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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.




The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

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Lioness1


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The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

Postby Lioness1 » Tue Feb 14, 2012 7:55 pm

The FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation February 14, 2012

"Looking for love"
Beware of Online Dating Scams

Millions of Americans visit online dating websites every year, hoping to find a companion of even a soul mate.

But today, on Valentine`s Day, we want to warn you, that criminals use these sites, too, looking to turn the lonely and vulnerable into fast money through a variety of scams.

These criminals - who also troll social media sites and chat rooms in search of romantic victims - usually claim to be Americans traveling or working abroad. In reality, they often life overseas. Their most common targets are women over 40 who are divorced, widowed, and/or disabled, but every age groug and demographic is at risk.

Here`s how the scam usually works. You`re contacted online by someone who appears interested in you. He or she may have a profile you can read or a picture that is e-mailed to you. For weeks, even months, you may chat back and forth with one another, forming a connection. You may even be sent flowers or other gifts. But ultimately, it`s going to happen - your new found "friend" is going to ask you for money.

So you send money....., but rest assured the requests won`t stop there. There will be more hardships that only you can help alleviate with your financial gifts. He may also send you checks to cash since he`s out of the country and can`t cash them himself, or he may ask you to forward him a package.

So what really happenend? You were targeted by criminals, probably based on personal information you uploaded on dating or social media sites. The pictures you were sent were most likely phony, lifted from other websites. The profiles were fake as well, carefully crafted to match your interests.

In addition to losing your money to someone who had no intention of ever visiting you, you may also have unknowingly taken part in a money loundering scheme by cashing phony checks and sending the money overseas and by shipping stolen merchandies (the forwarded package).

While the FBI and other federal partners work some of these cases - in particular those with a large number of victims or large dollar losses and/or those involving organized criminal groups - many are investigated by local and state authorities.

We strangly recommend, however, that if you think you`ve been victimized by a dating scam or any other online scam, file a complaint with our Internet Crime Complaint Center. Before forwarding the complaints to the appropriate agencies, IC3 collates and analyzes the data - looking for common threats that could link complaints together and help identify the culprits. Which helps keep everryone safer on the Internet. -

For specific tips on how to keep from being lured into an online dating scam, see the sidebar above. Awareness is the best tool for preventing crime......and in this case, even from preventing a broken heart.

Link: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/fe ... ms_021412/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Podcasts and Radio
FBI "Sweetheart scams"
02/09/2012

"We currently offer four podcast shows, all of which are also aired on the radio"



Note: I also made a complaint at the IC3!
Last edited by Lioness1 on Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:09 pm, edited 3 times in total.

The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

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FrumpyBB
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Re: The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

Postby FrumpyBB » Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:00 pm

^^And keep it in their files, whilst we help propagating scam info.
Well, as long as they do not talk against posting scam info in the public.
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 :)

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TGTBT
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Re: The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

Postby TGTBT » Wed Feb 15, 2012 4:27 am

Did this really come from the FBI.gov website? If so, someone needs to learn how to use spell check!

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duckhunter
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Re: The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

Postby duckhunter » Wed Feb 15, 2012 5:04 am

I noticed that too. Very official. :mrgreen:
Help us keep scammers stupid Post his details here to warn others, then walk away without explanation. Confrontation alerts scammers & makes them change their identities...which makes all your hard work outdated. It messes with their minds if they don't know why you walked away.

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The Enchantress
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Re: The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

Postby The Enchantress » Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:11 am

Never send money by Western Union/Moneygram.
Never give personal information.
Online anyone can claim to be anyone, any age and from anywhere.

Click here > Advice - useful links

MerryElizabeth
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Re: The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

Postby MerryElizabeth » Thu Feb 16, 2012 2:57 am


One way to steer clear of these criminals all together is to stick to online dating websites with nationally known reputations.



When I read this article on the FBI website I thought about online dating websites with nationally known reputations alright. Unfortunately, I think the 'nationally known reputation' for many/most of the dating sites may very well be along this line of thinking.....Assume all are scammers until proven otherwise.

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duckhunter
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Re: The FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation - 02/14/2012

Postby duckhunter » Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:30 am

Good point MerryElizabeth.

Nice to see you again btw.
Help us keep scammers stupid Post his details here to warn others, then walk away without explanation. Confrontation alerts scammers & makes them change their identities...which makes all your hard work outdated. It messes with their minds if they don't know why you walked away.

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