saveholly.com
Arrested and extradited to Texas for someone else's crime.
A young black man hunched over his computer, typing feverishly to a woman thousands of
miles away. Around them the keys are tapping away from many other users in the cyber café
in Lagos, Nigeria. A message flashes from one of his many American Mugu’s (fools),
Kehinde smiles and slithers in to attack the greedy Americans where it hurts the most, their
pockets!
Susan is sharing her long day with her sick mother, doctor visits, medication changes etc. He
reminds her how much he loves her and its just days before he will be in her arms and he
will always be “her Charlie”. Charlie is only 25 but Susan is 23 and has quit her job to care
for her mother who is dying, soon she will be inheriting hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Susan promised to send him a new iPod this week because his was “stolen”. He plans to
sell it on the black market and the money he will make can feed his family for almost a week.
His computer pings and he sees his other fiancé has signed online, Betsy, she lives in
Maryland and works for the government. She’s grossly overweight with many medical issues
to boot, but he doesn’t care about her size she’s everything he’s ever wanted, God brought
them together. To her, his name is Kelvin and he’s 43 while Betsy is 45, he is in Nigeria
working in a orphanage for his church based Keller Virginia. She just received the flowers
and teddy bear he sent her. A small sacrifice of funds for a bigger payoff later.
On it goes, Christine is 52, to her his name is David, 45, a chemical engineer for Shell Oil,
setting up rigs in Nigeria. Christine is getting ready to ship him the clothing he ordered from
The Gap and Old Navy on a stolen credit card he got from his manager. His mobile phone
rings its Desmond, Kye will be in to cover for him soon, Kehinde is tired, he’s been sitting at
this station for 8 hours today. He stretches and returns to his task. His script never changes,
“how are you baby, I miss you baby, I love you baby, Im coming home to you soon baby”. Its
almost laughable the way these women have fallen for him, already calling him their
husband.
Katrina is his latest addition to the collection. She is going to cash a check for him and wire
him cash back, this is a new thing for him, up until now he has only used the credit cards and
had the mugus send the merchandise to him. He wants to get out of this line of work and this
maybe the only way, the $5000 dollars he makes from this transaction will buy him a car, pay
rent on an apartment for a year and cover his school fees. Due to the unemployment rate
and the lack of preparation for the workplace the education system has pushed him into
stealing from others.
But to Diana, he is 38, Martins, an exporter of clothing and “stuffs”, she is the toughest to
crack yet, she refused to fall for him but she is interesting to talk to. She questioned him a lot
on his use of the English language and his spelling. He always used the excuse that he
grew up in the UK and of course his grammar was different. She had lost her job, and was
having problems paying rent, he offered her a loan and sent her counterfeit money orders,
she was supposed to wire half cash back but she waited for them to clear the bank.
Unfortunately for him they didn’t, with complete disregard for her situation, he demanded the
money anyway, he only saw fear. His ankle still hasn’t healed where Desmond’s goons
broke it in 3 places, he may never walk right again. He will find a way to get back at her. His
buddies have been stalking her, watching her moves online and hope to get more
information about her. Diana is too smart and it might be just as easy to move on but
Desmond wants to be paid back for allowing Kehinde the café time. He hopes to gain that
money back somehow and even if it takes to threats.
Thousands of miles away, Diana gets an email from Martins, “more rotten love poems why
does he bother after what he put me through?” she thinks. Just as she starts to delete it she
sees the other names on the “cc” line. She starts to dig deeper, web search: romance
scams, and there he was, Daniel on the Hawaii Models.com website. These poor women I
have to do something to stop them too. Diana starts the email to each one …. “please don’t
think I’m nuts ……”
Each of these women has been approached by a young man posing as several different
ones for the soul purpose of gaining money and gifts. He is what is known as a Romance
Scammer. For many of us technically in tune people we use the internet for dating and social
circles, it has always been a safe haven; a way to screen people before venturing out on a
date.
