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Romance Scam

Please report romance scams and dating scams here. We accept reports on Russian scammers and Nigerian scammers.

Disclaimer regarding pictures posted on the board: please understand that you are NOT looking at the pictures of people who are actually scamming you. The people portrayed on these photos are innocent men and women, NOT involved in scamming in any way and have nothing to do with scammers. The scammers are using their images without their knowledge or permission to deceive their victims and steal their money.




Frequently asked questions <--- START HERE

African scammers posing as white women.
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FrumpyBB
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Frequently asked questions <--- START HERE

Postby FrumpyBB » Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:06 am

Frequently asked questions in alphabetical order.

Absolute no-no:
Never tell scammers that they're listed as scammers here.

Abbreviations commonly used here:
FAQ = Frequently asked questions
CC = Credit card
OP = Original poster
OT = Off topic
PM = Private message
RPO = Real picture owner
RS = Romancescam.com
WU = Western Union

Alerting the real person in the photos:
We ask that you don't. If you find someone else on the internet using the same photos, they are most likely a scammer also. Without experience it is difficult to determine. Alerting the real pictures owners cannot stop the scammers, anyway. You will most likely upset the real picture owner and they might think it is YOU abusing their pictures by posting them on this board, not scammers.

Am I the only one?
Scammers always scam a number of people from one profile and many others from different fake profiles, so you are never the only one. Often they chat and email to others even while they are conversing with you.

Arrest:
Scammers usually operate from internet cafes, using fake identities and anonymous cell phone numbers. Like all online criminals, they can hide extremely well. Plus, they often live in corrupt societies. Arrests are extremely rare. You can and should of course, file a police report but normally your local police has no jurisdiction outside your community and none overseas.

Blackmail:
Do not pay them. They will never stop threatening and asking for more money. Close down all your profiles and email address(es). Tell friends and family not to open any attachments about you as they will contain a virus. Change your phone number. They will give up and go away.

Changing my username:
Please contact Marisa or FrumpyBB for a username change.

Closing scammers profiles:
If it is a free dating or social site, don't bother. He'll just make a fresh profile which won't be found by Google until someone else reports it. Do you want to make your own post worthless by deleting its content this way? Is it a paid matchmaking account? These are often done with stolen accounts or credit cards. Please report these to the appropriate site administrator.

Confronting the scammer:
If you tell him you know he's a scammer, he'll deny it profusely to you and practice his lying skills over and over. He may not succeed in convincing you, but he's learning all the while what works and what doesn't. He'll be better for his next victim. Aside from that, he'll want to glean from you HOW you learned he was a scammer, all while he's denying it. We don't want him to know this.

Don´t:
tell scammers that they're here.

Donation:
If this site saved you from losing money to a scammer, please consider becoming a sponsor for just $5 a month. You can become a sponsor by clicking on the link at the bottom of any page.

Dropping your scammer:
If you are a scam victim still in correspondence with a scammer and if they know any personal information about you like your real name, phone number, address, etc., the first thing you should do is DROP THEM. Stop all communication and block them from all your messengers. Don't reply to their e-mails and don't answer their phone calls. Many people are tempted to keep corresponding in order to 'get more info on the scammers'. Not only it is not safe, but in most cases it is useless! If you think that if you collect enough 'evidence' they are going to be caught, and you will recover your money, this is not going to happen - especially with Nigerian scammers. No matter how much information you collect on them, none of this information will result in their arrest. Unfortunately, your money is gone. Stop all communication, close this page of your life ASAP and move on! Leave the job of collecting information to scam hunters.

Emails from police, FBI, EFCC:
If someone emails you with promises to get your lost money back, this is what's called a recovery scam. It's the scammer trying one last go at taking even more money from you. Don't fall for it. Besides, no authority will contact you first, out of the blue. They will only contact you as a followup on your own report and they will have an official email address (not yahoo, hotmail or gmail).

