Faking it — scammers’ tricks to steal your heart and money

My Father has been talking to a "Rita Teague" for a few months. Originally said was from TN, got into a car accident but then had to go to Africa to help bury her Grandmother. Needed money, ITunes cards were sent to "her" and now is presenting a contract.

please be careful with celebrities also this is my story: This is regarding a Fake Chris Young on Instagram and is one of many that contacted me in recent days. I knew from the beginning he was fake and was curious how they scam people for their hard-earned money. I played along pretending to have low self-esteem. These people are good I can't believe how good they are I didn't give him any money I still have him on the hook and he thinks I'm going to give him money soon. I also have screenshots of our conversations where pictures of Chis (fake) got off the internet. Also opened a video chat with me using one of Chris's videos (again stolen from the internet) the video was altered to be 'choppy'. My goal is to get the word out to inform people, especially the low self-esteem women, that are the main targets for these con artists. Offering cheap concert tickets, to fans and other incentives just to get people to send them money, in this case, bitcoin was requested and when I responded I had no bitcoin a steam card in the amount of 300.00 was requested. I realize that no one can stop them but I want to get it out it breaks my heart that they are taking advantage of people. I have plenty more to say, I'm not looking for fame or recognition, again my purpose in this endeavor is to inform people that there are websites and other avenues to report this sort of activity. I know the fake Chris is reposting (The Real)Chris's news about imposters on Instagram. If there is anything I can do to help you uncover, expose, and reduce the number of imposters please let me know what I can do. I am passionate about this topic after seeing the torment my sister went through from one of these criminals.

Im wondering if anyone knows of a scammer called jack wu says hes in the marines in anderson indiana ..also has lost a wife and child in car accident 3 yrs ago ..has last name wu but says he was born in Germany and raised in California but after wife passed moved to indiana they just started talking but he has already said he wants to move in together ..shes been thru a few of these scams but still believes everything he tells her

Met a guy name Robert Cage from word with friends 2. From Nashville , 60 yo, has a daughter 16 yo, wife killed in car accident. Very sweet talker, we had video chat twice. He want me to move to USA and marry him. He also introduced me to his travel agent friend Richard Santori from Liberty Travel, and this guy told me I have to pay usd1.500 for the profiling and processing paper. Is this true ? Somehow, I have this feeling these 2 people are the same, because on hangouts their last active is the same.

My sister is being scammed by someone using the name Nicholas Rizony, Dr. working in Syria but originally from Poland. Promising a box of 2.6 million she is beneficiarie that he inherited but couldn't get out of country without paying 6900.00 transfer fees so if she sent the money ( and he loves her) he would give her a huge amount of money ( he knows she is broke) but she pawned stuff used bill money and you name it to get him this money( Google play cards)it just goes on and on different reason to send more money to get him and money to her and she keeps putting herself at risk doing it,she doesn't have money for her bills,meds anything because he keeps getting it and promises her all the money she is going to get in return, he also has a guy saying he works for a company that she gets money to as to help Nick,she believes it with all her heart,her children had her committed for 10 days mental health she is just hurt and angry with them still doing the same thing,they need money for helicopter now to bring money to my sisters because can't take over state line in car.Help this guy and his helpers need to be on jail.Oh by the way he is in D.C now but has no money until he can get his so my sister got him a phone and just paid his rent.she doesn't have 20.00 to buy her some food.

Mine started last Aug. 2019. Man named Bryan Peters reached out to me on LinkedIn. I thought that it was legit since LinkedIn is supposed to be a professional website. His profile says he's a chemical engineer with a Master's degree and owns his own Petrochemical company out of NY. Since we are both working in the chemical industry, I accepted his friend request. He wanted to know all about what I did for work and quickly began asking personal questions "are you married? do you have kids?" He asked if we could email or text using WhatsApp since he was working on a contract in China. I normally have HUGE trust issues but felt comfortable with this guy and actually let my guard down. About 2 weeks after meeting, he began to tell me he loved me. His voice also did not match his picture but I try not to judge as the company I work for employs people from all around the world...many of who speak multiple languages. 9 months into this twisted relationship, I discover he is using another man's pictures! I was devastated! Everything has been a lie. Now, I'm out a large sum of money and just heartbroken. To make matters worse...the man who's pictures he used, this poor guy is very attractive but his pictures are being used by TONS of other men! I have become friends with the victim and he has had to report 26 people for using his photos! Let me know if anyone would like to see a picture of the victim as I'm sure someone out there right now is falling for this guy not knowing he has no clue.

