Victims stories

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I have recently been the victim of scammers. There were at least two and it was the usual stuff, one guy hooks up with me through a dating site, chats for a few weeks and then supposedly goes on a business trip with his young son to Ghana where he is robbed of his wallet, so he has no cards or cash. He does his business deal and names me as a trustee to receive some of the money so that I can send him some to come home as for some reason he can’t access his bank account (which I question on several occasions, also if he goes on business trips abroad regularly why can’t he claim on his insurance). It is at this point that the supposed bank manager takes over and there is tax to pay on the money he is sending me and a fee for this and that with me questioning all the time why can’t they take tax etc out of the money they are supposed to be sending to me. Of course this can’t be done for some reason or the other. I know now that it’s a classic scam. When I said no more money and they realised that I meant it Mr Bank Manager rings and tells me that my “friend” has been taken into hospital with a heart attack and he needs money to pay for his medical treatment. I tell him to contact the British High Commission in Accra who will help. For some reason he’s not very keen to do that, I wonder why. At this point I have already informed the British High Commission about it all anyway, informed the dating site where I first made contact, informed the Bank that they are using as a front, told my bank etc, etc. What is strange is that I have still had contact with one of them ( the “bank manager”) and really riled him by telling him what low-life’s him and his friends are as up until two days ago they were still using the same mobile phones! Extraordinary.
I still have the photographs that the first guy sent me and I’m wondering who it is. I suspect that they’ve got them by nefarious means as part of an identity theft but I would love to post them all over the internet and see what happens.
By the way I’m a 57-year-old disabled woman living on benefits, something that they were fully aware of, so I didn’t have much money to begin with and I don’t know how I’m going to pay back the money I borrowed on my credit card.
But as I said to “Mr Bank Manager” at least I’ve still got my self-respect and can look in the mirror without feeling shame which seemed to upset him. I think he may be in the wrong profession! (09/03/09)

“thanks for your response,no although im 40 years old but still i havent get engaged or married,about 3 years ago i was going to be engaged but that was the time when that scammer was working on my mind,i belive he knew many things about psychology so there are many people at risk now,during 2 years we exchanged about more than 500 emails,in first step he said i should pay 400 pound for registration so that process be legal,after that he said my funds going to be released but i have to pay 500 pound as a visa fee,then after one month he said everything was going to be right but a british chancellor named Greenland Janet told i should pay the tax of those funds and sent a form for me (british inland revenue)and required about 1200 pound but at last i paid about 1050 pound and he said i will complete the rest of that,after that he said because of political situation of my country chancellor is not interested in my visa so i have to pay something as a gift to make her kind about my self and then i paid 400 pound but at last he said she is requiring 10000 pound before my coming and w i told him i cant and i will never pay ,he said ok,wait after changing of chancellor maybe i can do something for you,in fact at first that was unbelievable for me that he is forging a lot of documents just for taking 400 pound from me but later i found that it was the pace and technique of scammers specially when i searched about William Wilcox scams in google,i know i cant reach to my funds any more,but at least i want that my information can be used for other people who doesn’t want to be scammed!!!!!” (09/16/09)

Please can you advise me on a possible scam. My sister has recently hooked up with a man she met on a dating site who calls himself Michael Wigins. He is apparently in the USA Army serving in Iraq. He is 47, widowed, has a six year old daughter living in Canada. This man is promising my sister the world he wants to marry her he is coming here in a few weeks etc, etc,. Through this my sister who has some health issues that makes her very vulnerable has sold her home in order to make funds. I have written to this man via email asking relevant questions and he refuses to answer. I have also emailed my sister links on the website with scam stories which I may add are very similar to hers. I am at my wit’s end please can you offer some advice. (09/2009)

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How the Scam Works:

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 BIG business. 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 scammers can do "their jobs". Home computers are a rare commodity. Most households in West Africa and other third world countries cannot afford them nor can they afford the cost of a monthly connection. Because of the easy money made from victims, scammers are well-to-do respected business men/women who quit their "normal" day jobs. Scammers work in shifts. They have a script to 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. 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 or call you a different name. 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 information in order to answer you or are consulting with a more experienced member of their "team". Scammers send sweet words, poems, and love letters...all stolen from sites on 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 male as young as 13 years old. The pictures are stolen from various sites and previous victims. We have some modeling sites listed. Recently scammers have been using previous victims' photos from dating and social networking sites. Nigeria is cash based society. All services, all hotel rooms, and all hospital services must be paid for in advance. The norm in Nigerian culture is to call a family meeting when a problem occurs. 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 know victims might be aware of this and is one of the reasons why they almost immediately begin calling the victim their husband or wife. 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. Again, Nigeria is cash-based society. ALL HOSPITAL SERVICES MUST BE PAID IN ADVANCE. When anyone you are in contact or relationship with online claims they are an American overseas, direct them 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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Dealing with the Dangers

Romance Scams Facts

Scammers will not stop until you make them stop. When a scammer confesses they are a scammer and they fell in love with you; this another part of the scam. What usually happens is you get sucked right back into it and worse the second time. They will convince you to visit them in Nigeria. You will lose more money, if you consider visiting and even your life. We are dealing with one victim who is being held in Nigeria against her will and her child is the leverage to keep her there. She is scamming now, and could lose her life. The FBI warned us a couple years ago, if they (victims) go over they will be dragged into the scamming business and are in danger...and its true.

So to answer your question yes its dangerous. To understand these scams you need to read the stories from other victims, and to read about these scams. These scammers will not stop, this is a business and very big one that is associated with terrorism.

Save yourself time, money, your sanity and even your life- start to heal from this scam and move on by helping others.

From a Romance Scam Victim

I know that the group will be very disappointed in me but I let my scammer David Nickson back in because he told me he was still in love with me. He said he wanted to talk to me again; so we talked tonight. He wanted me to send him money and a credit card in my name; so he could put the money on it and withdraw off it. All he cared about was money and a credit card. He called me every bad name in the book he could think of.

I wanted to believe that he was who he says he was, and not a scammer; but now I have learned that he is not David Nickson. He is truly a scammer. I did not want to say anything to the group about this because, I was so stupid, and dumb to think he really loved me. He is nothing but a liar who got back into my heart, and broke it again and hurt me.

Please learn from me, never ever let your scammer back into your life like I did. I have blocked him, and deleted him from my yahoo; I will never let him back in again. All those sweet words he would say to
me were just lies but I wanted to believe he was who he says he was.

Sally

Victim Stories Stories



Scam Baiting Dangers

Scam backing or scam baiting, is not a means of revenge or closure for someone who has been scammed recently. The practice of Scam backing is filled with lots of negative energy; it will also take a lot out of you. The risk of being sucked right back in to the scam is very high..

Romance Scams does not advocate the practice of scam backing or scam baiting. Over the past three years we have witnessed victims being harmed in unimaginable ways by participating in this activity. We follow the advice of the FBI which is to remove, block and cease all contact immediately.

From a Romance Scam Victim

"Just needed to write a little bit about playing around with your scammers after you find out what they are. I thought they couldn't do anything to me, so every now and again I would send a little message. The Last one I sent was a copy of the news paper article that was written about my story. Well the other day I received a e-mail. I thought it was a response to that article considering I have received nearly one hundred responses to it. This one was different after opening it I discovered it was from my scammer and it also contain a virus that literal killed my new laptop. and on that computer was some irreplaceable data. This represented about a month of hard work. So please do your self a favor and not play with the scammers after you discover what they are doing to you. I just learned the hard way. This lesson just cost me about $2000. This is how they make their living, and is not a game to them; I know this first hand. "


The Dangers

Whether you want to realize it or not you are playing with people who have terrorist connections.
Your computer can be hacked into and have your personal information (identity theft) stolen along with having many viruses installed onto your computer.
The scammers do not like their flow of money interrupted. This is not a game!
We have confirmation from the FBI. The authors of the book were placed under protection when their computers came under cyber terrorism.
Scam backing, may waste a bit of their time, but it does not solve the real problem at hand.

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"DO CERTAIN SCAMS ORIGINATE FROM CERTAIN AREAS?"

