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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.




What I Know About African Scammers

How African Romance Scams Work
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Pinky
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What I Know About African Scammers

Postby Pinky » Mon Mar 10, 2014 3:02 pm

Frumpy has asked me to do some writing about my experiences. I hope I don't bore you to tears, but it will be quite a lengthy essay. I will have to submit in installments.

Part 1:

In the 8 or more years since I started tracking these scammers, I have come to know a few of them as well as anyone can know someone on another continent via the internet. I've managed to pry enough information from a few and piece together what I think is a pretty accurate profile of the scam and its scammers.

We call them gangs, I call what they do a criminal operation. They have a boss (who probably has financial backers) who sets up a boiler room bank of computers in cubicles that in the last few years have become laptops. Sometimes it's an apartment they all share and their boiler room is a bedroom or a front room where they all congregate.

One scammer I played with was a Nigerian student on visa in Malaysia. He shared an apartment with 6 other students and they took turns sleeping shifts in the beds. When they weren't sleeping, they were working 24/7. He'd told his buddies he was really in love with me but he never told them he was feeding me information (he didn't really know he was). On the other hand, he had no clue I was baiting him and stringing him along. His co-workers were angry that he chatted with me while he was scamming others, so they'd try to harass him and embarrass him and me. They liked to flash me, moon me, or walk naked through our web cam chats. They were like immature, juvenile boys. This is why I call them boys (plus I know they hate the term). I recorded them and at one time planned to blackmail them like they do their victims (not for money though, but for revenge), but I decided I didn't want that crap on my computer so I deleted it all. It was enough, the education that I got from them.

I'm most educated on how they scam women (because I am one), but they are just as proficient at scamming men, and they do, but with men they have a different approach. For women they choose a white male picture that is more or less ageless. One that could be any age between 45 and 59. Fairly fit, having hair with a little gray at the temples maybe, and posed in a nice head shot and a few vacation or relaxing photos. One with young children is a bonus. Military members are the favorite because American women respect, admire and trust soldiers. They used to use male models a lot more than they do now, but that backfired on them when ordinary women smelled a rat when a good looking guy came onto them and the modeling pics became overused and easy to find.

So let's start with one 'boy' I'll call Chibuke. On a dating website, about 5 years ago, I got a message from him that said, "Hello pretty, How are you doing,you beauty captivate me i must confess and i want know you mor better, about your profile though i am new to the dating site." His profile was this guy: http://www.focushawaii.com/model-talent/joby/joby.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
Image
I knew he was Joby from Focus Hawaii Modeling Agency, so of course there was never a doubt that this was a scam boy behind this.

I wrote him back that I thought he was very good looking but that I thought he was too young for me. I like to play a little hard to get for these guys so that they don't get twigged to the bait early in the game. Of course he wrote me that he was 45 (my age was stated as 50) and age was just a number anyway. It didn't matter.

Now before I go any farther, I suppose I should tell a little about myself and how I bait. First, much to the consternation of other more experienced baiters, I use my own picture. I am 61 years old. I can easily pass for 50, though. I usually just have one head shot, sometimes I'll add a full body shot, but I never use family or vacation pictures. I don't even use any location pics. I do this because I do not like using anyone's image without permission - especially if it's mocking the real picture owner. Some baiters like to use a picture of a homely woman so that they won't get hits from real men. I am single and I don't mind hits from real men.

Second, I use a whiny, contentious, or obnoxious profile story so that real men either know I'm joking or avoid me all together. I even put a warning to scammers at the end. In all the years I have done this, only one scammer ever wrote me about the warning. He wrote me something rude in pidgin English. Still I get hundreds of contacts from scammers, like the one mentioned previously. This proves to me that scammers do not read profiles. They just hit on women over 40 and hope they score.

Another reason I like to use my own pictures is so that I can use my web cam. Back when I used to bait a lot, my objective had been to get to the source of the scams. I stupidly thought that I could help them understand the damage they were doing, that maybe I could find real humans who cared about other humans, after all. Also I have an old, poor quality web cam that produces somewhat blurry pictures that even further obscures my age, any background that might identify me and any other people who might inadvertently get in the pictures.

Once I started baiting, it occurred to me that these scammers succeed at love scams because they know they work. They believe in love via the written word. And because they believe, then they also believe that they themselves can fall in love via the internet. They know that the written word is a powerful tool that can change thoughts, manipulate and even control emotions. If this were not so, there would be no books, no great literature, no written media at all. Even religious scriptures would not exist. I determined that if they believed, then I could use that belief to my advantage against them.