I just experienced similar situation. I got DMed on Instagram from Brad Sthephan, very handsome surgeon doctor from Fl Miami, has a daughter and his ex is crazy, and she has a really bad temper. Then he told me he is in Yemen for a year. There were red flags but I did continued to talk to him. We have been talking for a week and a half but he said that can’t call or face time. So I kept saying that I need proof that he is a real person. But he would promise that as soon He gets a approval from the military base that he is staying at, he will call me. Last night he said that he loves me lol. And I said ok now I know you are not real and he flipped. He said that I have trust issues and that he would not want to start a relationship with someone like me. I am so upset that i almost believed this guy. What psychology manual do this guys use to manipulate and play with your feelings like that?

Anyone had an encounter with a gentleman that claim to be working in Mexico need Steam and Google play cards to purchase data for phone and computer use very loving personality with a son that lives with his grandmother wife is deceased Just blocked this guy he seem like a scammer not experienced enough catch him in lies all the time can we say Blocked.

Hi is this name familiar to anyone Mentez Thomas from Norway

Is this name familiar to anyone I’m trying to figure out if it’s a scam Mentez Thomas

Said surgeon Bradley Carruthers,is in Kabul Afghanistan, friended me on Facebook, his page says he is from Charlotte Nc. And home town of Milan Italy. Funny when I looked up the hospital he said he was with ...Nothing. He quickly wanted to chat on hangouts only. He wanted me to send him iTunes cards I told him I didn't have a bank account. Later he sends me his bank info for me to open up and use to purchase cards with....NOPE I am no fool. He also has up to three face book pages. And is constantly adding or deleting stuff. I do have his photo I can attach. He is a smooth romantic kind.

How do I help a friend!? She is being scammed by a man originally said his name was Paul Smith, he had an American wife who died and he is now widowed. He is something to do with a high up oil company and works offshore in Scotland, I think he is supposed to be German. He has a son who is going into the army and when he was younger had a nanny look after him. My friend is hook line and sinker in love with him and I’m frightful she will disown me for trying to help her see the truth. She sends him and the son iTunes and amazon cards. She has also changed her will I believe. I don’t know what I can do to help her or to stop this. They met on words with friends he even said he wrote a song for her..... and her not being up to date music didn’t realise it was an Ed Sheeran song. Has anyone else had this man try and scam them?

Mark Burke says he lives Cyprus he has never videod called my sister but rings her and textes WhatsApp.he was on plenty of fish dating site.hes been asking for money off my sister.but she paid it to his creditor.he says he's a antique dealer.my sister has giving him over 4 thousand pounds.got nothing bk.he said he'd pay her bk.when he comes uk.has anyone else had this.

My elderly roomate I believe is being scammed by this girl he met on internet , she supposedly owns a business where sells medical equipment, she told him IRS froze her money in the bank , so needed 6000$ so he sent her 6000$ and told him that give money back and some because she is making a million off of it ! Well now she needs another 14,000 $ get medical equipment out these containers ! I’m very worried if girl is scamming him ! He considering taking loan out because he could make 25,000 on top of money she already owes him ! I’m really worried

I worry that an older man is scamming my mother. He goes by the name Charles Doss? His Facebook account is worrisome as he has five older ladies as friends, and, he has many friends who have middle eastern names and arabic next to their names. She is a widow and I understand she is lonely, but my sister and I are worried she is being scammed.

The new scam is that I am a Marine stationed in Tripoli, Libya. He will be home in three months and he cannot video chat because he will get in trouble and the network is bad. He is using Marine name DARNELL GOMEZ. He has four different Facebook pages ladies beware

Talking to a guy named John Milton. He says he is from NJ, has a house in Louisiana. But is working on an oil rig in Australia. Has not asked for money yet but tried sending a package to me and i needed to go to verizon to get a phone in my name with a code to get the package delivered. Now he lost his wallet and has a bunch of money he needs to put somewhere. Met on tinder.

Has anyone talked to a Byron Marcus who has 12 year old son in boarding school and he lives in Nashville ,Tn. He claims he grew up in Portugal. He talked to me on hangouts audio but reception not great. I asked him to video chat with me and he got insulted that I didn’t trust him. Well he’s got that right.