Very much so. In fact it's usually easy to tell where the scams are from by the type of scam they are, the photos they use and even the wording in the emails. Let's look at a few.
Senegal scammers.
These are almost always about some poor lady stuck in a refugee camp and desperately trying to get her murdered father's hidden fortune out of the country. They'll give you the supposed pastor's number and you'll often see them describe the weather as "a little cold here in Senegal". Profile pictures are often of flowers or scenery.
Malaysian scammers.
These always pretend to be white engineers in the UK, and target Asian ladies (Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia). A white British engineer who later appears in Malaysia is always a Nigerian scam, especially if the person being targeted is from Asia.
Russian scammers.
Russian scammers use a very automated system to scam. Emails are replied to without even being read a lot of the time. Expect questions to not be answered or a short answer slotted into the email, usually in the middle or end. These ones profess love very quickly and then need your assistance in helping to pay for them to come visit you.
Ukrainian scammers.
The photos used by these scammers are always models, and there'll always be a translation agency that needs paying.
Filipino scammers.
Rare in that these ones are real ladies who will appear on webcam. Typically these ones ask for money for school fees, medicine for themselves or a family member or will even to pay to see you. These will refer to you as their boyfriend rather than husband, which is more typical of Nigerian scammers.
Nigerian/Ghanaian scammers.
These will constantly ask you to talk to them on IM, and will try to take all your attention every second you're online. Stories vary, but some common ones are that they're an engineer, building a bridge, a model on an assignment there, a soldier, on an oil rig or currently there collecting some treasure/money left to them by a parent. The money requests could be for anything and everything (and we really do mean anything, from help to get their fortune out of the country to a request for aid to buy tampons and even on one occasion help in bringing their client back from Mars where he's suffering a ruptured uterus after being anal probed by the Martians!), but of course the money requests will come. As a general rule, the moment Africa and more specifically West Africa or Nigeria are mentioned, expect the talk to turn sooner rather than later to that of their needing "a little help".

My husband is serving in Afghanistan he has sent a parcel via courier

Customer Question
My husband is serving in Afghanistan he has sent a parcel via courier. The courier was in Ghana £2,300 was paid he is now in heathrow London and wants £48.000. The parcel contains army papers and 3million US dollars.? I cannnot raise that money?


Already Tried:
nothing
Submitted: 97 days and 14 hours ago.
Category: Fraud Examiner
Value: £22
Status: CLOSED
Accepted Answer

Expert:  Ben Jones replied 97 days and 14 hours ago.

Ben Jones :
Hello and thank you for your question, which I will be happy to assist you with. You say this is from your husband - why would he send this money to you?
Customer :
He saved a life in Afghanistan the man visited the US base in Afghanistan last week and gave me the money. My husband is finished his service but on his last day was shot due to his injury he is unable to leave the base
Customer :
The guy he saved from the taliban turned out to be a oil millionaire
Customer :
My husband says if I do not raise the money ins £48.000 GP he will kill himself and his armay papers are also i the parcel and both he an dI will go to jail
Customer :
Sorry we will both go to jail
Ben Jones :
So if he is your husband, have you actually met him in person or did you meet and marry online?
Customer :
I have met him online we are due to get married when he comes home from Afghanistan to the UK , we then go the the US to get married and collect his 11 year old son
Customer :
I have a code for the parcel in Heathrow
Ben Jones :
is he with the US army?
Customer :
The man is a widower and 9 years ago lost his wife in a car accident. I have been in contact with his son
Customer :
Yes with the US Army
Customer :
He actually finished on 23rd April 2012 and was waiting for the date when he got shot
Customer :
Please help me Ben
Ben Jones :
ok let me get my answer ready please
Customer :
ok
Customer :
My husband to be does not want me to discuss this with anybody. I have a tex certificate from the courier would you like me to send it to you?
Ben Jones :
it's ok thanks
Customer :
Good Day Madam, The United States Treasury Department, They are still waiting for us to let then know when the fund will be available even though I applied my diplomatic immunity, they didn't budge because they said that since after September 11 terrorist attacks,the UK govt stripped all immunities on bulk consignments coming into the UK. its not possible for me to open the trunks because I didn't have the code combination and that even if I had the combination,I wouldn't dare open it because your husband never permitted me. Madam i advice you act fast before things will get out of hand as am also trying my best here to see if they can reduce that amount for us, because if nothing is been done will will have to leave and if i do leave here thing will be very bad.