This crime exploded after the Clinton Administration announced aid to Nigeria for setting up
community resource centers to provide Internet access, training and support in response to
the negative consequences on Nigeria, including decreased Foreign Direct Investments in
the country and tainting of Nigeria's national image. The menace of these crimes and the
recognition of the magnitude and gravity of the situation led to the establishment of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The legal instrument backing the
Commission is the attached EFCC (Establishment) Act 2002 and the Commission has high-
level support from the Presidency, the Legislature and key security and law enforcement
agencies in Nigeria.
After the enforcement of the laws and the raids on numerous cafes, the criminals needed a
new method of income. They returned to the cafes to find the perceived to be wealthy
foreigners. With the influx of the online dating sites they found their victims, lonely, romantic,
recently single and ripe for the picking. Using techniques of social profiling, hours are spent
scouring the sites targeting singles or unhappily married men and women between the ages
of 35 and 65.
They provide an ear to listen to all the woes of the victim’s life details, children’s names, life
stories and deep dark secrets. They use stolen photographs from various modeling
websites and make-up sad stories of lost loves and family members. Days pass with love
letters and e-cards, sometimes even flowers, chocolates and teddy-bears. Using a
deliberate psychological breakdown of their victim’s physical state through sleep deprivation
(intentional phone calls in the middle of the night), guilt, harassment, and most importantly
create an emotional bond. This bond has the victims left feeling completely at ease with their
new companion. The promises of love and a future together have blinded the victim and most
sense of reasoning has been eliminated.
The “Perfect Mate” has to suddenly travel for business to West Africa, or is already on
assignment. He will take ill or have an accident and be placed in the hospital without a
means to pay for his hospital bill. It has been documented that robbery, loss of all monies
and identification or most recently the mate is being held hostage by kidnappers or the
police. Preying on the undying love they share with their prey, they zoom in for the kill begging
for money to be sent via Western Union.
In some cases the scammer has United States Postal Money Orders that they cannot cash in
their country and will send them to the victim in exchange for wiring the money back for plane
fare, and incidentals as well as promising to be on the next flight home. When the Money
Orders are returned counterfeit; the victim is left accountable; scammer disappears or
seems to not know anything about the origin. Money Orders are not the only type of financial
instruments; stolen bank checks have also been used and altered. (One scammer admitted
that he used the techniques he learned from the movie Catch Me if You Can).
Heartbroken and near financial ruin the victim is left behind emotionally destroyed,
embarrassed and lost without any recourse to find the person who shattered their lives. They
return to the Internet to find assistance and discover the unbearable truth: they have been
conned they may also find themselves solely responsible for any and all monies lost or face
legal consequences.
Currently, there is little assistance from the Nigerian and Ghanian governments, in the past
the police and local officials were bribed into looking the other way. A recent law was passed
that no longer allows “night browsing” at cyber-cafes as well memberships are required.
This deterrent is only a momentary hiccup for the criminals as they will readjust their times
and tactics. Some cafes have already installed gas powered generators to power the
computers during the overnight hours.
As is evident in the scams that have been recently been uncovered, the criminals are going
for bigger monetary gains in a shorter time frame, many openly admit that they are running a
bank scam with fake checks and money orders. Using a free online classified ad service
such as Craig’s List, scammers will offer a purchase of goods, services, or house rentals:
these fraudsters send the bank drafts to the victim for deposit along with an overpayment that
will be asked to be wired to an associate in a West African country. The monies will be
returned to the victim for insufficient funds or as counterfeit to which they will be held liable.
How do you know you are dealing with a scammer?
These are some telltale signs that the person could be a scammer. Also be aware that many
of them use stolen model pictures from various websites online. More recently they have
taken to stealing pictures from other victims to make them seem more “average”.
There are ways to protect yourself. Only use safe dating sites that allow you to set up
parameters for contact: ie distance, age. Be realistic, keep your travel time to a logical
distance such as an hour or 50 miles, this makes it easier for last minute coffee or validating
if they are who they say they are. Question your potential suitor very well if they become
evasive and their story doesn’t seem to fit cut your losses and walk away. Report any
suspicious profiles to the webmaster and hold them accountable. If you choose to chat with
someone on a messenger never use a webcam unless you have met them face to face first.