Email headers:
http://www.romancescam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10910

Emotional help:
See our Support and Advice section on RS. Reading what others have gone through, are experiencing now and what they might experience in the future, and helping others, is commonly helpful to those who have been harmed by scammers. Learning more about your scammer, saving others from your same scammer, understanding why and how scammers work and learning in other informational topics, is also very helpful. Moderators and other victims are here to help you and answer your questions.

Finding my posts:
If your post was moved/merged and you don't know where it is now, click on "View your posts" link in the Navigation menu and you will find it.

Finding my scammer on RS:
Please try to locate the pictures that your scammer used in Google Image Search:
http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi
Click on a little camera icon and upload a picture of your scammer.
For male pictures, also try Scamdigger: http://www.scamdigger.com/picsearch.php
If you located the pictures and the corresponding forum topic, please add your info to this topic.
If you cannot locate the picture of your scammer on this site, then you can start a NEW TOPIC in the forum appropriate for your scammer (Black or White Males, Black or White Females, Military Scammers).

First and most important:
to stop all contact with your scammer immediately.

First step:
to stop all contact with your scammer immediately.

Format:
Scammers use pre-written scripts. Those emails and messages you get from them on the sites are actually pre-written, copy and paste pieces, which they send to many victims. They are often stolen from the Internet and are called "formats". The scammers formats are searchable. Take a line or phrase from the text the scammer sent you and search it with Google. You will very likely find many other scam reports on that same text. Few scammers write their own formats.

Getting more info from my scammer myself:
If you are a scam victim still in correspondence with a scammer and if they know any personal information about you like your real name, phone number, address, etc., the first thing you should do is DROP THEM. Stop all communication and block them from all your messengers. Don't reply to their e-mails and don't answer their phone calls. Many people are tempted to keep corresponding in order to 'get more info on the scammers'. Not only it is not safe, but in most cases it is useless! If you think that if you collect enough 'evidence' they are going to be caught, and you will recover your money, this is not going to happen - especially with Nigerian scammers. No matter how much information you collect on them, none of this information will result in their arrest. Unfortunately, your money is gone. Stop all communication, close this page of your life ASAP and move on! Leave the job of collecting information to scam hunters.

Getting my money back:
If someone emails you with promises to get your lost money back, this is what's called a recovery scam. It's the scammer trying one last go at taking even more money from you. Don't fall for it.

Grouping scammers on RS:
We move/merge posts usually because they are posted in the wrong section. We group scammers by the images they use, so if you posted a scammer in a thread because they had the same name or sent the same letters, but the pictures are of a different person, then we'll move it accordingly.

How can I help:
If this site saved you from losing money to a scammer, please consider becoming a sponsor for just $5 a month. You can become a sponsor by clicking on the link at the bottom of any page.

Ignore rule:
If you are a scam victim still in correspondence with a scammer and if they know any personal information about you like your real name, phone number, address, etc., the first thing you should do is DROP THEM. Stop all communication and block them from all your messengers. Don't reply to their e-mails and don't answer their phone calls. Many people are tempted to keep corresponding in order to 'get more info on the scammers'. Not only it is not safe, but in most cases it is useless! If you think that if you collect enough 'evidence' they are going to be caught, and you will recover your money, this is not going to happen - especially with Nigerian scammers. No matter how much information you collect on them, none of this information will result in their arrest. Unfortunately, your money is gone. Stop all communication, close this page of your life ASAP and move on! Leave the job of collecting information to scam hunters.

Images:
Click on "Add image to post" link below the text box, bottom left corner. Do not crop, frame or resize the images.

Important to post on RS:
Where you met them, where they claim to be from, email addresses, email headers, photos, phone numbers, copies of their emails/IMs to you, money requests.

IP addess:
http://www.romancescam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10910

IP a scam?
you can check if IP is bad here:
http://www.romancescam.com/ipsearch.php

Is posting scammers safe?
Scammers never leave the safety and anonymity behind their computer. Never has one ever left his location to hunt down a victim. It is all about money for them and there is no profit in finding you to harm you. However they do threaten all the time so if your username here is your real name/email/IM name, contact Marisa or FrumpyBB and ask them to change it to something else.

