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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Apr 2020 Posts: 3

I have only very recently figured out that I was being catphished by someone I thought I was dating. I have made local police and FBI reports but this guy already has my address.
He is telling me that he is going to ship me a box of jewels. I'm trying to figure out how that scam would work. Would that be some type of postage due scam?

"Over this period I have grown to love you and I believe I can trust you and I want you to keep this secret between us only. 5 weeks ago we were on patrol and my team and I met this Arabians whom happen to be really rich in Minerals and Gold .we talked and they showed us some really nice unprocessed minerals. They had rubies (Sunrise) ,Raw Tourmaline,Raw Diamonds and Raw Gold . So there I thought about my future career and decided to do business with them . We had a really lengthy talk and we finally agreed on a price.
I went back on to my normal duty and that’s when I started talking with my bank and with the help of my CO I was able to get a large deposit of money which was converted to bitcoin because that’s the type of payment they requested and after payment was made they delivered everything. I kept it at the government house for safety purpose pending when I would leave permanently.I was so surprise and worried when I heard the Government Warehouse was attacked and that is where we have deposited the boxes for safety but luckily for us the security intervened.
Now this is really precious to me because I really just spent a huge amount of money to acquire them and I believe this is our financial freedom. I was thinking about moving it to a private warehouse which they say is much safer but now that I have you and I do completely trust you and know you will always have my best interest at my heart so I want to have this shipped to you instead ."

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 7:31 pm

I'm assuming that as you have already realised that this is a scam and filed reports, you have now blocked the scammer and stopped communicating with him. If not do it immediately, he is a criminal and as you said he has your address.

You can get better advice from our sister site, scamwarners.com as they are set up for helping victims.I can tell you though that the package he claims to be sending you does not exist. The scammer would contact you claiming to be a courier and ask for fees/taxes to enable them to deliver the package.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Apr 2020 Posts: 3

Yes, of course I have filed the reports. I haven't blocked him as I am now just messing with him. I just want to make sure that I understand how all these scams work so that I can mess with him more effectively. Very Happy

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 7:57 pm

You shouldn't keep playing with this particular scammer, he probably has at least some of your real-life details. If you want to mess with scammers, you should do it safely, with nothing linking back to your real-life details. Read all the stickies on the forum, especially Baiting Basics for Beginners.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 10 Apr 2020 Posts: 3

Ok, You're right. He does have some of my real personal details so I will end with this one and go on to a different one. I will definitely read the basics for beginners, thanks!

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 8:27 pm

Welcome to 419eater. I am very sorry to hear that you have been scammed.

In addition to the very good advice given above, it is highly recommended, that if you wish to dip your toe into the baiting waters, you apply for a mentor here at Eater. You will get the best advice directly from an experienced baiter dedicated to learn you the all the 101s, and it is totally free.

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 9:38 am

Definitely drop him like everyone else suggested. To answer your question about what type of scam this is it is a format called "the trunk box scam". The scammer owns untold riches contained in a trunk box. The box is not in his possession but he needs someone that he trusts to ship it to for safe keeping. That lucky trustworthy person just happens to be you! The scammer will then ask you to coordinate the delivery with a fake shipper or diplomatic courier or something of that nature. Those people will likely be the same scammer pretending to be someone else or played by an associate scammer. You will be told to pay for the shipping, demurrage, and/or various customs fees/taxes. If you pay them there will be some other "snag" that causes the package to get held up in some other city on its way to you. There will be more fees/taxes to pay to clear that hurdle. This will repeat forever until you give up or are bled dry. If you try to give up the scammers might get nasty and pretend to be the FBI and tell you that the box actually contained heroine and you are guilty of drug smuggling. Fortunately for you the FBI takes credit cards or is willing to accept cash via Western Union so long as you send it to their field agent in Nigeria. And so on and so on.