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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.




"Why don't security authorities keep a watch on scammers?"

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"Why don't security authorities keep a watch on scammers?"

Postby FrumpyBB » Fri Oct 17, 2014 8:44 pm

http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/opi ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In my opinion: Why don't security authorities keep a watch on scammers?


By Western Morning News | Posted: October 01, 2014

By Ken Westmoreland, Taunton

Having had experience of internet dating sites, I was sorry to hear of Linda Piggott-Vijeh’s experience (WMN, September 12) and the lack of interest on the part of the police. Sadly, the scenario she described, of a scammer posing as a Western widower working as an engineer in Malaysia, is all too commonplace.

Not only do they operate out of West Africa, but they have now started operating out of Malaysia, from where they target people in Australia and Singapore. On the other hand, they target men by posing as a young white woman working as a volunteer in orphanages in West Africa. These stories of bereavement or betrayal are recycled over and over, and can be found on the Romance Scam website, to which I am a contributor.

As I have lived in both those parts of the world, have an interest in current affairs and am internet savvy, I have been able to turn the tables on these scammers, though sadly, not to get any to send me money by Western Union.

On one dating site, I came across the picture of a beautiful African girl, whose surname was the same as that of a late former Zimbabwean Minister of Defence. Sure enough, she claimed to be his daughter, and was now in a refugee camp outside Dakar, the capital of Senegal. As well as professing her undying love for me, she told me that she needed help in getting access to his US$2.7 million legacy, and in return would give me a share. This is a variation on what is known as the 419 scam, after the section of the Nigerian criminal code, rarely enforced, outlawing it, but crueller because it plays on the would-be victim’s emotions by bringing love into the equation.

One thing which makes it much harder for scammers to hide is Google’s Search by Image function, which allows you to trace photos, even if they’ve been cropped or doctored. Scammers do not care whose photos they steal, be they Russian escorts, Italian pornstars, US military officers or British MPs, as long as they appear attractive to potential victims. Even more reprehensible is stealing photos of ordinary people, and the inaction of dating sites in removing them, even when I have reported it.

One woman in Brighton, who I alerted about the misuse of her photo, told me that when she contacted the site to complain, it had the nerve to ask her for proof of identity.

When I told one man in the US about his photo being misused, he sighed and asked ‘what site is he using this time?’ - he suspected it of being the same person who had stolen his photos and created a fake profile on Facebook, which had taken him months to get deleted. He asked a very good question, namely, if the National Security Agency could keep watch over his internet activity, why couldn’t it keep watch over that of scammers like these? As with terrorist attacks, it is better to nip this problem in the bud than deal with its consequences afterwards.
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 :)

"Why don't security authorities keep a watch on scammers?"

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Re: "Why don't security authorities keep a watch on scammers

Postby Pinky » Sat Oct 18, 2014 12:34 am

Well bless this reporter's heart for trying to get the word out.

He's got it mostly right with only a few tiny exceptions:

Scammer's in Malaysia don't limit themselves to Australian and Singapore. Scammers don't limit themselves to anything but basic stats. Potential victims are:

1. Seeking a relationship,
2. Lonely enough to relax being suspicious or cautious,
3. Lives in any area where people either have money or access to it,
4. Is not computer savvy,
5. Impulsive (or liberal enough) to disrobe on webcam.

I hope he knows the difference in reporting free dating site profiles and paid dating site profiles - but he doesn't say. We do not encourage the removal of fake profiles on free sites. See our FAQ on this subject.

Awww . . . the poor woman in Brighton whose photos were used. Why was it offensive that she was asked to submit proof of her being the real picture owner? The site would have more likely responded to her request. It seems like a reasonable request to me. Anybody can say they are really her - it's what the scammers do.

And the US man? He shouldn't assume it's the same scammer using his pictures everywhere. There are probably many.

And while I'm on this subject . . . informing the real picture owners (RPOs) is not in anyone's best interests. When they come here, it usually takes a lot of work on our part just to bring them up to speed on what is really going on. They almost always jump to the first (mistaken) conclusion that we are exploiting them. This disrupts our work in too many ways to go into here, but suffice to say both victims and RPOs lose when this happens.

Last, to answer the question:
. . . if the National Security Agency could keep watch over his internet activity, why couldn’t it keep watch over that of scammers like these?
Oh they can keep watch. They even know. And I believe a lot of money ends up in the hands of nefarious terrorists, organized crime syndicates and corrupt political leaders. They know. But in reality, there is very little the NSA can do to these overseas organizations.

The better question to ask is why isn't our government doing more to educate people, limit internet access for overseas users, limit overseas money transactions, boycott or restrain trade between offending and corrupt countries and better supervise or raise the standards of online dating and social media listings?
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Re: "Why don't security authorities keep a watch on scammers

Postby Igulinka » Sat Oct 18, 2014 3:40 am

What's about sending even more taxpayer SSS and medication to West Africa to help them fight the Ebola virus?
To some extent, I find this troubling since the US has no jurisdiction to extradite scammers. It seems this might be a negotiation point with this region of the world and get some media attention for THIS scammer epidemic. The US has been sending aid to Nigeria for 2.5 decades now to combat the spread of HIV/aids in this country; which hasn't curtailed their population from contracting this virus. Nigeria is supposed to have the highest number of it's population with HIV/aids as well as the highest birth rate in the world. What do others think?

Since the US midterm elections are just around the corner, it may be an opportunity to voice my opinion and send letter to my congressman again... :)


I couldn't resist to translate this passage of article from Polish newspaper today:
List of problems Nigeria's is long and does not change over the years although the country could be a model for the continent.
In May it was announced that Nigeria has not only the biggest population (166 million citizens) but also is the richest country in Africa. Has the fastest growing amount of billionaires :thinking: From the estate estimated at 500 mld USD Nigeria has outperformed SA.
Nigerian wealth comes from oi.... But while Nigeria gets richer the more people suffer from poverty. In 2012, with 61% of society was leaving on less than $ 1 a day.
This happens because the oil capital income is not distributed fairly. Corruption is prevalent everywhere and is exactly where the money is born.
In 2013, the head of the central bank announced that the cashier missing 50 billion dollars from the sale of crude oil, which deals with NNPC. Audit NATIONAL mank decreased to 20 billion dollars and is not convenient for authorities Sanusi pointing corruption was dismissed. This country is build and divided by crime.

Hmm. ... I wonder how much money they got from romance scammers ?
I verified some info that in 2013 only 1831 victims from US reported total of $ 25,891,837.96 :(
Confronting the scammer is WRONG!!! DON'T enlighten criminals with your wisdom. REPORT & BLOCK.
PHOTO VICTIM - "Do not confront the owner of the pictures, as they are victims themselves! You will only serve to further the terror and harm !" Silence Is Golden!!! I speak Polish.

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Re: "Why don't security authorities keep a watch on scammers

Postby Pinky » Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:36 am

I read somewhere that oil was Nigeria's #1 source of income. Scamming was #2.
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