Are You Real? — Inside an Online Dating Scam

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Master of Master Baiters Joined: 15 Jan 2010 Posts: 953

A con man steals one woman's heart — and $300,000. Here's how it happened.

http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2015/online-dating-scam.html

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 4:09 am

Quote:

Malaysia and the U.K., which have large communities of West African expatriates.

Bit subjective really, I know some West Africans who I went to school with and we discussed my hobby and they laughed at Pastor Omar's adventures. They were as equally disgusted at these pricks as I am. Doesn't matter where you are being West African doesn't make you a lad so I'm calling bullshit on that statement.

Manchester has a large African community but I am extremely doubtful that the majority of them are scammers, maybe 0.001% with the rest being in gainful, lawful employment or enjoying time with their families. This article makes out that they can't be trusted- an absolute disgrace.

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 12:43 pm

^^^ I agree. We live near a very culturally diverse area in the States and in my own career I worked with a number of West Africans. Just because you're West African doesn't make you a scammer. Just because there's a community of expats doesn't mean it's a community of scammers.

Even doing site killing, I've come across websites of very legit West Africans. It's sad that scammers leave their mark on the reputations of completely innocent people and it tarnishes even the good names of innocent people.

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 1:32 pm

Guys, with all due respect I think you may be reading too much into it. Nowhere did it state that West Africans are scammers. It stated three things. 1: Many scams are coming from West Africa, 2: other than West Africa, many scams are coming from countries with a notable West African community and 3: scams are also coming from countries with no notable West African population. In summary, scams are coming from everywhere and it's a global phenomenon. All these three statements are true and the conclusion is valid. It's pretty much what the vast majority of academic sources on 419 say when answering where the scams come from. There is no hidden message or agenda in there.

I thought it was all in all a very decent piece of writing. I've definitely seen a lot worse too (including peer reviewed journal stuff) when working on OA.

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 1:35 pm

Quote:

Impostor scams can flourish wherever the Internet exists (Eastern Europe and Russia are also hot spots), but most dating fraud originates in Nigeria and Ghana, or in countries such as Malaysia and the U.K., which have large communities of West African expatriates.

Reading the whole sentence, I don't believe it implies what you infer.

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 4:55 pm

^^^ Hard as it may be to believe, I actually agree with bware on this one...

The writer of the article pretty clearly said that, while dating scams can come from anywhere, the majority of them originate in West Africa or other countries with a sizable West African population. Although I have no empirical data to prove whether or not that statement is true, the writer in no way said or implied that *all* West Africans are scammers.

Simply stating that most scams come from a certain region is not equivalent to saying that most people from that region are scammers. Using this logic, you are also saying that since most professional baseball players wear baseball caps, most people wearing baseball caps are professional baseball players. Or, since most Ferraris are red, this means most red cars are Ferraris.

Other than referring to scam baiting as internet vigilantism, it was actually a pretty good article.

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:49 pm

To me it creates an unfair bias on the Western African community, there's enough lads scamming here in the UK without the presumption that they are West African.

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:20 pm

My learned colleague, Duckling wrote:

Nowhere did it state that West Africans are scammers.

My other learned colleague, TLH wrote:

(T)he writer in no way said or implied that *all* West Africans are scammers.

This statement is from experience: Every romance lad I have dealt with has been from West Africa or Eastern Europe.

*** BANNED *** Joined: 26 Jul 2012 Posts: 1116

bware419ers wrote:

Reading the whole sentence, I don't believe it implies what you infer.

As a professional expat I have to agree with you there. Also I am a bad expat. I'm here to steal your women and liquor in a tribute to my raw manly form. Please send potatoes. All expats are like this to some degree, I just figure why deny the urge though. Go all the way with it.

Baiting Guru Joined: 28 Feb 2013 Posts: 3152

I thought it was a very good article, showing the techniques used to snare victims, and the effects on the featured victim.

Thanks for posting Michibait.