Thank you
Hassan
Customer :
This is the email from the courier in Heathrow
Customer :
What does this mean Ben
Ben Jones :
ok leave it with me, won't be long
Customer :
Thank you Ben
Ben Jones :
I am sorry to have to tell you but this is a scam. Whilst it is unfortunately never possible to state with certainty whether someone is genuine or not unless you have actually met them in person, so called ‘military romance scams’ are very common and rely on the good nature of innocent victims to make a significant income.
The main way to identify such scams is not by tracing the person, which would often be impossible, but by looking at the overall situation and identifying certain red flags or other known hallmarks. The most common ones are:
1. You have met this person online, usually through a dating website, social networking service or instant messaging.
2. They will state that they are a serving soldier with the Army and are currently based abroad, usually undertaking frontline duties.
3. They will ‘trick’ you into developing feelings for them. They may have struck a long-distance relationship with you, they are very pleasant and romantic, some even fall in love straight away. They may take time to gain your trust, although often the relationship progresses unnaturally fast.
4. They may use a photo of a soldier, although these can easily be obtained over the internet so there is absolutely no guarantee that this is the person you have been talking to. You can actually try and trace the photo to see if it has been used elsewhere by using Google’s ‘Search by Image’ facility:http://www.google.com/insidesearch/searchbyimage.html
5. They will always use a free email address that is not affiliated to the army. It may look like it's genuine but it won't be. If they are in the US Army then they will have an email that ends with "us.army.mil". You can request that they provide you with that address, but often they will refuse to do so, citing various reasons.
6. The scam in this case is the consignment he has supposedly sent. You are tempted to receive it due to your relationship and the large amount of money that it contains. However, you are asked to pay extortionate fees to receive it. Once you pay the fees, there will be further excuses or even requests for more money, before this person finally disappears. There is no package, there is no courier and sadly, there is no marriage because the person on the other end is a fraudster.
7. Finally, they request that the payment is made via some dubious money transfer method, with little or no fraud protection, such as Western Union, Moneygram, etc.
If the above looks familiar, chances are that the person you are involved with is a fraudster and you need to proceed with extreme caution. I strongly suggest you follow these steps:
1. First of all, cease all contact with the person
2. Do not send anything. If you have already sent money – try to see if you can cancel the transfer
If you wish to report this scam, you can contact Consumer Direct by email:scams@oft.gsi.gov.uk or by phone: 08454 04 05 06. You can also contact Action Fraud on 0300 XXX XXXX or you may also report this to your local police station as they are capable of dealing with scam reports, although only do the latter if you have actually lost money.
Customer :
Ben I have the personson Army records anbd his photograph, his email, his son's email as well
Ben Jones :
that means nothing at all, anyone can fake these
Customer :
the email address I have for him is brysmith211:@hotmail.com
Ben Jones :
this is not an army email, it is a free email address that anyone can get in a couple of minutes
Customer :
The money was paid in Ghana and I actually have a receipt for it. If you give me your email address I will send it to you.
Ben Jones :
that is unnecessary and even confirms that this is a scam as most originate from Ghana or Nigeria
Customer :
I paid £2,300. in Ghana
Customer :
What about the son
Customer :
His son aged 11 has been in contact with me
Ben Jones :
What contact - phone, video?
Customer :
His son is only aged 11 years old
Customer :
I have skyped with the soldier. with the son I have written to in a US School. I have his army certificate discharging him from the army
Customer :
I don't have any phone contact
Ben Jones :
the contacts you have corresponded with are likely fake - this is easy to do. The certificates are also fake, I have seen all sorts of fake documents
Customer :
Ben what can I do. I really love the soldier
Ben Jones :
do not get fooled, the further you carry on the more difficult it will get to accept this is a scam. You have to try your best to accept the situation and move on
Customer :
Will I be able to contact you again
Ben Jones :
yes of course just start your question with 'for Ben Jones only'
Customer :
OK I will do that later on. Will I be able to save this document
Ben Jones :
