PLEASE I NEED HELP!!!!!!

[JackieC123]

Ok here's the back story, my sister has been divorced for about two years now and since then has been on the hunt for love. She recently started talking to this man on a chat site whose name claims to be Kelvin Coleman. He told her that he has three kids and lives about two hours away from us. He told my sister that his wife died while giving birth to there son. After a few years he told her that he was doing some designing over in London. After a few weeks there he said that a job opening had came up to help design a art school in Nigera, Africa. Just recently he asked my sister who he has only been talking to for a month to help him handle $4200. A man that he was doing business with deposited $4200 into a bank account that my sister was told to open by this Kelvin Coleman. She was then told to take $100 for herself and to western union the rest of the money back to him. Ive been doing alot of research about these scammers and alot of people have said that even though she is able to pull the money out that doesnt mean the check is good. I dont want my sister to get hurt but I know that she woud just fly off the handle if I told her what I have been suspecting. She really thinks that this guy is the one and I just want to get some answers. PLEASE HELP I NEED ALL THE ADVICE I CAN GET!!!!!!!!

[Pinky]

If she just deposited the check yesterday or today, call her bank! Ask to speak to the branch manager. Tell them the situation - I can guarantee you if the guy is in Africa, the check is forged. Ask them to find the check and call the bank it's drawn on and VERIFY FUNDS. The bank will hopefully inform your sister before she sends the money off to the scammer. She's going to be on the hook for it otherwise. And hopefully this will be a wake up call for her.

[JackieC123]

I tried to tell her not to pull any money out but she already pulled out the money and sent it to him. I take it she's pretty muched doomed then?

[Pinky]

Yeah. I'm sorry. Some people have to learn for themselves. Just be there for her when her world falls apart.

[JackieC123]

Yeah thats the plan. Thanks so much for the help.

[almost_bit]

If she has sent the money, she will not get it back.

You need to help her understand that she's dealing with a scammer. Because he won't stop with this request. There will be another crisis and he'll need to borrow more money.

You'll find a lot of good information on this site to help her understand how scammers operate.

And even if she sent the money, you should still contact the bank and tell them that you suspect the check was fraudulent.

Good luck. She''ll need your support.

[JackieC123]

I will try to help her out and make her aware but unforunatly when my mother or myself try to give her advice she just thinks that we are trying to control her. Its ashame that she is 35 and Im 20 and have more sense then her, she truely belives that she has feelings for this man.

[Pinky]

Well, she does have feelings. The the written word is a powerful tool for manipulating the mind and these scammers use it very effectively via the anonymity of the internet where they can hide their eyes (the windows of the soul) behind computers. The best advice you can give her is to never send money - or give her love to - someone she hasn't met face to face and made full eye contact with.

A major factor that has contributed to your friend's predicament here is that she is a decent, honest, kind hearted, gentle soul who has probably never had a brush with a truly evil sociopath. Now she has. It is going to be very difficult for her to get this because up to this point she wasn't even aware that such evil existed and she won't want to believe it.

I pray that you can get her here when her time of realization comes so we can all support her in the things she must do to protect herself in the future.