How Do I know I am being Scammed

Internet Romance Scams, Part 1

Twenty-four (24) months ago, when I started to explore the Internet dating arena, I did not know of or had not ever run into an Internet Romance Scammer. I was taken by surprise, when several very beautiful, young ladies approached me, asking to mail me, to chat with me and to get to know me. As I was recently separate and then divorced, I was looking for a companion to enter my life, I was not thinking with my mind, but my emotions. What a great ego burst, Absolutely Outrageously Beautiful Ladies were interested in “Me” and my emotions started to take the place of my common sense and higher brain functions. I was wanted by ladies, that had come out of my dreams and they were asking to be my friend and get to know me.

I had settled on one young lady who was overseas and started to develop a relationship with her. She wrote flowing letters (emails) of love and endearments that was fulfilling the loss that I had just experienced and I was willing to believe her. Over the next few weeks and months we talked about everything that lovers would and started plans for a new life together. Then came the hook (Scam), even though we had not even met yet, she started asking for presents and money. By chance, I ran her name and email address on a search platform and came up with other pictures and names for the same lady. After checking on several Antiscam web
sites, The US State Department web site, and FBI web site, I discovered that I was being scammed. No, I did not lose any money, just a piece of my heart that I had given to her.

It hurt to cut off contact, emails and chats, as I still was thinking of her as she had presented herself, (a very Beautiful Avatar) to me in pictures and emails. Then I saw the pictures of the “Men” behind the picture, Yes, “Men” were running the scam and acting as “Women”, I just got mad and felt violated, as I had told “her” some
of my most intimate secrets, that you would only tell a lover (go to “YouTube” and type in “Romance Scammers” and be prepared for a harsh education). I learned that Scammers were out there just to steal you money without regard for you heart, emotions or feelings. After months of research and belonging to several internet dating sites, I have begun to be able to identify the profiles and pictures of scammers. Yes, I still get hit by scammers everyday (at time 5 to 10 fishing expeditions by scammer each day), but have learned to identify them and not get taken in by the scam. Here are some basic identifiers that you are being scammed.

1. If the picture is too good (An Absolutely Beautiful Lady or Very Well Built Handsome Man), One that you would dream about, be careful. Many (all) of these pictures are stolen from porn or modeling web sites. Beware, that scammers are stealing photos of very beautiful normal looking women and men from social websites and using them also.

2. On the woman’s profile their age seams to always be around 28 to 34 years (It seems that is the age that we men are looking for). Be careful, I have been approached by scammers using Avatars from 19 to 41 years in age. On the man’s profile, they are from 35 to 55, (seaming to be a well-established man and a good provider or they are about to retire and looking to reestablish themselves in a new business).

3. They are overseas but claim to be from America or Western Europe (be careful as I am seeing scammers from Asia) or going overseas on business, project or for family matters.

4. They will always profess their love for you, even before you have established a relationship or meet with them for the first time. Sometimes this will occur with in the second or third email (24 to 48 Hours).

5. They will start planning with you to immigrate to the your country and start a new life with you and be your love and soulmate forever.

6. They immediately want to take your emails and chats off the dating site web site and get off onto Skype, Yahoo IM or MSN IM. This is to start isolating you, get your personal email and information, and take you away from the safety net provided by the social or dating site.

7. Their profile seems to disappear off the website immediately after conversation begins. This is because they are using the trial membership, used a stolen credit card, or are trying to hide their profile so you cannot check it to verify what they are saying.

8. They claim it was God, destiny or fate and you are meant to be together.
9. They immediately ask for your picture and they send you a picture of
themselves. They are starting to program you with a beautiful or handsome Avatar (picture stolen from some other website that the scammer is hiding behind) in hopes you will fall in love with the dream that they are presenting. They need your picture to use in a later scam of someone else.

10. They immediately want your address so as to send you flowers, candy, and teddy bears, often purchased with stolen credit cards. This is part of the psycicogical programing used to ensnare you in their scheme and bind your emotions to them.

11. They immediately start using pet names with you: hon / baby / love / sweetie / my queen or my king. Oh, this feels so good, that someone like’s us and is using words of endearment, again this is part of the psychological programing the scammers are using to break you down and bend your will towards them.

This list is not comprehensive and is a compilation from several dating websites, from
Romancescam.org and from the FBI and US State department websites.

Once they think that they have you emotionally, and then the scam starts for real. It is all about money, yours, they want it and will use any scheme to try and get it from you. Here is where you just run. Let them cry, threaten and beg, they are thefts and criminals that do not care about you except to steal your money and ID if possible.

The best tool we have against this crime is education, not only of ourselves, but of as many internet users as possible.