Is This the work of a Romance scammer?

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Master of Master Baiters Joined: 13 Jan 2014 Posts: 698

I'm putting this here, rather than in HH&t in the belief that those of you who frequent this forum would be the ones best suited to helping me. I recently decided that loan lads were OK as baits, but it's time I ventured out into another area - namely Romance baiting. A few days ago, I registered with FishmeetFish both as a male and a female character and immediately got several good and plainly obvious hits from lads. But one of these hits has me bothered. The person in question pm'd my female character with this:

Quote:

How are you doing today? I came across your lovely profile which look attractive to me and no man on is right sense will see without saying a big hello to you over there...reply me on my private mail.. [email protected] David

So I replied from my characters catcher address:

Quote:

Hallo David

He responded with a very long, well-articulated and intelligently phrased message which in general terms was attractively and convincingly pesented - except for one or two subtle anomalies, mainly in the first two paragraphs. Anomalies such as these:

Quote:

How are you doing today? I hope you are fit and well and living the most of life,Thank you for your message, i will also like to tell you more about me.I was born in Kensington ,London, United Kingdom, i have spent all of my life there but due to the constructable of my work, i travel anywhere on contract bases. I am presently in South Africa on a contract which is independent and financially rewarding,but as you know life is not all about what you make,it is how much you can make your self happy. I am very comfortable in my own skin,but the only missing thing is the Soul mate. my father passed on 13 years back and my beautiful mother is still giving me advice that only a mother can give, she still in the United Kingdom.

There are a few others of similar nature, which on their own could easily be put down to simple typo's, but collectively have rung a bell.

I have responded with this:

Quote:

Hallo David. Thanks for contacting me. and taking so much trouble over your message. I've read every letter in it with great interest and I'm sure you're a genuine man who's obviously taken a lot of time and trouble with his profile.You are clearly a very passionate man with well-defined beliefs and considered opinions, qualities that I find very attractive. Your spiritual beliefs are exactly in tune with my own and I like your 'up-front', forthright, but thoughtful nature.

My late husband was a quiet, gentle man of simple tastes and we loved each with mutual passion and unfettered joy. Our union produced three wonderful children - two boys and a girl - who are are grown into fine adults, each with their own little families.We have a habit in this family of starting young and making things last - I was barely 18 when we married. Sadly our joyous and passionate partnership didn't last the full course and my sweet, generous husband died suddenly of a heart attack two years ago when he was only 47. Well, David, your letter has given me much to mull over and it is now my bedtime. I'd like you to give me a few days to think a few things through before I tell you much more about myself. Let's just say that there are special reasons why I need to be sure of my own position in this and how I should proceed. I'll be in touch again at the weekend. In the meantime, take care

Kind regards,
Helen

My problem is that I'm only half convinced that this guy is indeed a lad, because his style is so different to what I've grown used to. I'm OK about continuing this as a bait, but am wondering if I might be playing with an ITP and if so when I should call a halt if he continues for a lengthy period without any hint of scamming intent. I did my homework before going after a romance lad and understand that they can sound extremely convincing and go for sometimes as long as a year before introducing a sting. Incidentally his long message had three good and convincing snapshot-type photo's, all quite clearly of the same person.

If he is a scammer, he is very good!

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 08 Jul 2014 Posts: 11

Definitely a scammer. Weird words, punctuation & capitalization are all characteristics. It's true there's not as much as the straight AFF lads. Still screams West Africa.

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:21 pm

I've had a few like this - mere hints in the initial emails, but suddenly the English skills go downhill further, and it's just a matter of time before they end up in the hospital, get mugged, etc. It may be they have a lad who works the front door, then passes you along to another lad more familiar with love poems, then another who handles Catastrophes, etc. The most skilled lad I have encountered was like that - a whole month of decent English before he got the call to go to Nigeria, and I counted three voices after that. He may have been a broker of sorts.

I'm with Chugga (welcome, btw!) - this one screams scammer, especially if he claims to be American or from the UK but is living elsewhere. In his profile, where does he hail from?

Bait kindly until the money shot comes along!
Smile

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 13 Jan 2014 Posts: 698

Thanks guys Ms Helen Hiwatters will now proceed to stuff the little shit!

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:29 pm

This looks laddish to me with a West African pattern-and the construction engineer is a classic.No engineer would have such poor grammer and spelling. To confirm you can search Google Image or TinEye for the pics and sections of the "script" to see if they show up on any of the scam sites.

I would go ahead and bait> Most of us who bait RomScammers have fallen over an ITP-it becomes obvious very early. If it is a real person, apologise and leave them alone ASAP.

Outlook hides the IP, but there's a chance you may get lucky if you use WhoReadMe.

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:24 am

All in Favour? Opposed? Carried! (Sound of Gavel hitting a Desk).

