Now the scams..... another one involved artwork. This particular lady, naturally in Nigeria, claimed she was an artist, and she sent me pixs of what she claims to be her artwork, sculptures, etc, plus an obvious fake certificate from an Art's company in Nigeria (Google couldn't find it, and you know, if Google can't find it then it doesn't exist). She claims that an Artist club in America is buying her artworks for hundreds and thousands of dollars, again with a pix of another obviously fake certificate of her alleged membership. This club does indeed exist, however, the list of members are available on the website, and... surprise surprise.... she is not on that list!! Anyway its a variation of the same spiel, the money is coming to her but is currently in transit, so she is short of money, so she wants me to send her money so she can get out of the country and come see me.... and she would pay me back when she finally gets the money..... and I am a man on Mars!!!! Only the amount asked for varies.... for this one it is a princely sum of $2500.
Anyway.... the lady who wanted the $500 for a particular document.... well after two days of ignoring her, she wrote back asking me why I hadn't wrote back, and she said it was cos of the money isn't it. I said, yes it is, and past records shows potential dates loses interest in me when they realise they won't get any money out of me. Then she wrote back, saying, it wasn't about the money, that she still allegedly "loves" me and she understand my situation - I peddle a lie of my own, you know, you have to play the game to beat them at the game. I tell them that I am in the middle of settling my wife's estate and that it is costing me $1000's in legal fees and it is going to be sometime before I get through with this, but as soon as the estate is settled, I would send the money - all lies of course, but as I say......
So I wrote back to her, asking her for a chat session by webcam, fully expecting her to decline and make excuses, since the majority of the scammers are not who they say they are, many of them being men. But much to my surprise, she accepted!!! And so I go on the cam with her, and indeed the lady on the cam did look like the lady on the pixs she sent, and was wearing a skimpy little night dress.... she could just be the daughter of the scammer, and though she claims to be 28, she looks more like 17 in both the pixs and on the cam.... so we chatted for a bit.... then she asked for the money again, and I politely told her that as per the reasons given before (wife's estate) I didn't have the money. I haven't heard from her since.....
Now here's proof that scammers are also in Australia.... a lady on a dating site had happened to catch me online, so requested a chat with me using the on-site chat facility - most dating sites have them - and on her profile she had Perth as her location.... so I thought... aha at last!!!! A woman from Perth wanting to chat with me!!! SO anyway we would not have been chatting for more than 5 minutes before she said, let's go onto Yahoo!!! That was the first sign that all was not kosher. Scammers always insist on going onto the public email or chat programs, usually Yahoo. Then when we moved onto Yahoo, she was getting more and more amorous and declared her undying love for me. This one was quick!!! Most of them wait two or three msg or email exchanges!!! Anyway, putting my hidden acting skills to the test, I played along..... and then she said, she was actually in Melbourne!!!! I thought... hmmmm.... her profile says Perth, and I think that is possibly where she really is. Dating sites keeps track of your IP address. Everyone with an internet account has an IP address, and companies uses them to determine where you actually are, since each has a code unique to your city or location. This includes dating sites, and if a member claims she is from elsewhere that what her IP states, the site places them on scam watch. That is one reason why they insist on going onto a public site like Yahoo. Anyway, the next night we got back on chatting again, and she asked me if she could come and see me. So I said, yes, and she said she would book a flight from Melbourne..... then the usual spiel.... she said she has a "problem", that she can't afford the air ticket, so asked me to send the money. So I said that these days you can get really cheap flights to/from Melbourne. Anyway she said she is contacting her travel agent now..... and a few minutes later, she told me that a return flight would cost her $980! I knew that was way high..... just a Google on Perth-Melbourne flights reveals plenty of return fares as cheap as between $200 and $300!!!! I sorta said if $980 the best the "agent" can come up with, its time to find another agent!!! She tried to make up some story..... but it was obvious.... another scammer trying to get money out of me!!! The chat session ended there, and I haven't heard from her since.
Now I am on the last scammer..... I don't intend on entertaining any more, I have learnt enough. This one claims she works for the Human Rights Commission in Nigeria. She is starting with small amounts of money.... and had just asked me for $200 to help pay the rent and food. I said I would let her know in a week. Of course she is not going to get a cent, but I am fishing for more information. I will soon be asking her for a webcam session.
Anyway here are the list of common traits of dating scammers.....
1. They aggressively seek you out. Most genuine date prospects tends to wait for the man to contact her, and the few that does initiate contact usually does so with the stated intent of seeking a friendship, or just getting to know you better. Scammers however, they usually state that they are looking for a husband or at least a lifelong partner, and they claim that just by seeing my profile they "feel" that I am the man for her, and that I would make a good husband.