Locating my scammer from an email they have sent me:
http://www.romancescam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10910

Malaysia:
Many Nigerian scammers are located in Malaysia. They are African students, they come to Malaysia to study, but scam instead.

Microsoft IP or Redmond, Washington:
Redmond, Washington is Microsoft. Unfortunately, you cannot trace your scammer if he uses Hotmail. Don't even check headers, there will be no scammers IP there, only Microsoft IP showing Redmond, Washington. They only way to trace Hotmail scammers is subscribing to Readnotify: http://www.readnotify.com/?from=bhucqhbmnn3oa

Military emails:
The only real military emails are the ones ending with @mail.mil (former @us.army.mil). Every real military member has a military email address and will have no problems providing it to you, especially those stationed overseas. If they refuse, they are not real military.

Military addresses:
The only real mailing addresses of military stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan are "APO, New York" or "FPO, New York".

Military scam:
Recently military scams have become more and more popular amongst Nigerians. They steal pictures of US military officers and contact ladies on different dating sites. They abuse the trust people normally have for the integrity and credibility of men serving their country. They have even been known to steal and abuse pictures of fallen heroes.

MoneyGram:
Cash wire transfers are never retrievable at all. This is why scammers prefer this method. It´s anonymous and can also be picked up at any outlet world-wide no matter where the scammer claims to be.

Most important:
to stop all contact with your scammer immediately.

Mountainview:
Mountainview is Gmail. Unfortunately, you cannot trace your scammer if he uses Gmail. Don't even check headers, there will be no scammer´s IP there, only Gmail IP showing Mountainview. The only way to trace Gmail scammers is subscribing to Readnotify: http://www.readnotify.com/?from=bhucqhbmnn3oa
Exception is Russian scammers if they use TheBat! software.

Mugu:
Mugu is what we call Nigerian scammers. The word means "fool" in yoruba. This is what scammers call their victims (another variation is maga). We pay them back by calling THEM fools.

My money:
Cash wire transfers are never retrievable at all. This is why scammers prefer this method. It´s anonymous and can also be picked up at any outlet world-wide no matter where the scammer claims to be. If someone emails you with promises to get your lost money back, this is what's called a recovery scam. It's the scammer trying one last go at taking even more money from you. Don't fall for it.

My own details in a report:
Be sure to remove your own details or you could end up with an angry scammer/more spam than you can cope with on your hands.

My scammer is not listed yet.
If you cannot locate the picture of your scammer on this site, than you can start a NEW TOPIC in the appropriate forum about your scammer (Black or White Males, Black or White Females, Military Scammers).

Never do:
tell scammers that they're here.

Not a scammer, you say?
If they are listed on Romancescam, they ARE scammers. We don't list innocent people here. Sometimes it is not obvious for you, but it is obvious for those who have been dealing with scammers for many years. Scammers steal photos. They can fake webcam footage and they can have female accomplices talk to you on the phone, but the fact is that in almost every case it's an African male using stolen photos behind the scam (or a Russian male, if it is a Russian scam). Yes they can be convincing, yes it can be confusing, but everybody listed here is a 100% scam.

Police report:
Scammers usually operate from internet cafes, using fake identities and anonymous cell phone numbers. Like all online criminals, they can hide extremely well. Plus, they often live in corrupt societies. Arrests are extremely rare. You can and should of course, file a police report but normally your local police have no jurisdiction outside your community and none overseas.

Posting your scammer to help other victims:
1) Go to the appropriate section according to the photos they use and location they claim to be at.
2) Start a new thread.
3) Post your scammer´s information, making sure to take out your own details. Post as much information as you can. Don't just post an image and an email address. Post his names, photos ("add image to link" option), phone numbers, WU details, early emails with headers if possible.
Should there already be a thread with the pictures of your scammer and you know where it is, just post in there rather than in a new thread.