This all sounds very Laddish to me and I'm sure it will go down hill soon. If you feel comfortable providing the link to the Profile we can have a closer look as some of us may have even Baited this one before or might simply recognize the pictures he is using.

When in doubt drop them or ask the Fine Flock of Sickos around here for some advice. I used to simply go silent but it is a much better approach to play nice and come up with an excuse as to why you don't want to carry on with the 'Relationship'.

@Capone your advice puts me to shame but I learned something today so it ain't all bad eh?

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 1:42 am

I am no expert, but in my experience, the best way to find out if it is a lad is with a simple "questionnaire you might ask of anybody in the beginning of a relationship. GL recently reminded me I used this with Femmy. Customize your answers to flush out the lad. Here is what I sent.

Quote:

Here are some questions and my answers. Now it is your turn to answer them.

What were you like when you were a kid? I was very much a tomboy playing wiffle ball in the yard and climbing trees. However, I had a huge collection of Barbies.
When was the first time that you had beer? I was 12 and at a cousin's graduation. Now I prefer Ginger Leechee Vodka
If you had a billion dollars, what would you do with it? Well, I'd buy you a house. I'd buy you furniture for your house, maybe a nice Chesterfield or an ottoman. I'd buy you a K-Car, a nice Reliant automobile. And if I had a billion dollars, I'd buy your love then I'd buy you a fur coat, but not a real fur coat, that's cruel. Then, I'd buy you an exotic pet, like a llama or an emu.
What would your dream house be like? Full of hidden passages and doorways with a large kitchen and a maid.
If you could change something about yourself, what would it be & why? I hate plucking my eyebrows, so yeah, those.
Do you dream often? Every night.
Describe your fighting style: drunken master or angry monkey? Angry monkey.
What last made you laugh? Looking at a chimpanzee at the zoo with his little willy hanging out.
Spontaneity or stability? Spontaneity.
Do you like kids? If they don't bite. I hate biters. Well, not all biters. It depends on where they are nibbling.
If you wrote a journal entry about our last date, what would it say? This space intentionally left blank.
Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I prefer giving the gift that keeps on giving and prefer receiving face, u know?
What is your favorite word? Fingerbang.
What is your least favorite word? Camel toe. I know it's two words but u could spell it as one and everyone would know what u mean.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Honesty in love.
What turns you off? Anal without lube.
What is your favorite curse word? Motherfucker
What sound or noise do you love? The sound of rustling leaves on the street at 3 am.
What sound or noise do you hate? The cry of a child in pain.
What is your profession? Adult Actress
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Personal masseuse to Justin Timberlake.
What profession would you not like to do? Butcher
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Surprised? Yeah, me too!

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:51 am

99 times out of 100, I can tell if it is a scammer just by looking at the profile.

AG, when you are 100% certain this is a scammer, please post his details (including the FishMeetFish profile) over at Scamwarners.

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:20 pm

Having been the victim of a RL scammer from South Africa, I can tell you with absolute certainty that their English is 100% better then typical African lads. I would never have been taken in by a supposed English person if he had written like the lads I have now, and he was very very good so don't have doubts. As an English person I can tell you that no well educated Brit would write like that. As was quoted above please post on SW, these are the ones that can truly hook a victim.

Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:36 pm

100% scammer. The email address is reported online for being used in scams with stolen pictures of an US General. Also the same email address is used on FB with a stolen picture reported for being abused in scams since last year.

Quote:

their English is 100% better then typical African lads.

- that's may be because the initial contact is done while using scripts. The difference between the written messages sent by the scammer and the way the scammer express himself can be seen in chat, text messages on the phone or when the scammer is off script.

I have also few new ones from South Africa - and their ability of expression is significantly different from the traditional West African scammers.

Have fun with this one, AG, sure he deserve it.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 13 Jan 2014 Posts: 698

Thanks everybody; yes he definitely is a lad. I think he's grabbed the wrong part of his script in his latest message, because he's asked about a 'kid' I haven't mentioned and told me not to worry about 'the business' I didn't mention either. As a consequence I think we are about to have our first lovers' tiff.

By the way, I found this exchange with a 'female' lad my male character has encountered amusing and instructional:

ME: Hallo. How do you feel about having a 56-year-old, non-catholic Sassenach as your possible life partner?

LAD: what matter most is love ,,,age is just a number to me

ME:That's good to hear, but what about me being a Sassenach? Is that OK?

LAD: yes if you want me to come and if you promise me to take good care of me

ME: Do you live in Sassenach?

LAD: right now in turkey istanbul

ME: Your profile says Aberdeen. Is that where you were born?

LAD: yes

- So anybody for a day trip to Sassenach?

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:39 pm

Ahmastin Geebougah Wrote:

Quote:

Sassenach

After all these years I finally figured out what my Father in Law has been calling me....

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