Is She a Dreamboat or a Shipwreck?

Catfishing

*(The phenomenon of Internet scammers who fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people into romantic or other relationships typically for financial gain)*

Have you ever noticed that, while your Facebook history may go back several years, your wanna be sweetie just opened his/her page?

This applies to men and women, alike! As an example, let me pick on Mr. Adams, a news reporter at a network TV station....but wait a moment...an image search shows him as Mack Henry (mackhenry500@yahoo.com). 

Now, I happen to know who he really is...the news reporter! Since you are online, you don't really know who you are chatting with. I had no idea the depth of this until 18 months ago, when I began dating again after a divorce.   Reality check...she (or he) is not likely to be the person in the photos. The name, location, and everything else...perhaps not even the gender is likelyfake

As with each of the scams previously discussed, this one has unlimited variations on a basic theme. A contact comes from "out of the blue", via text, social media, perhaps even a phone call. Many of mine have come from  Facebook Messenger. For a time, I participated in some of the online "dating" sites. I must admit, I have made a couple of true friends whom I will claim forevermore!

The "less honorable" ones with whom I have interacted each seemed anxious to visit away from the social media site where she made the connection (because her profile will likely be shut down soon). She will desire to move to texting or "Hangouts" to carry on conversations. Typically she claimed to be young (26 -34), never married, wants older man...."after all age is just a number!" Most claim to have no kids...but will want some!

Often, she claims to be American by birth, living abroad to care for needy relative. She desires to come back and marry me. If only I would wire her the airfare! The person with whom I most recently "burned" was due to inherit $9.7 million US and three houses in Florida from her late father. His will stipulated that she must marry prior to receiving her inheritance. She claimed to be Ohio born, living in Anchorage, AK. Her mother had fled to Benin (West Africa) when Dad tried to kill them to preserve the estate to himself. Each of the dozen photos she sent scanned on Google Images as those of a Russian-born fashion model, with a complete resume of professional photos one her Instagram site. Just in her texts, and communications with her "lawyer", her name changed many times. For a native-born lady, her use of English was very non-English, as was her attorney (as in the court document shown previously!)  Mom needed help with medical bills over in Africa, my would-be-bride needed food and airfare to come marry her man.

The attorney needed $3,000 to cover the fees for legitimizing of shipping the family treasure ($9.7 million in cash) from Lagos Nigeria in two steel trunks  plus the cost of shipping.......

     *I actually did receive a check from her "attorney" for $3,890 to wire Mom in Benin for her medical treatments! (shocker....the issuing bank declared it to be counterfeit.) We previously discussed the challenge with this variation! 

DUE DILIGENCE...check it out and report it!  

In this case, it was sent USPS Priority Mail, using a private permit and meter. The Inspector General of the Postal Service would also appreciate a bite of this one!

Need a good professional lawyer?  Try Barrister Brad Paisley. He can be reached at bradp5545@gmail.com or perhaps  Barrister Tony at barristertony451@gmail.com ...here are examples of the quality of their professional work:

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Barrister Tony <barristertony451@gmail.com>	Mar 13

Good day

Mr. Rick , I'm very happy for the support you render for Lori , i

want you to take good care of her and protect her as soon as the Asset

get into your care, i want you to invest the money for her.

  I want you to understand that you shouldn't indicate what is inside

the Asset to Trinity Security Firm. The money was concealed in a two

metallic trunk boxes. Late Mr Thomas kept this deposit under a secret

arrangement as a family treasure and for future safe keeping with

Trinity Security Firm. Its only Thomas family, and I the lawyer knows

what is inside the boxes. In case they as you, tell them it's family

treasure.

You might not understand what the Trinity Security Firm were asking,

we are going to arrange some document to back up the document with

Thomas family to claim the Asset from Trinity Security Firm. This are

the documents we are going to prepare to back up the Asset

Power Of Attorney -- $1,100

Proof of relationship/ later from church -- $650

And i will include all the necessary document that related to this Assets.

The above requested documents will cost $1,750

The certificate of deposit will be given to you by Lori  and you should

able to get any of your identity, like copy of your driver's license.

I will get all the remaining document as soon as you send the money to

prepare the documents.

Get back to me as to know the necessary things to handle.

Have a nice day.

Barrister Tony 

(Legal Practitioners/Notary Public)

******************

.....and then there's Barrister Brad Paisley.....

Brad Paisley <bradp5545@gmail.com>	May 6

Good evening Mr Rick

How are you and your family ? My client's daughter told me a lot about you and she has seen the seriousness in you despite not seeing you face to face. i was her Dad lawyer for the pass 26yrs, i manage the properties and huge amount of money deposited for her and it must be realized when is gets married. to cut the story short, all you have to do is to show your honesty because she really loves you and ready to settle down with you. She told me you live in Utah, how is Utah today ? my wife and kids live in Hawaii but im presently in Kenturkey for something important. i would love to hear from you soon 

take care and have a wonderful night rest 

Barrister Brad BB

********************

When I told her that I believed that her attorney was a fake, based on his poor language skills and unprofessional letter-writing, she defended him as being foreign-born (Jamaica) and non-white (I never said anything about ethnicity)! I am still wondering where Kenturkey is located!

I just learned that another sweet lady of mine had a "family secret" disclosed to her (we've been "BFF" for a couple of months now). Her dear departed daddy left her $2.5 million and 25 kilos of gold! Mama was not supposed to tell her about it. But, since she has chosen me as her man, the secret was disclosed to the daughter! Again, she needs to get married to inherit! Her daddy's will disclosed an un-named foreign partner to whom the inheritance would go. She requested that I step up as that partner.

The director of her daddy's bank would need only account and routing information, along with username and password to transfer the funds to me! And then I tossed a wrench into the scheme, when one of her photos matched an actress and popular porn star, with a degree in acting from a college in California. It also matched another person, perhaps a coworker in Accra, Ghana. My honey had just sent me a sweet photo composite of her and her man (me). I cropped me out and ran the image in Google Image. The result showed an encrypted email address for the other match in Ghana. So, I emailed her asking if she knew Lesa. Then, I confronted Lesa. So, I burned my chance at about $4.5 million in cash and gold! But, now I have a new friend!

I must admit that it gets confusing when I try playing too many at once!  A couple of these relationship scams have carried on for months before I burned them.

One scammer I have been playing has invited me to help in her arts and antiquities business. Since she and I are so compatible, she is willing to trust me to handle money from her investors while she is on an overseas buying trip in Europe. Her investors will deposit $20,000 for me to pay her bills while she is away. All they need in my bank username and password, along with routing and account numbers. These people will beg and plead for those codes. Then they will pout and cry that you don't trust them! Let's do a guilt trip here!

 Another variation that may be applied once the star-crossed lover is hooked would be that the scammer would be "arrested" or "hurt in an accident", or "kidnapped and held for ransom".  Pay up and we can get your lover back! I've never carried it to that point! 

What a man won't do for his woman! (Take a cold shower and a Valium  and look at the realities before you send money!)  I was the customer service manager at a grocery store providing Western Union wire services. Almost daily, lonely old men were wiring money offshore for promises!