Consumer Blog
I'm dating the nicest con artist online...
To mark Valentine's Day, here's an item that goes to show you can get ripped off doing just about anything — including looking for a date online.
If you're getting to know that special someone on a dating Web site and you hear sob stories and an eventual request for money, look out. I personally took a call from a consumer a couple of years ago who was convinced she had met (though never in person) her soul mate. The man claimed to live in another country and wanted to move to Missouri to marry her... after he bribed an African government to get his kids released from captivity. Naturally, he needed some of her money to pay the bribe. I couldn't convince her it was a scam.
Never heard the outcome of that story, but good chance he broke her bank account as well as her heart.
Technorati Tags: con artist, fraud, online dating, moagoconsumer, consumer protection
Posted by on February 14, 2007 5:14 pm :: Comments (3) :: Permalink
3 Responses to "I'm dating the nicest con artist online..."
says:
February 28, 2007 9:31 pm
I was once contacted by a young woman on the social networking site "MYSPACE" (I have since stopped visiting such sites). She was supposedly an American citizen and was in an african hospital. Story was that her and her mother went to africa to start a new bussiness, I don't remember which country off hand. But apperently her mother was shot and killed in a fire fight. She claimed to have been wounded and that she couldn't afford the hospital bill. Said that the doctor wouldn't let her go home until the bill was paid. Even gave a phone number to call.
Moral is to be very weary of anyone and anything online.
says:
March 29, 2008 8:56 am
I was just a victim of this fraud.
They have infiltrated all of the dating sites. I have, since this happened to me, been told of friends of friends who had the same problem.
I am a really smart person; but I have a good heart and I always believe people. I am naive. I met this guy on chemistry.com who purported to live in my area. He is british, and a petro-geologist. He was working on a gig in Scotland and had to run down to Africa to do some work on his project. He took his daugther with him. Sob story; he was a widower, and his daughter was 10 and really wanted "daddy" to start dating again.
Anyhoo, about three days after he got there, he was robbed and stabbed. His daughter had a heart condition, and it was exacerbated by the robbery. He was in a horrible hospital in Africa, and he needed help.
Once I realized he was scamming me, I read about women who this happened to; smart women. Trust me; their back stories are amazing. They have proof. It's just amazing. Pictures; videos, references that you can call. You name it. You can even call the doctor on his own cell phone at the African hospital. I know; I did it.
I read about these con artists; they will even spend up to a year creating a relationship with a woman before even asking for money.
It's amazing. Not only did he con me, but he has now threatened bodily harm to me since he has all my contact information and I called him out. He continued to try to con me for weeks after I called him out on it. I was amazed, so I had a little fun with it. That turned into threats of death and bodily harm.
says:
October 6, 2008 10:46 pm
I met the same guy through E-harmony on-line date service. The guy said to be from London, England, widower and with a 17 year old daughter. He called himself Mark Torres. He sent me photos of both. His letters were full of love, and also grammatical mistakes. He's writing skills just didn't fit his profession as an antique dealer. I was suspicious all along, but went with it to see how far he would go. So, he did the African trip bit. His daughter got sick, he was desperated, and he said he needed $1,500.00 for hospital bills. Ha, Ha! Needless to say, I cut off all communication.