Do not give out your home phone number or your cell number unless you intend to meet
them, there are a few services available online that give out a phone number and allow
incoming calls to your PC, a small investment of a headset and microphone maybe required.
What if you have been scammed?
Remember this wasn’t your fault and these men have no conscience, they pose as both men
and women.
For so many people, sharing their story with others help with the healing process. There are
several online communities and message boards to join and find others that are in your
same position.
Now, what about the women at the beginning of the story? Once they got Diana’s letter they
started sharing and working together to help others. They have created the Victim Resource
Center (www.victimresourcecenter.com) , an advocate group that handles not only victims but
educates the banking industry and law enforcement. The majority of the information found in
this article has been discovered by these pioneers. A few of them restored their financial
status, some of them have met the men of their dreams and together they found a family.
What makes me such an expert on this subject? I’m Diana and this is my story, my life, my
dream and a vision to eliminate the scammers by the only thing we have left… education.
miles away. Around them the keys are tapping away from many other users in the cyber café
in Lagos, Nigeria. A message flashes from one of his many American Mugu’s (fools),
Kehinde smiles and slithers in to attack the greedy Americans where it hurts the most, their
pockets!
Susan is sharing her long day with her sick mother, doctor visits, medication changes etc. He
reminds her how much he loves her and its just days before he will be in her arms and he
will always be “her Charlie”. Charlie is only 25 but Susan is 23 and has quit her job to care
for her mother who is dying, soon she will be inheriting hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Susan promised to send him a new iPod this week because his was “stolen”. He plans to
sell it on the black market and the money he will make can feed his family for almost a week.
His computer pings and he sees his other fiancé has signed online, Betsy, she lives in
Maryland and works for the government. She’s grossly overweight with many medical issues
to boot, but he doesn’t care about her size she’s everything he’s ever wanted, God brought
them together. To her, his name is Kelvin and he’s 43 while Betsy is 45, he is in Nigeria
working in a orphanage for his church based Keller Virginia. She just received the flowers
and teddy bear he sent her. A small sacrifice of funds for a bigger payoff later.
On it goes, Christine is 52, to her his name is David, 45, a chemical engineer for Shell Oil,
setting up rigs in Nigeria. Christine is getting ready to ship him the clothing he ordered from
The Gap and Old Navy on a stolen credit card he got from his manager. His mobile phone
rings its Desmond, Kye will be in to cover for him soon, Kehinde is tired, he’s been sitting at
this station for 8 hours today. He stretches and returns to his task. His script never changes,
“how are you baby, I miss you baby, I love you baby, Im coming home to you soon baby”. Its
almost laughable the way these women have fallen for him, already calling him their
husband.
Katrina is his latest addition to the collection. She is going to cash a check for him and wire
him cash back, this is a new thing for him, up until now he has only used the credit cards and
had the mugus send the merchandise to him. He wants to get out of this line of work and this
maybe the only way, the $5000 dollars he makes from this transaction will buy him a car, pay
rent on an apartment for a year and cover his school fees. Due to the unemployment rate
and the lack of preparation for the workplace the education system has pushed him into
stealing from others.
But to Diana, he is 38, Martins, an exporter of clothing and “stuffs”, she is the toughest to
crack yet, she refused to fall for him but she is interesting to talk to. She questioned him a lot
on his use of the English language and his spelling. He always used the excuse that he
grew up in the UK and of course his grammar was different. She had lost her job, and was
having problems paying rent, he offered her a loan and sent her counterfeit money orders,
she was supposed to wire half cash back but she waited for them to clear the bank.
Unfortunately for him they didn’t, with complete disregard for her situation, he demanded the
money anyway, he only saw fear. His ankle still hasn’t healed where Desmond’s goons
broke it in 3 places, he may never walk right again. He will find a way to get back at her. His
buddies have been stalking her, watching her moves online and hope to get more
information about her. Diana is too smart and it might be just as easy to move on but
Desmond wants to be paid back for allowing Kehinde the café time. He hopes to gain that
money back somehow and even if it takes to threats.