2. They insist on moving the conversation either to private email or chat software, usually Yahoo, but also Gmail and a couple of others. All dating sites have an internal email system, and also usually a live chatting system. Most however charges you for the privilege of using them, so to many, going onto Yahoo, etc, seems a cheap way to go. However, by remaining on the dating site's messaging system, you come under their protection. Most sites usually can determine a scammer, they have systems to check for them, and they get banned pretty quickly. You get what you pay for. But by going onto Yahoo, you are no longer the responsibility of the dating site, you are now on your own!!! That is a major reason why they insist on moving the conversation to these public sites. Genuine prospects are perfectly happy to use the site's email/msg system for as long as it takes to gain sufficient trust in each other.
3. Depending on the dating site's home location, they all indicate in their profile that they are in either an American city, or England, or Australia, but once moving to Yahoo, they almost invariably claim that they are either in Nigeria, Malaysia or some other 3rd world country. (the "Melbourne" case in Perth being an exception rather than the rule) Their real locations are as stated on the dating site, due to the IP thing I explained about. They get flagged as a scammer if their claimed location is different to what their IP address indicates. It's more likely they are in contact with scammers in the 3rd world countries, as the addresses of where to send the money to are indeed in Nigeria, etc. They are "employed" by the scammers and probably get a kickback for every successful scam victim claim.
4. They all claim they are "in love" with you by at most the 3rd email or msg exchange. Many doesn't wait that long. They say that I am the man for them, and they want to spend the rest of their lives with me. True love doesn't work that way, not even with Sally. Though Sally and I corresponded by email for a bit, we didn't fall in love until we actually met. You simply cannot fall in love with a person just from a few pixs and a profile, you may get infatuated, even in lust depending on how sexy the pixs she sends, but you never cultivate the real long lasting love - that comes only by personal physical contact.
5. Possessiveness. They usually insist that you promise to them not to contact any other women. Many even try to have you delete your profile on the dating site. Many themselves claims that they have deleted their profiles after they "found" me. Genuine prospects usually does not mind if you have contacts with other women, and they never insist on deleting one's profiles.
6. They claim that their previous partner cheated on them, or did some other crime against her, and in many cases, are the cause of their current predicament. I am supposed to "rescue" them from such a predicament.
7. They claim they have no family, either their parents died, or are for some reason estranged from the family. Thus they are all alone, and have no one to help them..... except the intended scam victim!!
8' They often claim that they are devout Christians who goes to church each week, that they are moral, they don't believe in casual sex or one night stands, and that faithfulness in marriage is a must. Even if they claim no religious affiliations, they often claim that they work for a charity or humanitarian company such as the Human Rights Commission.
9. They usually claim they have a lot of money "tied up" somewhere that can't be released until they are out of the 3rd world country. The schemes are many and varied, usually a family inheritance, or a successful business, or some legal settlement. So they meanwhile need money to assist them to get out of the country. Often for documentations such as visas, etc, and/or the air tickets, or courier fees for alleged packages containing the family fortunes, or variation thereof.
10. They refuse to chat on webcam, making up excuses as to why they can't chat on webcams - unless you have a pretty daughter willing to participate in the scam, such as the $500 lady.
11. Urgency! They often state that they "urgently" need the money, often compelling you to make an immediate decision. They don't like it when you tell them that you need "time to consider" cos they know full well that it's easy to check up on the bogus companies, fake certificates, etc.
12. They lose interest in you once they realise they are not going to get a single cent from you. Their "undying" love suddenly dies..... oh such is the power of money!!!!
And this is the classic reason why I hate money. Money always brings out the worst in people, it turns normally good people into evil monsters. It twists and distorts everything. Nomatter how much money you have, you never have enough, you always want more of it - even if you're at the top of Forbe's rich list!! I'd enjoy a society without money. The bartering system is not ideal but it is better than money, it is much harder to run a scam on bartering. But as it is said, a bad seed brings a bad tree, and it is so that the money system evolved out of the bartering system. A much more enlightened system is a system based on giving - you see a person in need, you simply give to them. Then if you yourself is lacking in something, someone else will give to you. And so it all evens out, there be no "filthy rich" and no "desperately poor", everyone will have more or less what they need..... such a system may seem like a pipe dream from cuckoo land..... but as John Lennon sings.... "Imagine....."
Here's the scammer's anthem.... Give me money!!!!!!
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