Now you might be understandably skeptical that a 60 year-old white woman could realistically engage a 20 something year-old African boy in a romantic relationship, as I was at first also. But on several baits, I believe this occurred because of two other great influencing factors that make these scams work - hopes and dreams.

Once Chibuke (who was pretending to be some name like Roberts Johns), and I had exchanged several emails I asked him to Skype with me. At first he was always too busy with his important consturction (sic) job. Then he claimed that his web cam was broken but I frequently turned my web cam on for him though, to establish that I was real. He seemed to enjoy watching me and a few times he did suggest that I disrobe (which of course I never do), but I always cut my video short to just one or two minutes, saying that it was too awkward since I could not see him.

A little hobby that I have is sketching and drawing. I like to draw little pictures of things as kids ask me to, like bunnies, cars, funny monsters and stuff. I also like to do caricatures of people, so I played with Roberts (Chibuke) and did a few little sketches for him as he asked. I showed them to him on my web cam. Then I did a caricature of Joby, the picture he was using. At first he didn't recognize who it was but when he did, he wasn't interested. It was at this point that I began working to out him.

Now bear in mind that Chibuke is a composite of at least 5 different boys that I baited, manipulated and used as my Guinea pigs. But none of these boys were easy to out. They are deeply ashamed and embarrassed of who they are and what they do. And they cling to their dream of getting rich AND finding love. Add to that, that white women are very attractive to them for the wealth, power and freedom they represent and they are also incredibly intimidated about revealing their true selves. It often took days of manipulating, browbeating, threatening (that I would disappear on them) and pleading with them before they reluctantly turned on their web cams.

A typical outing conversation with a boy would be:

Me: You don't like the picture I drew of you? I'll do another, BRB.
Boy: No, don bother. Draw a car.
Me: I could I suppose, but I really want to please you. None of your pictures seem to capture your sweet, loving personality like I know you. I want to keep trying for that. I wish your web cam worked. I know I could do better if I could see you. I love the things you say to me.
Boy: Baby I really am need some food stuffs here.
Me: Yes, I know. Hang on just a bit longer and I will have a big check to cash and we can be together (my back story is the divorce settlement is almost ready).

Then I show the scam boy a sketch I did of Will Smith. I tell him I am so in love with Will Smith, he's so hot - but he's already married. He asks me if I like black men. I answer, "Oh yeah! How could a woman not love a man who looks like chocolate? But you're nice looking too, honey. I just wish we could be together now so I could see you in person. You are so much more open and loving than your pictures show. I am in love with your heart and soul, not your image."

To be continued . . .
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What I Know About African Scammers

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Re: What I Know About African Scammers

Postby FrumpyBB » Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:00 pm

I think almost all African scammers about who, by our modest means, we have been able to find out a biography, have this in common.

Most seem to be in college-age...or are (unemployed?) college absolvents...
This is judged by their real Facebooks/Naijapals/Badoos.

Many have already own children and wifes/girlfriends.

I strongly assume that the usual order is this:

1. Military/White male scam
=>
Victims pay, victims confront
=>
2. Mugu "admits"
Mugu changes to Black Male format, to ask money. Uses own face on webcam, moans about needing money.

Parallel, you see on their Facebooks how many USD money bills they proudly juggle, how "busy" they try to look with baseballcaps and two phones at once, leaning against a car showing fingers (VERY common combination), they wear expensive trainers and play current generation gaming consoles. And they are renowned world experts on football-soccer teams.

Some use their scam emails and phones for CVs or scientific essays.

No doubt the more successful ones employ area boys to do the registering and message bombing. They want to be a big man like their idols.