Thousands of miles away, Diana gets an email from Martins, “more rotten love poems why
does he bother after what he put me through?” she thinks. Just as she starts to delete it she
sees the other names on the “cc” line. She starts to dig deeper, web search: romance
scams, and there he was, Daniel on the Hawaii Models.com website. These poor women I
have to do something to stop them too. Diana starts the email to each one …. “please don’t
think I’m nuts ……”
Each of these women has been approached by a young man posing as several different
ones for the soul purpose of gaining money and gifts. He is what is known as a Romance
Scammer. For many of us technically in tune people we use the internet for dating and social
circles, it has always been a safe haven; a way to screen people before venturing out on a
date.
This crime exploded after the Clinton Administration announced aid to Nigeria for setting up
community resource centers to provide Internet access, training and support in response to
the negative consequences on Nigeria, including decreased Foreign Direct Investments in
the country and tainting of Nigeria's national image. The menace of these crimes and the
recognition of the magnitude and gravity of the situation led to the establishment of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The legal instrument backing the
Commission is the attached EFCC (Establishment) Act 2002 and the Commission has high-
level support from the Presidency, the Legislature and key security and law enforcement
agencies in Nigeria.
After the enforcement of the laws and the raids on numerous cafes, the criminals needed a
new method of income. They returned to the cafes to find the perceived to be wealthy
foreigners. With the influx of the online dating sites they found their victims, lonely, romantic,
recently single and ripe for the picking. Using techniques of social profiling, hours are spent
scouring the sites targeting singles or unhappily married men and women between the ages
of 35 and 65.
They provide an ear to listen to all the woes of the victim’s life details, children’s names, life
stories and deep dark secrets. They use stolen photographs from various modeling
websites and make-up sad stories of lost loves and family members. Days pass with love
letters and e-cards, sometimes even flowers, chocolates and teddy-bears. Using a
deliberate psychological breakdown of their victim’s physical state through sleep deprivation
(intentional phone calls in the middle of the night), guilt, harassment, and most importantly
create an emotional bond. This bond has the victims left feeling completely at ease with their
new companion. The promises of love and a future together have blinded the victim and most
sense of reasoning has been eliminated.
The “Perfect Mate” has to suddenly travel for business to West Africa, or is already on
assignment. He will take ill or have an accident and be placed in the hospital without a
means to pay for his hospital bill. It has been documented that robbery, loss of all monies
and identification or most recently the mate is being held hostage by kidnappers or the
police. Preying on the undying love they share with their prey, they zoom in for the kill begging
for money to be sent via Western Union.
In some cases the scammer has United States Postal Money Orders that they cannot cash in
their country and will send them to the victim in exchange for wiring the money back for plane
fare, and incidentals as well as promising to be on the next flight home. When the Money
Orders are returned counterfeit; the victim is left accountable; scammer disappears or
seems to not know anything about the origin. Money Orders are not the only type of financial
instruments; stolen bank checks have also been used and altered. (One scammer admitted
that he used the techniques he learned from the movie Catch Me if You Can).
Heartbroken and near financial ruin the victim is left behind emotionally destroyed,
embarrassed and lost without any recourse to find the person who shattered their lives. They
return to the Internet to find assistance and discover the unbearable truth: they have been
conned they may also find themselves solely responsible for any and all monies lost or face
legal consequences.
Currently, there is little assistance from the Nigerian and Ghanian governments, in the past
the police and local officials were bribed into looking the other way. A recent law was passed
that no longer allows “night browsing” at cyber-cafes as well memberships are required.
This deterrent is only a momentary hiccup for the criminals as they will readjust their times
and tactics. Some cafes have already installed gas powered generators to power the
computers during the overnight hours.
