Scam Hunch, help

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 1

I have been communicating with someone I feel is playing with my intellect and emotions. They are posing as a F1 Engineer, staying in Scotland where they are coming to an end from their 3 month contract. They suddenly decide to live permanently in the UK. Anyone come across this id: [email protected]?

Thank you

Gift

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

Welcome, Gift.

Before we can act, we will need more information to confirm if it is a scam or not. The outline of the format isn't familiar to me.

If you're not comfortable posting these messages (with personal information edited), I'm sure a MOD will be willing to help.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 06 Aug 2008 Posts: 37

Pay close attention to your feelings. If you feel that something is wrong, it probably is. I think most scam victums do feel a little tug at the back of their mind but decide to ignore it. You have done the right thing. Instead of just ignoring your feelings you have taken action by investigating further with the help of the almost pro group here at Eater.

I've got to say that I hate romance scanners most of all. Not only do they take your money but worse, rip you heart out.

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:54 pm

When I see contract engineer and international travel in the context of someone questioning whether they are being scammed, I assume we are talking about a possible romance scam, as engineer on contract is the number one profession scammers use, and international travel is a key element of romance scammers' stories. Add "devoted single father of one child" and my spidey senses will definitely start to kick in.

However, from time to time, real engineers have been known to seek relationships online Very Happy

This means that unless he has asked you for money at this point, we can't assume this is a scammer with just a name and this basic information. You also can't assume that he is not a scammer based on a lack of search results on his email, as scammers change character names and emails frequently enough that it could be a new one.

If you are uncomfortable posting his emails (your info removed, of course) and/or links to any social network or dating profiles he has open (though profiles of scammers are constantly being closed when they are reported or the stolen credit card they used is discovered, so it is very possible the profile no longer exists), drop me a pm and I can help you to sort it out if you would like.

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 9:08 pm

Have you checked the header of any of his emails? If you're not sure how to do that, click on this.

Yahoo accounts do not strip IP addresses, so you can find out if he really is in the UK.

Did he give you a phone number that starts with 077?

Has he asked for money yet? Does he have a daughter/mother/aunt/etc. who is has met with a tragedy that can only get resolved if you wire some money off? Has he asked you to receive checks or packages?