LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — If you live in Lafayette and frequent the social media app TikTok, look out for a man claiming to be homeless and having to live in a “filthy” motel following a series of recent tragedies.
Viewers of KLFY reached out to us Wednesday to say they believe he’s a scammer who spends his days on social media collecting upwards of $6,000 per day from people described as “good-hearted,” and then using the money to live a lavish lifestyle.
The caller, who did not wish to be identified, said the alleged scammer talks about the horrors of living in-and-out of the motel with his sick puppy dog.
She said it was a convincing story, and like many others sent him money for himself and to care for the dog.
Soon afterward, she says, he re-appeared live in designer clothes, wearing long and fresh acrylic nails while eating an expensive meal.
“I started to do some research and found he had several pages with different profile pictures, and when I went to confront him, I was blocked,” she said.
Another caller said the TikTok scammer used the same story during a different live event but added that he was selling his smartphone to the highest bidder because he would soon no longer need it.
The caller said she sent $1,000 through Cash App for the phone.
“When I got the package, the iPhone box was empty,” she said.
KLFY has reached out to Lafayette Police about these incidents.
Police Spokesperson Sgt. Robin Green said they have no information, but said police will look into it if someone files a report.