shortly before his death.

The family of Adrian Heartsch, a “frugal” 77-year-old grandfather who had never used internet banking, said he was the last person who would fall for a scam.

But the former truck driver, who had worked hard to enjoy retirement, was conned out of his savings after speaking to a woman online.

“Unless he knew exactly what he was paying for – he wouldn’t pay for it,” his son Simon Heartsch told A Current Affair. “I said to him if somebody can scam you, they can scam anybody.”

Mr Heartsch’s son never thought he would fall for a scam. Picture: A Current Affair

‘Vida’ — the woman Mr Heartsch started talking to online — referred to him as “handsome,” “baby” and “my love”.

“He wasn’t alone, but he was lonely. He had no company, he didn’t even have his dog anymore to talk to,” his son told ACA. “So I guess he’s vulnerable in that way.”

The woman convinced Mr Heartsch to send her Apple gift cards and claimed he would be given over $20 million worth of gold bars or gold bullion in return.

She also promised the grandfather that she would come to Australia and live “happily ever after” with him.

It wasn’t until Mr Heartsch was sick in hospital, that his son discovered the truth.

“We brought up these emails that were just gobsmacking,” he said. “The story grew from $300,000 to $600,000 to up and up and up … over a million dollars.”

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Simon Heartsch said it was “gobsmacking” to discover the scam. Picture: A Current Affair

His father thought he would be given $20 million worth of gold bars or gold bullion in return for the gift cards. Picture: A Current Affair

The ruse had been going on for three years, and saw Mr Heartsch buy up to $10,000 worth of Apple gift cards from his local shops in a single day.

Simon said his father was “mortified” after learning the truth and didn’t want to pursue a case with the police.

“He got me to go into his office and bring out some of the evidence which was only some of it, it was a Woolworths paper carry bag, chock to the brim of Apple cards,” he said.

The scam cost the 77-year-old almost everything, robbing him of his savings, truck and caravan – leaving him with only his home.

Shortly after, Mr Heartsch fell “sicker and sicker” as his health deteriorated.

He died a month after learning of the scam.

“It was like all this was the nail in the coffin, it was devastating for him, his whole life savings he’s lost,” said Simon.

With his family wanting answers, a cyber security expert was able to track down the scammer’s location and discover they were operating out of Ghana, West Africa.

Following his father’s death, Simon urged others to watch out for loved ones who may be vulnerable to “horrible” scammers.

“They’re ruining peoples’ lives. They’re speeding up people’s deaths,” he said. “They’re preying on the vulnerable.”