Topic : 11/23 Love Scams?

Wow.  Just... wow.  That must frustrate you to no end.  The obvious logic hole for your mom was, if he were really "very rich", why on earth would he need to borrow money?  Yikes.  That's upsetting when you see people you love making bad decisions like that, especially since you can't really change their behavior for them.  You would think that being stranded in LA would have been a big wake-up call; that's not exactly an easy hop back to Heathrow!

   I have been chatting on Yahoo for a 6 years.  The scams just started this past year.  I could not believe these men would think that as a American I did not understand my own language.  When I would questioned them. The response I received was, well i grew up in a mixed area.  I had to laugh. I grew up in New Orleans.  I was surprised to see these men come from all angles. You would block them and they come right back at you from another angle. From Nigeria, the states, Alaska, the UK .  Their imagination is great and they prey on lonely women on the net looking for companionship.  I am glad Dr. Phil is having this on his show. I want to announce to the whole chatting population to watch on Thursday.  I am sadden how so many women have fallen for these guys. I know the loneliness gets to you but please be careful.  I always use fake names so these guys cannot find out further information on me and I never give out my home address.  Sometimes that is all they need .  So take the advice of the others and please do not send any more money to men who claim they love you after seeing your pic and knew that you were the one for them. 

    I wrote you the other day about a guy that I met on myspace and started talking to through yahoo IM. Tonight the information that I got while talking makes me believe that it is a scam after all. He had told me how much he loved me and wanted to marry me and treat me like a queen. I have kept copies of all the IM's and tonight at one point he started giving me all his personal information using a different name and to use a different yahoo address. After  asking him about the name and new email address. He just explained that the email address was the one he used for his clients. Nothing about the diferent name. Also for the first time he brought up money. He wanted me to send him 200 dollars so he could put it with his 550 and came back to the states, stopping in Atlanta to see me first before going back to Colorado. I told him I didn't have the money. That I was living paycheck to paycheck and that if I had 200 dollars I had bills I would pay. I have said things to make him think I care only to try and see if it was really real, but after tonight I don't believe it is. I have become smarter with each year and each man that has passed through my life. I have been married three times. Two only lasted less than two years. One was for ten with the husband of my sons. I f I had been smarter back then it wouldn't have lasted as long as it did. I believe that I am finally to the point where I won't just let a guy have my heart as quickly as I have done in the past. Hopefully someday God will cross my path with the right man.  

    Thank you for all you do for people and God Bless you and your wife in all that you both do.

     Sharon Mabrey :-)

I posted this two days ago, but I've noticed my message never made it to the board, so I'm reposting it.

I can feel for you all who have experienced love scams. My mother
fell victim to this type of scam last year. It affected the entire
family. I'll never forget the day my mother found out she was being
scammed by a man who was promising her a life of love and marriage.
His story was pretty much typical of the rest I've read here. He
said he was from Texas, but currently on a job in Nigeria. He also
told her after about a month of communicating online that he was
having some money problems and wanted to know if she would do him a
favor. He story was he was having trouble getting back to the USA
and couldn't cash he pay check. He told her he had a friend who owed
him some money and would have a check sent to her and she was to
then cash the check and wire it to him in Lagos, Nigeria. The check
was for over $4,000. At the time she totally trusted this man and
did as he asked of her. Within 1 hour of cashing the check the bank
called and told her the check was bogus. By then it was too late.
She had already wired the money to him by MoneyGram.

She then confronted him about this over the internet and he acted as
if he was surprised and would take care of the matter. He continued
with his lies and would never confess he was scamming her. He even
tried to continue the scam by telling her he would have money wired
into her account and to give him her bank account information. By
this time my mother knew what he was up to.

My mother lives solely off social security and this became a
financial burden that she was unable to cover with her bank. I was
very upset with her, but being the daughter I am, I took on this
financial burden for her. Since then my mother and I both have
become educated about online scams and criminal activities. Thank
God for a support group I had found on yahoo called, "Romance
Scams". It was a life saver and very educational to us both.

Barb Sluppick, owner of Romance Scams is a very knowledgeable lady
about online love scams. I do hope in the future a follow up is done
about "Love Scams", and Dr. Phil has her on his show for an
interview. She has been able to help thousands of people by
educating, providing support, and a place to come for healing. She
pours out her love to help those who have been victimized by these
crimes. I can't think of a better person to discuss this topic with
than Barb.

Vickie