Posting pictures:
Click on "Add image to post" link below the text box.

Proxy:
Proxy is used when a person is trying to hide his real IP address and location. It is always a sign of something malicious. An honest person has nothing to hide and in most cases doesn't even know what proxy is and how to use it.

Real person in the pictures:
If you find someone else on the internet using the same photos, they are most likely a scammer also. Without experience it is difficult to determine. Alerting the real pictures owners cannot stop the scammers, anyway. You will most likely upset the real picture owner and they might think it is YOU abusing their pictures by posting them on this board, not scammers.

Real picture owners:
Scammers steal pictures. They don't use their own images to scam. Every picture is stolen from somebody innocent. The person in the photos is NOT involved in the scam other than having their photos stolen and used by the scammers without their permission/knowledge. Those that continue to argue that the girl is real or that the model is scamming them WILL have their accounts closed.

Removing my report:
You cannot remove your report, please don't ask.

Reporting scammers:
Romancescam DOES NOT accept scammers reports via email or via Private messaging system to the site's staff. You MUST post your report on the board. All reports sent via email to administration will be discarded.

Research:
Use search. Read FAQ. It is likely that your problem has already been discussed earlier. This will save you time and other members' time.
Research your scammer by email here:
http://www.romancescam.com/check.htm
Please remember: NEVER research scammers by username or name. Research by email address ONLY. Unrelated people can share the same name/username. The name match doesn't mean it's your scammer. However, people cannot share the same email address.

Romancescam.com:
This site is a scamlist. We provide you with tools to investigate for yourself. There are many articles here, including information about full e-mail headers, IP addresses, signs what to look for if you think you are being scammed, and of course photo galleries of known scammers.

Safe dating and social sites:
Almost none. Many are really really bad/not interested, some are better. A pay site does not necessarily mean a scam-free site. The owner and originator of this site (Romancescam.com), owns http://www.datingnmore.com and populates this site with scammers she removes from her dating site. It is probably the safest site on the net, but you should always take precautions.

Same IP address:
Same IP address doesn't mean it is the same scammer. It could be another scammer using the same Internet Cafe or proxy

Scam signs:
Bad English and grammar
Using "am" instead of "I am" and "by name" instead of "my name is"
Using "God Fearing"
Men on the pictures look much younger than claimed age, especially in miltary scams
Not paying much attention to what you say
Rarely answering questions
Over use of terms such as "babe"
Telling you how attractive you are and how much you mean to them often and early
Possibly having children at home being looked after by a family member
Stolen poetry being sent with claims they wrote it themselves.
Wife left them after infidelity or killed in an accident
In almost all cases the scammers will claim to be currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan however IP checks will usually place them in Africa or increasingly Malaysia.
Asking for money.

Scams we deal with:
This site deals ONLY with African and Russian/Ukrainian individual scammers with fake identities. Those are scammers whom you NEVER met in person, who pretend to be someone else with fake identities, scamming over the Internet and not being an employee of any marriage agency.

Scams we don't deal with:
Local scams, Romanians, Asians (except for scams originating from Malaysia), pro-daters, gold-diggers, visa-seekers, cheating married people, marriage agency scams, non-romance scams. Asian romance scams should be reported at http://www.dragonladies.org

Scammer´s threats:
If a scammer does find out that he's posted here, then he'll try everything he can to get the report removed. All his threats are nothing but empty words. He's not going to hunt you down. He's not going to fly to your country. He's not even going to leave the safety and anonymity of his internet cafe. He may make a few threatening phone calls to you, but once he realizes he's not getting anywhere then he'll give up and move on to his next "meal ticket". Scammer threats are all bark and no bite. They threaten us every day and we're still going strong.

Scamming agencies:
Romancescam is ONLY about scamming individuals, not companies.

Searching this site:
http://www.romancescam.com/search.php

Stars on topics on RS:
- Image white star - the real owner of the pics has been found
- Image green star - the scammer's real mug is proudly displayed
- Image gold star - both things: the real owner of the pictures has been found and the real scammer's mug is displayed, for your viewing pleasure.
Please don't misuse the stars.