Grown up in one of the most corrupt societies in the world where vitamin B and the money counts, I can somehow understand a certain frustration with things. But ruining people´s lives as a day and night job while taking advantage of genuine helpful people who expect on the internet not, by default, lies, deceit and corruption, is something that goes above my comprehension. Moreso when on their real social sites they brag with their ill-gained income.
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 :)

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Re: What I Know About African Scammers

Postby Marisa » Tue Mar 11, 2014 12:45 am

Another reason I like to use my own pictures is so that I can use my web cam. Back when I used to bait a lot, my objective had been to get to the source of the scams. I stupidly thought that I could help them understand the damage they were doing, that maybe I could find real humans who cared about other humans, after all. Also I have an old, poor quality web cam that produces somewhat blurry pictures that even further obscures my age, any background that might identify me and any other people who might inadvertently get in the pictures.
Pinky, did you see this topic:
http://romancescam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=73485" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you don't mind using your pictures and go on cam with mugus, maybe you can share your pics and video recording with other baiters? so they can pose as you and get mugus stolen cam recordings? This is SOOOOO important to get these recordings of Uwe, John Mageau, George Sosa, etc.. This is thousand times more important than to get 10001st black mug and make fun of him.
SCAM FREE DATING SITE

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Re: What I Know About African Scammers

Postby Pinky » Tue Mar 11, 2014 5:53 am

It's been a few years since I've done this, but I can do it again. Although, the main reason I stopped was because of the trend towards scammers insisting on cam sex. I was planning on addressing this issue further on in my essay. It's almost become the norm and I was so repulsed by the insistence, that I just quit altogether rather than argue with them. However, I did not bait any of the boys that were using the pictures and video that you've asked about.

I did bait one scammer, whose video has long since been lost in an old computer meltdown, who was using a blurry video recording of a white guy at a computer in a den with a pinball machine in the background. The video was obviously not the same guy as the scammer's picture set but the scammer felt I wouldn't know the difference. LoL! You know how we white folk all look the same. :mrgreen: Anyway, I immediately knew the video was faked because the scammer had taken about 1 minute of recording and looped it to run about 5 minutes. The guy in the video would make the same wave with his hand about once every minute. People need to know that there is video editing software available and that scammers are becoming proficient in using it. It's only a matter of time before they're inserting signs with messages to the victims, etc. We have to make people understand that even web cam sessions do NOT prove an online love is real.
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What I Know About African Scammers, Chapter 2

Postby Pinky » Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:00 am

Chapter 2


After a few weeks of 'falling in love' with my scammer boy, I then start to get annoyed by everything he does and says. I have found that one can be highly offensive and abusive to these scammers and they'll take verbal beatings by groveling, apologizing and begging me not to be mad. I accuse them of lying, of only wanting me for my money, of cheating with other women, I call them disgusting, stupid, unattractive and act like a psychotic b*tch. I insist they tell me the truth or I will never speak to them again. I insist I know they're lying. I stay online but refuse to chat with them. It's amazing how they come back, over and over again, begging me to chat with them, pleading, sometimes even threatening to kill themselves. It's just all part of their show, folks. I let them sweat for a couple of days and then come back with, "I've heard about African lovers. You're not really a white guy, are you? You know I don't care what you look like, I fell in love with your heart. Be honest with me or I'll never speak to you again." Sometimes it will take another day or two, but eventually every scammer I have done this to, has caved in and confessed. And when they did confess, I started prying information from them.

Back to Chibuke

After days of tormenting him with alternating insults and wishing I could love him for who he really was and then giving him the silent treatment for several days, 'Roberts' said to me, "If I turn on my web cam and show you who I am, you will hate me." I came back with, "I swear to you I could never hate you no matter what you look like. I love you because you are my soul mate. You're the only one who has ever captured my heart." Did I ever feel guilty about lying, you might wonder? No. Not for one second. Do I justify my actions with any excuses? Not at all. I wanted information from a professional liar. I lied to get it. That's all. Do I lie in my real life? No, I don't. I separate online fantasy from reality very easily.

Finally Chibuke turns his web cam on. For me it's like squishing a garden snail in it's beautiful, shiny, symmetrical shell and pulling out the nasty, slimy slug that was inside. First, the room he's in is not well lit and since he's definitely African, the first things I see are the whites of his dark eyes and his teeth. It's like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. As his web cam adjusts and focuses to the dim light, his features come in more clearly. He is beyond homely. He is what I call butt ugly. I am utterly repulsed. He's young and small in his chair. I ask him to stand up and as he does, I see his height doesn't rise much more than 2 feet above the desk chair and guessing the back of the chair to be somewhere around 2 and a half to maybe 3 feet off the floor, I guess his height to be around 5 feet, 5 to 8 inches. He can't weigh more than 150 lbs. He looks quite thin. I ask him how tall he is and he tells me he's 6 feet, so I know even though I'm seeing the real face, I'm still dealing with a liar.