On a lighter note, just for Joker, need an address please: http://potatosparcel.com/

*** BANNED *** Joined: 26 Jul 2012 Posts: 1116

^ Thanks CH. First let me check if it will be halal. Since I'm a bad expat I need it to be haram. Haram tastes better and I have my kufr stereotype to live up to. Forbidden fruit and all that. Laughing

merriam-webster wrote:

Definition of EXPATRIATE

transitive verb
1: banish, exile
2: to withdraw (oneself) from residence in or allegiance to one's native country

intransitive verb: to leave one's native country to live elsewhere;
also: to renounce allegiance to one's native country

Also I will say this, baiter safety first!

There are many reasons people rabbit off and expat or exile themselves. I have done so for professional reasons as work is better in other countries (higher paying, more abundant, etc). However, as noted by the definition, sometimes it is not pretty because a country inherits a resident who has had to renounce their citizenship for various reasons (treason or criminal activity being the worst of them). As this article notes countries like Malaysia have inherited quite a few West Africans who have turned the country upside down. In fact I know quite a few Malaysians who see this immigration as a problem because the Nigerians come in for uni and set up shop to do something else instead (drugs, fraud, etc)..... taking full advantage of how corrupt the place can be if there is any corruption to be had.

That's not to say every Nigerian does this in Malaysia, just enough of them to where it is a trend big enough to write a white paper or article on.

The point of the long paragraphs above: If it's a big enough trend in a country for a white paper or an article to mention it, you may not want to talk about said issue freely with those who have immigrated to your country from the "trouble country." At best you offend them or come off as a narrow sighted bigot. I know I do not want to talk about issues back home, be associated with any of it in my guest country, or hear someone's own stereotype on an issue that in no way effects them/has nothing to do with their nation, culture, and ethnicity. At worst you are actually talking to someone who may be involved in or have a strong stance on said foreign issues. It's a nice way to get on or in the ground when you least expect it.

As an expat, I realize I am to be a respectful guest in the countries I work in. Even if I do become a resident or citizen, I am still a guest. Not every expat is going to be like that. This article kind of proves the point.

Bait safely.

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 12:49 am

I'm still not sure how a kuf like Joker got into my country, but there it is. Nothing to do about it... until the revolution comes mwahahahaaaaaa

On the AARP article, I actually thought it was quite good. Not every article can cover every modality in all nations. This one focused on a popular scamming modality in West Africa using a local ex-scammer as a source as well as a victim whose scammer was using what we all know is a pretty common story used among Nigerian scammers with partners in Malaysia.

I'd be the among the first to cry foul if the article was over-generalized or racist but I didn't see that at all.

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:35 am

Father Moleman wrote:

To me it creates an unfair bias on the Western African community, there's enough lads scamming here in the UK without the presumption that they are West African.

The academic consensus on the subject states, based on numerous research reports, that West Africans are linked to 419, both in West Africa (obviously) and abroad. This is not the same as saying all West Africans are scammers. That would be a ridiculous statement: some of the writers of those reports are Nigerians themselves. Hence no one has made it here.

But if you want to question the research, then you need to be able to produce something more than just the subjective "I know honest West Africans so West Africans are not scammers" experience. I know honest West Africans as well. Then I know plenty of lads too as personally as you get to know them in baiting. The former do not make the latter honest and the latter do not make the former lads. They are completely unrelated.

Padme said better than I could so let me just quote:

Quote:

I'd be the among the first to cry foul if the article was over-generalized or racist

In the past 5 months I've written some 170 pages on 419. I've seen plenty of generalized and blatantly racist statements in all the numerous writings I have had to study for that. Here there simply is none.

*** BANNED *** Joined: 26 Jul 2012 Posts: 1116

^ as someone who enjoys academia and not something the goes subjective, bordering bigotry, please go on right into dirty detail. I mean this. I love thorough work. It's one thing to scream bigotry. It is one thing to push a stereotype.

It is entirely different when seeing beyond what most see, to capture the entire subject matter down both sides of the line with nothing but the brutal - honest perspective that is something like a child would have.

I hope your white paper is in English to save me translation. Very Happy

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 12:06 pm

I actually wasn't commenting on the article itself, I was commenting on FM's comment about the article. Just saying.

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