Sunnyvale:
Sunnyvale is Yahoo. If you trace location of your scammer to Sunnyvale, it merely means you looked up the wrong IP. Keep looking, the correct IP should be in the LAST Received from line, above X-Malier.

Telephone numbers:
Telephone numbers with the US area codes mean NOTHING. It doesn't mean the person is located in the US. With today's technologies, VOIP, redirect services, etc., anybody in the world can have a phone number with any country and area code.

Telling my scammer I know:
If you tell him you know he's a scammer, he'll deny it profusely to you and practice his lying skills over and over. He may not succeed in convincing you, but he's learning all the while what works and what doesn't. He'll be better for his next victim. Aside from that, he'll want to glean from you HOW you learned he was a scammer, all while he's denying it. We don't want him to know this.

Threat:
If a scammer does find out that he's posted here, then he'll try everything he can to get the report removed. All his threats are nothing but empty words. He's not going to hunt you down. He's not going to fly to your country. He's not even going to leave the safety and anonymity of his internet cafe. He may make a few threatening phone calls to you, but once he realizes he's not getting anywhere then he'll give up and move on to his next "meal ticket". Scammer threats are all bark and no bite. They threaten us every day and we're still going strong.

Warning your scammer´s Facebook friends is a big risk:
Please be aware that some of these Facebook friends are likely to be aliases of the scammer. Therefore better not "warn" them using your real life Facebook, with all your real life names, friends and details in it. Plus, surprisingly many people will not be grateful to the warner but attack her for berating her husband and consequently, form an even tighter alliance with the scammer against you. It is FAR easier to post them here and let victims find out themselves, more than you could ever know are there, even years after today.

Webcam:
Scammers steal webcam footage from social networks, from other victims, and from porn webcam sites (scammers posing as females). They can even make it appear as if the person whose photos they stole is on webcam with you. Webcam is NOT a proof that somebody is real. In order it to be a proof, the person on that end must write your name on a piece of paper in front of you and show it in camera. Only that proves the person on that end is real.

Western Union:
Cash wire transfers are never retrievable at all. This is why scammers prefer this method. It´s anonymous and can also be picked up at any outlet world-wide no matter where the scammer claims to be.

What does Romancescam.com do against these scammers?
This site is a scamlist. In addition, we provide you with tools to investigate for yourself. There are many articles here, including information about full e-mail headers, IP addresses, signs what to look for if you think you are being scammed, and photo galleries of known scammers. We expose scammer profiles and their methods. The site is for educational purposes only. We are not legal authorities, we don't catch scammers.

What needs to be reported:
Where you met them, where they claim to be from, email addresses, email headers, photos, phone numbers, copies of their emails/IMs to you, money requests.

Where is my report now?
We group scammers by the images they use, so if you posted a scammer in a thread because they had the same name or sent the same letters, but the pictures are of a different person, then we'll move it accordingly. To locate your post, click on "View my posts" link.

Why do people scam?
Easy money without work. Crime is hardly punished. Corruption. Lying as day and night job. Organized by criminal gangs.

Why report my scammer here?
The more you post up the more likely someone else is to find them and not send money.

Who scammers are:
Nigerian and Russian college educated males (mostly) in their late teens and twenties.
http://www.romancescam.com/forum/viewto ... 13&t=11769

Working for scammers:
If someone online that you haven't met before and can't verify as a legitimate company (i.e., long established business) asks you to cash checks, mail checks or reship merchandise, it is a scammer trying to use you as a mule. See http://www.romancescam.com/forum/viewto ... 77&t=56329 for more information.
Please try your best to block ALL your scammer´s still incoming messages and calls!

What is all this? => The FAQ

The scammers vs. Why is "he" still doing it?

Why is alerting the man in the pictures DANGEROUS?

Please click why confronting my scammer is terribly wrong :)

Frequently asked questions <--- START HERE

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