So when I see the boy, I continue with my lies, telling him that I find him very attractive, even sexy, but I worry about his age. He's obviously barely in his 20s making me more than twice his age. Again he lies. He assures me that he's almost 30 and since I look young, that our ages should not matter. He wants me to come to Nigeria so he can show me to all his family and friends. They will all love me. He says that it is an honor to have a white wife in Nigeria. Whether truth or lies, I cannot tell, however his face clearly says he's relieved and happy that he's come out to me. In fact he says this over and over and I get the feeling he really believes there is a possibility of us being together. I still feel no remorse or guilt about lying to him in this way.

For days, we continued on flirting and exchanging information about ourselves and our families (mine is all fictitious) and he even brings his older sister and little brother online to meet me. One day he told me he was babysitting his sister's toddler while she was working and then he put the most adorable little cherubic-faced baby up to the web cam to babble and coo for me. It was actually endearing. The baby was so cute I wanted to hug him and kiss his fat little cheeks. I was also slightly touched to see the gentle way this scammer boy hugged and held onto the child. It almost humanized him in my eyes. From that day I started pumping him for information about why he ever wanted to pretend he was a white guy to get money from me. And this is where I have to depart from my scammer composite.

I have outed 5 different scammers in my illustrious career as a scam fighter and each one has had a different story as to why they scam. Chibuke's was the most endearing and of all the boys, I was the kindest to him and let down more gently than the others.

Chibuke's father had died about 5 years ago. He was a farmer outside of Abuja. His mother still lived on the land and had a small garden and chickens. His older brother did odd jobs and was the main support of the family. Chibuke's sister was a hairdresser but she also had a baby to support and no husband. His mother was in her 70s and frail. His little brother was finishing his last year in school. He was only 13.

Chibuke had been a carpenter's apprentice for a few years and now that his apprenticeship was done, the master carpenter who was a devout Muslim, would not hire Chibuke for pay because he was a Christian who would not renounce his faith for the job. Chibuke didn't care much for the man anyway as he often beat him with sticks and barely fed him (food was his only payment for the work he did as the carpenter's apprentice). Still Chibuke was grateful that he'd learned a skill and he showed me pictures of a very nice wood bed and dining table that he'd made for his mother. He showed me pictures of the work in progress with him doing the work, so I was more inclined to believe this story. He also showed me pictures of him, younger, as the apprentice with his Muslim master in traditional Muslim clothing.

When Chibuke was done with his apprenticeship and turned out and sent back home, he found that he could not find carpentry work. He did not have adequate tools of his own and he needed money to start his own business and buy tools and wood. He turned to an affluent cousin who had recently moved to Lagos.

Chibuke's cousin, Emeka was an Oga with several other young men working for him in what they called an internet cafe, but there was no food served there. He had two long tables set up with 3 computers on each and one small desk at the back of the room with another computer. The room was small and narrow so the tables and desk lined the walls in a giant U shape. Chibuke was given the night shift of chatting with women that the other young men had lined up for him. That was how we began.

His 'format' was that he was a businessman stranded in Nigeria and stuck in his hotel when his money ran out. I had promised to send him his money, delaying it for days while waiting on my 'divorce settlement' and before I outed him (while I was still playing his scam), told him I sent the money to my church friends in Benin a few hundred miles from where he was located. I trusted these 'friends' implicitly and he would just have to travel to get the money. Now, baiters call this method of revenge on scammers, a safari. I maliciously and proudly sent this boy on a little safari. I told him I was sending $10,000, $5k for him and $5k for my friend's orphanage. Later he told me that his boss had paid the money for him to travel by bus and that he was instructed to do whatever he had to do to bring back the entire $10,000. Of course I never sent $10k and I never even had friends in Benin.

He went to Benin, tried to connect with my friends via email, who gave him bogus directions and then finally my friends absconded with the money and left poor Chibuke stranded in the middle of nowhere. He had to walk a long way with no food or money, in summer heat and humidity, to beg his cousin boss to send him bus fare home. Of course he didn't tell me this until after I outed him, which was shortly after he returned to Lagos. I never did tell him my friends and the money weren't real. In fact I, used the loss of my $10K as part of my harassment and haranguing him. It was only a day or two after the safari that he finally revealed himself to me on web cam.