I suggest you simply copy and paste this conversation into a Word document. You can then save it or print it and refer to it in the future as necessary.
Customer :
I do I save the the conversation, If I do Control the whole fo this page is highlighted
Customer :
How do I save the conversation in a word document
Ben Jones :
just click and hold the left mouse button and select everything in this conversation
Customer :
I am on a laptop and dont have a mouse I can see Save & Exit at ther bottom of the page buts thats all. I cannot see Copy and Save
Ben Jones :
you can just do that - it will be saved on your account here
Customer :
Will I be able to access the conversation then
Ben Jones :
yes
Customer :
So when go into your webpage. what do I do to access my account please
Ben Jones :
go to My Account on the top
Customer :
OK then do I just put in my account no?
Ben Jones :
whatever information you have been given yes
Customer :
Then this conversation will come up yes
Ben Jones :
yes
Customer :
Thank you so much for all your help I do appreciate it. Work colleagues kept telling me it was a scam but I would not believe them. Now that I have spoken with you I feel much better.
Customer :
Thank you so much for all yor help. I will talk to you again soon. Once again many thanks Ben
Ben Jones :
My pleasure. Unless you need further help, I would be grateful if you could please press Accept before exiting. Many thanks and all the best.
Customer :
Ben before you go. Will I have to go to jail
Ben Jones :
Of course not!
Customer :
Thank you for that I did not want to go to jail I can assure you
Ben Jones :
it is just a ploy to scare you into paying
Customer :
Thank goodness for that he said he and I would go to jail
Ben Jones :
no that is nonsense
Customer :
I now have to repay somebody £2,300. GBP
Ben Jones :
did they lend you the money?
Customer :
Yes they did
Ben Jones :
that is unfortunate but you are unlikely to get that money back I'm afraid
Customer :
I do have a receipt for that amont of money would you like me to email that to you?
Ben Jones :
no thanks, that is irrelevant, if you sent it voluntarily then you are unlikely to ever get it back in the circumstances
Customer :
I did sent the money under duress
Ben Jones :
no they won't consider that I'm afraid
Customer :
Never mind I will have to keep on working. He promised me everything. His son as well I cannot believe this has happened to me
Ben Jones :
you are not the only one that's for sure.
Customer :
Obviously not I'm sorry to have bothered you but thank you for your time. Its much appreciated. When the soldier contact me again I will let him know exactly what he has done and see if he contacts me again
Ben Jones :
no problem, all the best for now
Customer :
Many thanks
Ben Jones :
ok no problem
Customer :
Ben
Customer :
Can you please tell me what will happen to him he keep talking of shame
Customer :
The soldier is still in contact me with but he says when they open the parcel and find his papers he will be shamed and go to jail. Is that true
Customer :
Please help me Ben
Customer :
Can my husband go to jail for this please tell me
Customer :
Please help me Ben
Ben Jones :
No this is all nonsense - do not believe his stories
Customer :
Hi Ben my soldier still love me can he go to Jail for sending the parcel to me as his army papers are in the parcel which will have to be opened at Heathrow. He says he will be shamed. What does that mean Ben please?
Customer :
Does not mean he will not go to jail. His last working day was 23rd April but because he got shot he has to stay in Afghanistan till he is better. What will happend to the 3 million US $
Ben Jones :
he will NOT go to jail - he is not even a soldier! There is NO $3m
Customer :
When he is better will he be free to come to the UK and collect me and take me to the US
Ben Jones :
this is a SCAM
Customer :
Are you saying he will not come to the UK to collect me
Ben Jones :
No, I am afraid not - we have already discussed this in detail
Customer :
I have relayed this conversation to him. He assures me he is a wounded soldier in Afghanistan
Ben Jones :
of course he would, he is not just going to admit it, they all do that
Customer :
OK Ben thank you. I am very sorry to have bothered you.
Customer :
Thank you for everything
Ben Jones :
It is no problem, that is why I am here. There is however nothing more I can add to this - this is a typical scam, which I have seen dozens of time before. What you do from now on is up to you but if you continue with this, send money, etc you will lose that money and have your feelings hurt so give up whilst you have not gone too far
Customer :
I will Ben thank you again for your help
Ben Jones :
my pleasure, please remember to click Accept before exiting to close this for now, thanks

Expert Type Consultant
Category:  Fraud Examiner
Pos. Feedback:  97.4 %
Accepts:  1111
Answered:  4/29/2012
Experience: Qualified Lawyer
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