Retired mom takes out $30,000 personal loan in her son's name to buy a boat, threatens to call CPS on him if he reports it to the police: 'They've missed 4 payments and [are] going to let it default since the boat can't be repossessed'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Aug 28, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Everybody has a different relationship with their parents, and those differences extend to finances. There is no shortage of 26-year-olds whose parents secretly pay their rent, but that doesn't cancel out the 18-year-olds who pay the mortgage on their parent's house. Some kids support their parents, and some parents help their grown kids. Of course, there are fewer and further between parents and kids who haven't exchanged cash with each other since the kid became an adult. There's nothing inherently wrong with accepting help from your parents or asking your adult kids for some money when you genuinely need it. But there's a big difference between asking for money and taking copious amounts for a frivolous purchase. 

The adult child of two retirees recently went viral after sharing their harrowing tale of fraud at the hands of their parents. Let's just say they now have $30K in debt, and it's not due to a medical emergency.

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  • 01
    MERCURY
    via Joshua J. Cotten
  • 02
    My mom got a $30,000 personal loan in my name without my knowledge. The account is from February, which was when they bought a boat. Now, they've missed 4 payments and told me they're going to let it default since the boat can't be repossessed AND they're going to call DCFS on me.
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 03
    I knew my mom had her eye on a pontoon boat for the last year. She and my dad retired in 2022 and while they aren't swimming in money, they weren't hurting much for it either, OR SO I THOUGHT.
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 04
    They bought a boat in February for a little over $30,000. I didn't think a lot of it since they always rented a pontoon boat 2-3 times a year and didn't appear to have money issues. At the start of July, I began getting my ducks in a row to buy a house. When I applied for a pre-approval, I found out my credit score was barely over 600 and I had an extra $30k+ in debt I had no idea about. Even worse, it was 90+ days late. I told the lender the account wasn't mine and he said my identity had proba
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 05
    I shared a bank account with my ex-fiance and asked the bank to look into it. They said the account had been closed a couple of years ago (when we broke up) and no attempts to send money to it/take money from it have been made since. I filed a dispute with the company and the credit agencies as it was obvious to me I had been hacked or my identity had been stolen.
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 06
    About a week ago, I got a notice from the company to my apartment (first I had ever heard from them) saying they were going to charge-off the account if payment wasn't made. I requested more information from them and they linked me to their fraud department. They were able to tell me where the money was sent.....to a bank account from when I was a minor that I shared with my mom. When I called that bank, they confirmed there was activity on the account and the statements showed the loan coming i
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 07
    I called my mom and asked her about it and she, after a long pause, said that's how they bought the boat. They made one payment on the account and realized they probably couldn't afford the monthly payment for the next 5 years. When I asked why they hadn't told me, she said it was because they figured I would say no (they were right) and that they had worked hard in their lives and wanted to enjoy retirement.
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 08
    It ended by them saying the boat couldn't be repossessed because it was a personal loan. My mom suggested declaring bankruptcy and I told. them I was going to the police. My mom said not to do that because they wouldn't take it seriously. When I told her I was doing it anyway, she hinted that she might have to call DCFS on me (my 2 year old burned themselves on a hot pan earlier this year, simple ER visit and was told accidents happen, he's fine) regarding an unsafe home.
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 09
    I think I'm still going to the police because declaring bankruptcy would make it impossible to buy a house. I just needed to vent and looking for any advice.
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 10
    Happy_Escape861 • 1d Copying this for every identity theft situation I see on here (since it seems to happen a lot) where you know who the person is who stole your identity. This is all information you can find in this sub and others: 1: CALL THE POLICE - You're the victim of identity theft, plain and simple, it doesn't matter who did it or what your relationship is to them. They broke the law, now they have to face the consequences of their actions. 2: Freeze your credit - You want to make sure
    via u/Happy_Escape861
  • 11
    3: Monitor and track your credit - You need to be alerted if anyone tries opening a line of credit in your name. This gives you a way to do it for free and it shows your credit score. 4: Warn anyone else who might be a victim - This includes family members or anyone else whose social security number might be compromised by the thief.
    via u/Happy_Escape861
  • 12
    5: Take the police report to the credit bureaus - Give them the report number when you dispute all of the accounts. Most of the time, that will be enough for them to take the accounts off of your credit. It's on the creditors themselves to prove the accounts are legitimately yours and the bureaus aren't going to get in the middle of it. A police report goes a long way in clearing up your credit. Don't take identity theft lying down, even if it's someone close to you. If you let them get away wit
    via u/Happy_Escape861
  • 13
    Your mom 100% committed familial identity theft and now she's trying to scare you into not reporting her. Don't let her scare you. DCFS - or the same thing in other states: DCS/DFS/CWS/etc. - are typically only going to take action if there is clear cut signs of abuse. It sounds like a minor burn MONTHS ago is nothing, the ER staff is right, accidents happen. Anyone can make an online report for DCFS/DCS/DFS/CWS on anyone for anything. It literally means nothing unless it's a legitimate report,
    via u/Happy_Escape861
  • 14
    LiberalPatriot13 • 1d OP, make sure you mention they are effectively trying to blackmail you into not reporting and have them add it to the police report. Get a copy of that police report and keep it near the door. If DCF gets called, allow them to check out your home and child and show them the police report. By reporting it first, you come out swinging and get the drop on them. Don't let their threats prevent you from getting your life in order.
    via u/LiberalPatriot13
  • 15
    .0. ilpalazzo64 1d 100% this. Had a family member threaten CPS on my and my wife. I called an reported the incident including the threat to police. Sure enough CPS shows up at my house (followed by a law suit to take my kids by my family member). Had one court case, CPS dropped their investigation and the family member got reamed in court for wasting resources and made to cover my legal fees
    via u/ilpalazzo64
  • 16
    Tombstonesss • 1d She stole 30k, potentially ruined your financial future for 7 years, threatened to put your child in a situation where they could be taken and put in foster care for a pontoon boat?
    via u/Tombstonesss
  • 17
    Big_Particular7643. 1d OP, this right here. All this unnecessary suffering and stress over a pontoon boat? I'm sorry but your mom
    via u/Big_Particular7643
  • 18
    credithelpscammed OP 15h We haven't always had the best relationship. I think they're more concerned about themselves going to jail.
    via u/credithelpscammed
  • 19
    • premadecookiedough 14h. The best part? A quick google search has results for simple and used pontoon boats for under 10k, which means not only did she think she needed this for her happiness, but she decided to pay 3x more then necessary for a fancy new one because doesnt she deserve the best for her retirement?
    via u/premadecookiedough

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Tags

scammer identity theft mother money problems boating bad parenting bad parents debt loan dad scam boat mom theft money Parenting Fail boats
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