Chibuke's boss found out he was appearing to me on web cam. He proudly told his boss that we were really in love. I think some of his other boys had reported Chibuke after the night he was telling me about scams and what scammers did. He actually panned the cafe to show me his coworkers. A few had their heads down on their table and were napping. One gave me the finger (Chibuke said he was joking) and the others all had Yahoo messenger on their screens with several chat windows open.

Chibuke was actually proud of their operation. We had talked about getting together and if I couldn't come to Nigreria, he wanted to come to me. Scamming was the only way he could see that he could get the money to come. This justified it all for him. He was not about to give it up. He even told me about a few of the other women he'd gotten money from, but would not give me their information because he knew it made me angry and I would warn them. All I knew was that one was in Alabama, one in Germany and one in Canada.

A few days later, Chibuke came online to me from a personal computer in a friend's apartment. He wanted me to know that he'd quit scamming. On cam he showed me that his face was swollen and bloody. One eye was completely closed. He showed me his cell phone had been smashed to bits and pieces. His cousin and some of the other boys had jumped him and beat him senseless. He also gave me lists of fake profiles, their passwords and email accounts and passwords. He thought I should give them to the FBI, not knowing that would do nothing. Instead I passed them on to other baiters in hopes they'd find other victims to warn. I was done messing with Chibuke's life.

To be continued . . .
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Re: What I Know About African Scammers

Postby Pinky » Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:09 am

Continued . . .

Returning again to my composite scammer, there have been many similarities between scamers. First, not one has been over age 25, with only one exception, a Nigerian male who represented himself to me using his own pictures and web cam images. From appearances, I would guess his age to be over 30 and I believe he was a boss over a few other boys. I have not included him in my composite. I might write about him later.

The youngest had been 18, but it was his brother who was 23 that tried to scam me. They were all dressed fairly well in modern, western European style clothing. They were not particularly attractive to me but perhaps they were regarded as average looking by their peers. They all were somewhat shorter in physical stature in comparison to western men and average weight (though one was borderline fat. He was one who liked to appear naked to me on webcam - without invitation, of course) in proportion to their height.

They all claimed to be Christian, but their doctrine was profoundly perverted, what they even knew of it. They all had families they described as ordinary, with working parents and school aged siblings and they all claimed to be university graduates, while none wrote with any particular skill. I would guess their true educational level to equate to a middle school education in the US, 7th or 8th grade.

One thing they all seemed to have in common was a distinct lack of conscience with no remorse, regret, shame, embarrassment, or feelings for their victims. But where these boys began to differ from one another was their reasons for scamming. I've given Chibuke's reasons previously and actually think his story might even be most common. They all have seen scamming as an easy, fast way to make money and all of them believe that their their victims have so much money to spare that they won't miss what they lose.

One scammer told me that he was paying for his university education by scamming, but judging by the hours he spent active on his computer, I'm pretty sure that he was not attending classes. Another said he bought a house for his family (even gave me a video tour). He wanted me to believe it was for his mother and siblings (father was not in the picture) but I suspect he had a wife and child in there, too. On more than one occasion I heard a baby crying that he told me was a neighbor. Another tried to convince me he only scammed Asian women because they were all rich and very naive about scamming. One said it was in retribution for slavery, that all white people owed the African people for exploiting them and Africa's natural resources (oil and diamonds). Another told me that God and his pastor sanctioned scamming and that God was delivering victims to them who deserved to be scammed. Another still, presented scamming to me as a way to get rich and tried very hard to get me to partner with him as his American associate. He was even willing to buy me a printer, software, ink and paper to do check counterfeiting for him. He gave me access to a US bank account (which I reported as stolen or compromised) to show me about $8,000 he was telling me I could write checks on.

Each of the scammers I came to know were very open and answered all my questions while trying to endear themselves to me in hopes that we would really get together. I believe they all fantasized of living in the US, having abundant food and material things and not having to work for a living. Not one ever even hinted that they were interested in supporting me. It was understood that I would support them. I don't doubt that they still tried to feed me lies, but after getting to know so many, It became easier to sift the facts from the lies. They all had very unique and distinctly different personalities, talents, abilities and interests.

Of all the scam boys I outed, I think Solomon has to be the one I feel most guilty about lying to. I don't believe he ever did know anything truthful about me, yet we spent many hours a day in deep conversation, both webcam and text. I used my niece's given name, the surname of a TV comedy character, lopped 10 years off my real age, and gave him a back story similar to a girl that I'd gone to high school with. I used my cousin's home town location where I've lived nearby in 1980. It sounds complicated, but really it was all very easy to remember. The back story was the most important thing to keep consistent. I played that I'd never been married and was agoraphobic, afraid to leave my home. I believe Solomon fell madly in love after I took days outing him and accepted him even though I knew he was a scammer.

