Scam or no? (eHarmony)

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 2

Hello, I'm new here, in case my post count doesn't clue you in. I hope this is the right place to post this.

I am 95% sure I am being scammed, but I'm not 100% sure, so I figured I'd post here to get your opinions.

I've been communicating with this girl (?) on eHarmony for a few weeks. She is very, very pretty, but there are several red flags based on her profile and e-mails. She doesn't appear to be speak/type English as her first language, although the implication from her e-mails is that she grew up in the United States. Additionally, she doesn't appear to be comprehending my e-mails all that well - she doesn't really answer my questions. Which may be just an English language issue.

Additionally, she has the bad personal history - standard for scammers, I guess, but what really surprised me was how quickly "she" brought it up, in considerable detail. My first impulse was to run for my fucking life not because of the scamming but because of the stuff in her past. Why would a scammer want to scare off potential marks...or is that all part of the scheme?

I guess the biggest red flag was that she mentioned she was an art dealer, and she was planning a trip to Nigeria soon, to try and purchase some artwork which would be very marketable in the States. It's possible that she's an art dealer, but c'mon.

She also sent me a large batch of pictures. I did my due diligence and searched for all of them at TinEye - I was able to find one, and it appears to have been taken by a photographer living in California, which does jive with her story. It doesn't appear to be off a professional modeling site, I think it's from someone who was taking pictures of her friends. So like I said, I'm not 100% sure.

So, how should I continue? Like I said 95% sure, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to be completely sure. She sure as hell isn't getting any personal information until I can confirm that she exists, in any case.

Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:41 am

Welcome JoeE,

What you are describing is textbook scammer scenario, and you are very right to be suspicious. Have you checked IP's from when "she" was supposed to be in the US?

If your ID or login are in any way connected to your real name or information, then you cannot bait her safely so it is best to just drop her.

If you head over to our sister site, www.scamwarners.com , and post some of her early emails, we can (a) confirm beyond a doubt that you are dealing with a scammer, and (b) help to prevent others from being scammed by the same scammer.

Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:52 am

Good Job JoeE , nice to see that some people pay attention. Don't worry, most of us have been there too, it will go away. As ^^ scamwarners Thumbs up

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 2

OK, I've confirmed that this is a scammer and I would like to try baiting him. I guess I can change my password and username here. Do I have any options?

Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:09 am

PM a Moderator, the green ones and discus your options. Then make a new not RL related email and character and go back in Eharmony make a new user and bait her.

Have fun

Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:18 am

No need to change your ID here.

If "she" is still on eHarmony (scammer accounts often disappear quickly since they are often free trials or purchased with stolen credit cards) and you have the ability to create a new fake account (free trial or something) you can contact "her" through the new account.

Or, take the simpler approach:

-create a character name,
-open an email address for that character,
-email the scammer; something along the lines of "I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply--I've been on vacation/sick/was in a relationship that didn't work out blah blah blah. Are you still interested in getting to know each other?

Scammers generally approach lots of potential victims--most of the time they have no idea whether they actually approached you, but if they smell money, they will bite.