Mom gets scammed out of $8k by Chris Hemsworth catfish, teen says 'you did it to yourself.'

Social media is rife with romance scammers, looking for people with pocketbooks they can weasel their way into. On top of the financial strain, romance scams can leave an indelible mark of shame and embarrassment, since they specifically mine people's loneliness.

In a popular post on the AITA subreddit, a young man asked if he was wrong for telling his mom it's her fault she blew up her marriage. He wrote:

"AITA for telling my mom that she is the reason she lost me and my dad?"

My(18m) mom was catfished. She had an emotional affair with and sent money to a scammer pretending to be Chris Hemsworth.

The $8,000 she sent to him over the course of being scammed was one thing but what made dad’s decision to go through with divorce really easy was the nauseating lovey-dovey messages between the two of them, including one where she told the scammer she was planning to leave us for him. Last night she came over and asked dad for a second chance. That she wants to be with us again.

She said that she was sorry and that it wasn’t her fault. Dad was too stunned to say anything. He just stared at her incredulously when she said that she wasn’t in the wrong, then looked at me while struggling to find the words. It's the same look he gives me whenever he wants me to decline drinks on his behalf, so I jumped in.

I reminded her that she promised the scammer that she would leave me and dad for him, and that it’s her own fault we don’t want anything to do with her. She said I can’t blame her since she was manipulated and that it's like victim-blaming.

The internet did not hold back.

Caspian4136 wrote:

NTA. She was swept up in an emotional affair with a "celebrity", lost thousands of dollars that was no doubt half your dad's money, then was planning on leaving you both. Regardless of it ending up being a catfish situation in the end, she still did all these things. She made her bed, she can now sleep in it.

gemmygem86 wrote:

I’m sorry I’m going to hell for laughing. I shouldn’t laugh but really she made her bed now she can lie in it.

Malpraxiss wrote:

Chris Hemworth? That multimillionaire who is married and has a family? That Chris Hemworth? Unless your mum is the most beautiful woman in the world, she was delusional to really think that Chris Hemworth would randomly message her of all people, to cheat on his wife with. Also, to ask 8K from her?...

Like, 8K would do nothing for this man. Also, interesting how she is just ignoring the fact she was planning on leaving y'all with no second thought before learning the truth. She had no hesitation to end everything, but is somehow now a victim. NTA.

Ok_Juggernaut89 wrote:

NTA. These celebrity cat fish stories are hilarious. Anyone who falls for a multimillionaire celebrity asking for money deserves whatever they have coming to them. I remember the story of the guy who fell for a fake Katy Perry and spent a 1/4 of his life savings.

Emeraldnickel08 wrote:

NTA. She was manipulated, that's true. But even if she genuinely believed the God of Thunder himself was messaging her, that's still no excuse for an affair like that. In fact, by trying to call what you said "victim-blaming", she's trying to manipulate you.

OP is definitely NTA in any way here.