Solomon told me about other women he was scamming. I even figured out who one was and warned her. She said she already knew and had only sent him $100 on the chance he might have been real. Solomon felt he was a successful scammer, but really I don't think he was very good and didn't make much more money at it. He was very inept and his English was awful. Still, the average honest working Nigerian earns under $50 USD per month, so $100 was easy money for him. Solomon fully expected me to accept his vocation as it was none of my business and a man does not take instructions or advice from a woman.

Solomon was a horrific chauvinist and misogynist. He lived with his father who was in his 60's. His mother had died of tuberculosis when he was in his teens. He was the oldest son of 4 siblings. He had an older sister who married and gone and no longer in contact with the family. He had another sister who was 24, Solomon was 23, and a younger brother who was 15. He hated his oldest sister because her husband tried to take over their mother's business, a small convenience store, when Solomon's mother had died. Somehow Solomon and his father managed to drive the oldest sister and her husband off and they were forever estranged, as far as Solomon was concerned.

Solomon's father did not work. He sat around all day with his friends, smoking, talking, reading the newspapers and drinking beer or tea. He went out to a park or to their store front, to do this. He was rarely at home. Solomon on the other hand, was always at home. He was one of the first Nigerians that I'd even met that didn't have to go to an internet cafe too chat. He'd gotten a dial-up modem for their little bungalow that he called home. He had an old Compaq PC computer.

Solomon's next older sister, worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week in the family store. She was supposed to bring home each day's receipts at the end of the day and turn them over to Solomon who banked, budgeted, shopped and kept house and cooked for his father and brother. Solomon's housekeeping skills left much to be desired. The place was usually a mess, he only washed dishes when he needed them to cook and he only knew one recipe from what I recall, beans and plantains, sometimes with a little meat. What appalled me most was when he told me he had to beat his sister because she held back money to buy herself some hair care products. He was utterly astounded when I got angry over this disclosure of his. First, he said, it was none of my business and secondly, he was the man of the family and that was what needed to be done. At this point it became very difficult for me to continue pretending to be in love with him, but rather than break it off, I did something I think was incredibly mean of me - still I don't feel guilty at all. I hope his sister benefited from this; I sent Solomon on a safari.

I told Solomon that I was expecting a large sum of money from the sale of my late parent's estate. But to prove Solomon really loved me and not my money, I would require that he pay his way here to the US. He asked me to write him a letter, inviting him to stay here, which I did - using all fake ID information. I didn't think it would get him anywhere. In fact, I didn't think Solomon would ever have enough money to buy a visa. But everyday, he would show me his bank passbook and every day there was more and more money in it. After a few weeks he'd saved enough (or so he thought) and went to get a visa. Unfortunately, the closest he could get to the US was Cuba.

I never thought he would do it . . . but he did. He went on a tourist visa and spent a few weeks in Havana, Cuba, everyday going to an internet cafe to chat with me and email me, begging me to help him get to the US from there. It took a lot to finally make him understand that Americans don't and can't travel to Cuba. He complained a lot that he was hungry and that his sister was refusing to send him money. I felt so sorry for him - NOT!

Next think I knew, Solomon was sending me emails from Guatemala! That was the closest he could get to the continental United States. He seriously believed I'd just hop in my car, head south and come get him. He spent a few weeks begging me to help him, by then his sister had completely cut him off. His little brother, who he'd taught to scam, wasn't speaking with him anymore either. He did sound pretty desperate. At that point I started ignoring him.

His emails became fewer and farther between. After a year he sent me an update, telling me that he hadn't heard anything from Nigeria in a year, that he'd found a few Nigerian friends he'd met in Guatemala (I think they were all scamming) and that he'd taken a job as a might janitor for an office building. He was still begging me to come get him.

Three years after that, I'd seen him on Facebook, still in Guatemala, with 3 friends on his page. One was his little brother, another an older white German woman and the last listed as his girlfriend, a young and very large, Guatemalan girl. He's disappeared now and I can not find anything more on him. I do hope he's lost all interest in the internet.

To be continued . . .
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