As is evident in the scams that have been recently been uncovered, the criminals are going
for bigger monetary gains in a shorter time frame, many openly admit that they are running a
bank scam with fake checks and money orders. Using a free online classified ad service
such as Craig’s List, scammers will offer a purchase of goods, services, or house rentals:
these fraudsters send the bank drafts to the victim for deposit along with an overpayment that
will be asked to be wired to an associate in a West African country. The monies will be
returned to the victim for insufficient funds or as counterfeit to which they will be held liable.
How do you know you are dealing with a scammer?
These are some telltale signs that the person could be a scammer. Also be aware that many
of them use stolen model pictures from various websites online. More recently they have
taken to stealing pictures from other victims to make them seem more “average”.
- They immediatel y want to go to a messenger service. If the IM chat starts with "May I
know your name plz..." instead of "Hi, my name's Jack. What's your name?” - Have a strong aversion to using pronouns. i.e. am happy to meet you, am tired, am
fine, am in Tunisia, am crying now. - Their career is possibly a lawyer, international businessman, or engineer whose
grammar is not of the traditional format of American schooling. However, the love
poems and letters are perfect. One man claimed to have a Masters from Oxford
University but he spelled his degree “engineering”. - They have a problem remembering details about you. (This could be an indication of
a “trade off” to another scammer covering the keyboard). - They are suddenly sent to an African country for business. Particularly Nigeria or
Ghana. Or are there on business already. - Conveniently avoids any questions that you ask about them. They feel that you don’t
trust them if you ask them where they went to high school or for any personal
information. - If there's ABSOLUTELY no one in they can turn to borrow money or help get money,
refuse to visit the embassy for assistance or their own employer. - They carry all of their money and ID on them and were robbed but refuse to file a
police report because “you don’t understand the kind of people that are here!”. - The hotels required them to hand over their passport and other traveling documents.
NOTE: Nigeria and Ghana are a cash based economy, you must pay upfront for hotel,
hospital, meals etc. - They fell in love with you within only a few minutes of chatting online.
- They have a constant string of bad luck. (Their spouse, child and dog died on the
same day; mugged and beaten by 30 men on the way to the bank with thousands of
dollars and their car was hit by a plane, or they caught their last girlfriend, lover,
spouse etc in bed with another man/woman).
There are ways to protect yourself. Only use safe dating sites that allow you to set up
parameters for contact: ie distance, age. Be realistic, keep your travel time to a logical
distance such as an hour or 50 miles, this makes it easier for last minute coffee or validating
if they are who they say they are. Question your potential suitor very well if they become
evasive and their story doesn’t seem to fit cut your losses and walk away. Report any
suspicious profiles to the webmaster and hold them accountable. If you choose to chat with
someone on a messenger never use a webcam unless you have met them face to face first.
Do not give out your home phone number or your cell number unless you intend to meet
them, there are a few services available online that give out a phone number and allow
incoming calls to your PC, a small investment of a headset and microphone maybe required.
What if you have been scammed?
Remember this wasn’t your fault and these men have no conscience, they pose as both men
and women.
- Contact your bank immediately and start working out a financial plan to repay any
monies that may be due. Meanwhile, start printing and saving all conversations and
emails with your scammer; make several copies and if possible burn a disc of the
data, in case there are repercussions. - File a police report and also to the www.ic3.gov website.
- Contact the credit reporting agencies as well to protect yourself from identity theft.
www.ftc.org - Confront your scammer, do not threaten them just let them know that you know who
they are and what they are doing, then stop all contact.
For so many people, sharing their story with others help with the healing process. There are
several online communities and message boards to join and find others that are in your
same position.
Now, what about the women at the beginning of the story? Once they got Diana’s letter they
started sharing and working together to help others. They have created the Victim Resource
Center (www.victimresourcecenter.com) , an advocate group that handles not only victims but
educates the banking industry and law enforcement. The majority of the information found in
this article has been discovered by these pioneers. A few of them restored their financial
status, some of them have met the men of their dreams and together they found a family.
What makes me such an expert on this subject? I’m Diana and this is my story, my life, my
dream and a vision to eliminate the scammers by the only thing we have left… education.
How can someone fall for a Dating Scam….
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© The author, Diana.