About Romance Scammers

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Romance scammers are in this for one purpose only -- to make a profit.

Learn how these scams work so you can protect yourself.

How the Scam Works:

Scams are a BIG business in the literal sense. Run just like any "for profit" organization, there is a hierarchy and an organizational structure: the peons, the managers, the big bosses, the pimp daddies. Internet cafes are shut down to normal business so the scammers can do "their jobs". Home computers are a rare commodity. Most cannot afford them nor can they afford the cost of a monthly connection. Because of the easy money made from the victims, scammers are well-to-do respected business men/women who quit their "normal" day jobs.

The scammers work in shifts. They have a script they follow, just like telemarketers. This is why they all sound the same. This is why the words are so similar. They are taught what to say and when to say it. They normally work in groups of six people and they take shifts. This is why they are always on the computer and at times it seems you are talking to different people. There may be times when they have forgotten what you talked about before, they call you a different name, and they take time to respond to you because they are talking to other people. When they are gone from the computers for any amount of time they are either looking up the information in order to answer you or they are consulting with a more experienced member of their "team".

The scammers send sweet words, the poems, and the love letters...all swiped off the internet. The people behind these scams are men, women, and teenagers of ALL ages. The male victims, who think they're talking to a real beauty, may in fact be talking to a man or a 13-year old child.

The pictures are stolen off various modeling sites, there are some sites listed in the "Modeling Web sites" section. Recently scammers have been using “regular looking pictures”: stolen pictures from prior victims and social net work sites.

Nigeria is cash based society, all services, all hotel rooms, all hospital services must be paid for in advance. If a "true" Nigerian has a problem they call a family meeting. They have family meetings for everything. They do not get on the internet, pick a stranger off a dating site, fall in love within a few days and immediately ask for money.

Scammers may claim they're being held hostage in the hospital. Call the hospital directly and ask about the "patient". If they are asking for money to be released from the hospital, they aren't really in the hospital. Nigeria is cash based society all hospital services must be paid for in advance.

When they claim they are an American overseas, they should go to the American Embassy for help, the Embassy will help send them home. The American Embassy highly recommends that individuals doing business in Nigeria be registered with the Embassy for their safety.

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New Twist on the Scam:

When the scammer is caught by their victim and admits their crime, the next thing they do is swear they actually fell in love with the victim. Some people walk away but others do believe what they are being told. After all, the victim has such strong feelings for their scammer, how in the world can he/she not have feelings for them. So the victims who believe and stay are sucked into a whole different scam which turns out to be a whole lot more dangerous. The scammer then works to get their victims love and trust. The requests start coming for a visit to come and see them.

When the first visit comes it is grooming time. They use this first visit to solidify the relationship, so the victim thinks this is real. After that they suck them into the scam and actually use them to scam other people. We were informed by the FBI there was a lady they are dealing with who has visited her scammer four times. The first visit was a dream come true, after that she started getting sucked in to help her "love". When she came back from the fourth visit she was petrified with all that was going on and went to the FBI. She is in this so deep now it is hard to get out. She is facing felony charges for her involvement. Turning in evidence can get her a lighter sentence. However, she is now under protection as she is so deep in this that her life and the lives of her loved ones are in danger. As long as the victim cooperated, they were safe. Once they stopped cooperating, then they would be in grave danger.

Fake Investigators:

We are aware of some so called “detectives” who are offering their services for a fee to track down a person's scammer. They promise to identify who the scammer is and for an additional fee have them arrested and bring them to justice. Many people have been contacted by fake officials asking for money to assist. We know this is a continuation of the scams.

There are some that have set up web sites stating they are NET Detectives. There are some that are showing associations to different investigative organizations. We spoke with the FBI about the affiliations and were told that they are PAID associations and anyone can be a member if they pay the fee. It in no way makes them legitimate.

The FBI also said there is NO WAY for anyone to really trace who the scammers are from this end. They are cloaked behind phony names and identities. The most they can tell you is they are scammers, but then we can tell you the same thing right here and we do it for FREE. If the investigator is based in Nigeria or any other West African country, 99.99% they are also a scammer. They make it sound good, saying they will help you. After they have supposedly located your scammer, then they need additional money to have them arrested and brought to justice. The truth is all they are going to do is help you open your wallet again and give them more money.

These are either scammers who want more money, or these are people who are trying to profit off of everyone's pain.

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Steps to Take

  • Immediately cease all contact with the scammer! Block their email address, ignore their instant messages, ignore their phone calls;
  • Contact Western Union to see if the payment has not been picked up yet;
  • Make copies of your email conversations and instant messages. Keep originals for yourself, give copies to the various reporting agencies, and keep all receipts and envelopes --anything that can be used as evidence;
  • Report the scammer to dating site you were contacted on, Yahoo Profiles, the FBI IC3 , police department (make a report) and our database;
  • Contact the bank fraud department and make payment arrangements if a check/money order has been found fraudulent and you owe money to them;
  • Contact the bank fraud department if you suspect a check you deposited will come back fraudulent;
  • Contact your Postal Carrier/Post Office and ask that no packages to be delivered at your home/ work. Also bring checks and money orders that you received to the post office to make a report and turn them over;
  • Contact your Postal Carrier/Post Office if you have been sent packages or letters to forward for a scammer. Keep the envelopes or shipping package for evidence;
  • Contact any companies that have sent you gifts or merchandise and inform them that they were purchased on a stolen credit card and make arrangements to have the items returned;
  • Contact your local police department. They may not do anything but it will help you to create a paper trail.

After being scammed you are put on a “contact” list by the scammers. You will be receiving random instant messages and emails from people you do not know. These are scammers trying to scam you again. Please immediately block them and report them as "spam". You will know within 5 minutes if it’s a scammer by looking at the profile, how they write/speak, their picture, they state they live in a West African country (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, to name a few), they confess their love in the first meeting, they claim God brought you to them etc. After you keep blocking them, they will stop and you will be placed on a “NO” contact list.

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