Anyone know of this persona? - UPDATE

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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:36 pm

A co-worker was telling me at break today that she met a guy on an Afro-American Romance website; a guy from New York. She said that although he was from New York, he is currently in Nigeria working as a petroleum engineer. He is suppose to visit her here in the U.S. next week. So far she has not given him any money and he has not asked for any. They have talked on the phone both he calling her and she calling him. I am leary of the situation and would like to educate her but first I am wanting to know if anyone has dealt with a person with this background.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:45 pm

SCAMMER!
A standard script, next week he will ask her for some money as his paycheck didn't clear in a foreign bank, just to get back home to her Wink

That's how it starts

Chibuike get her safe and stop all contact, if she still has the first emails, some people here might want to help this lad a bit Twisted Evil

Cowgirl3, Titiana and Miatexan have a slight problem with this kind of "friend"

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:12 pm

My tip - If she is believing he really is what he says he is - teach her how to approach her newfound love using a "new" e-mail account and a different persona - she will be flabbergasted with the love of her life sends the same e-mail responses to a new bogus e-mail account. This should prove to her that this is a scammer. Then, of course, tell her to stop all communications with him.

Bruin

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

Chibuike:
I can guarantee that this man will not be showing up next week. You should tell your friend that this is a very common scammer tactic and tell her that what will happen is that there will be a problem with his visa, or ticket, etc at the last minute and he will need her to send money, probably just a few hundred to start. If you tell her this ahead of time, it will hit home when it comes true.

If you can get information from her, his email address, name he's using, or profile link, we can do research on him and find evidence of his scamming.

Doing what Bruin suggests will work too.

Once she's found out the truth, please send her to Scamwarners to post all of his details so that others will find his information there.

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:43 am

From New York (or anywhere) + is currently in Nigeria + petroleum engineer = scam

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:13 am

If this is not a scammer, I will be extremely surprised.

Advise your co-worker that even for someone who lives down the street, it would be a good idea to google his name, his email address, and any other information she can get from him. Ask her how good his English is - did he have an accent when they talked on the phone? Does he put spaces after commas and periods (many scammers don't)? Do his emails read like love letters from a book? Does his English grammar come and go (with copy-and-paste bits alternating with stuff he writes himself)?

Then offer a prediction: Before his flight to see her, something tragic will happen. He will be robbed, he will fall ill, he will have an accident, he will run out of funds to pay his hotel/airfare, etc. There will be no one else who can help him but her. He will ask her to send him some money by WU or MG.

Then when that actually happens, resist the urge to say, "I told you so." Gently direct her to scamwarners.com (or redirect her, as you surely have directed her there already). And be kind to her.

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:24 pm

Last night I had the opportunity to talk to my co-worker. I quietly explained about romance scammers and how they worked. I gave her the Eater website as well as another website to view as well as told her about the book Cyber Love's Illusions. She told me last night that we was suppose to fly in this friday. Her lover's company presentation was today and then he would pack tomorrow and fly out friday.

After looking at the book, viewing the websites she decided to phone him and tell him that she wasn't ready to meet him. She suggested a month or two delay which she felt if he was the genuine thing he would understand and wait. This was all left on his answering service last night around 11 pm. This morning while she was getting ready for work he phones her in a panic.

His presentation is due in an hour, his credit card is not working can he please have her credit card number. The WOW factor hit her on the reality of who he was. She played dumb like there was a bad phone connection. She said he was begging her almost crying to get her credit card numbers. Finally she hung up on him, went to her computer and canceled her membership on the online dating service, reported him to the dating service, and sent him an email that should be burning up the lines as we speak.

When she got to work this noon I was the first person she came to see to let me know what happened. She thanked me for talking to her and covering her back. I simply said "I didn't want you to get hurt like so many others".

Thanks, Team, we won this small victory. Now on to the next scammer.

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:29 pm

Perfect, I like happy endings, she might feel different though, even when she knows better.
I guess I can safely say that hundreds of eater members know what she's going through and wish her all the best.
Thanks for reporting the "happy" ending here.
You can be proud and sleep well to night, you did your good deed for the day. Well Done Exclamation

Edit: hey Mods, do we have a icon for that ? I think that good work should be rewarded. Laughing

Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:31 pm

Great work! And another romance scam has been revealed and destroyed. Woohooo!!!! clapping

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 12:57 pm

I am a week late but what Titiana said is what I would have tried to say had I noticed this then

I love a happy ending and Chibuike, you did a great job of explaining it to your friend.

Now, where is that misinformed Troll to see what goes on here Wink

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