Anyone come across william_donald001? Was talking to this guy for just over a week said he was a widower lost his wife to leukaemia 6 yrs ago has one daughter aged 20 said he lived in washington dc..didnt get a chance to ask for money i realised it was a scam after 4/5 days.did a bit of digging on Insta think I found the profile the pics were stolen from along with another account using the same pic he was saying all the things a woman likes to hear and the pics were of a very handsome man..so I screen shotted the accounts ..the next time we were online I told him I had had some pics done and would he like to see them he was eager too so I sent him the screenshots of multiple accounts with a not so nice message wish I could have seen the mystery persons face ..won't be falling for falling for that again..

So I am a Nigerian girl and it breaks my heart to read these messages sent by Nigerian guys. Ladies, if a guy adds you and y’all start chatting, be vigilant. I have major trust issues and once a man I have NEVER met asks me for money, that’s the end. DONE! SAME GOES FOR MEN...IF A WOMAN YOU'VE NEVER MET ASKS YOU FOR MONEY, RUN honey.

I am talking to a gentleman right now. We have been talking for a couple months. He started out saying he was in love with me. Said he was in Afghanistan on a peace keeping treaty sent by the UN. Right off he asked for money for his son in boarding school, said he needed $500 he was very persistent. I ended up sending him $200 but I sent it to a woman in the Philippines. His son is in the US. Then he needed $1500 to be able to get his papers processed in order to get his papers processed to get his money from the UN. I called the UN and was told it's a scam, but I didn't listen. I have so far sent him $1000. He to was going to retire in March of this year. His wife and daughter were killed in a car accident 8yrs. ago. He says he was raised in New Jersey. He has no family or friends. The only friend he has was killed just days after we started talking. His parents were killed when he was a boy and his uncle raised him. The uncle is now dead, so it's just him and his son. He said he was General in the army. He said he's 58. He was on his way home from Afghanistan and when he was going through customs in The United Kingdom he was stopped I guess for a random search and he was carrying over the amount of money he could legally carry and is now in jail over there. He needs $3700 and they will let him go. I have no money to help him. He says if I could get $2000 that would help. He has also contacted me on live chat at the beginning to prove he was real and has sent me several pictures. He has grey/black facial hair and reseiding hair line. Very nice looking man. He also bought a ring while in Afghanistan. I asked him how he could afford a ring and he said he used the last of his allotted money to buy it. He also sent a pic, but I deleted it. His name is Welsh Graham.

Be careful of Ramsey Williams. That is the name he is using on LinkedIn and Hangouts. He contacted me via LinkedIn and immediately wanted to talk on Hangouts because he did not want to get distracted with other people on LinkedIn. The picture he is using is of a handsome dark haired gentleman with sunglasses on leaning up against a rail. He said he is and Marine Engineer out to sea on a ship, has no access to phone or his bank account but money is no problem for him. He has a 12 year old son who is in boarding school in Turkey and can only talk with him on Wednesdays and Fridays by email. His wife died some years ago while pregnant with their second child. He himself is an only child and was raised by a uncle who died about two years ago. He has a home in West Virginia and will be retiring in 5 months and will return to the home then. He hopes to get involved in investing. He said he has a maid who watches the home and his dogs while he is away. The maid is about 70 years old. He loves to use friend quotes and use postings from other people to sound romantic and proclaim his fondness of you. He tries his best to gain your trust and wants you and him to be "best friends". He is a very smooth talker but his grammar is not that great. We only texted through Hangouts. He is persistent on wanting pictures of you. I advised him that I do not have any money so don't ask, I live from paycheck to paycheck. He likes to text you early in the morning or in the evening around 8 or 9 pm. I googled the picture he had on his profile for LinkedIn and several profiles came up so I started ignoring him from then on.

Met a guy on Instagram by the name Michael Shaft, yes as I read all the other messages he claimed to be working away. Didn't have any family, photos were nice, but then was asked for money after a couple of months say he give some of his money to the poor families he walked by every day. I said I was able to send any money to help soon after i found the photo of a real person that belonged with photo of him. This guy was gay and very real i reported it to him.

ok, i met a young man on pof & realized pretty quickly he was using fake pix & name. he finally fessed up & sent me real photos & said he's in ghana, africa. now he video chats me at least once a day everyday, so i know he's real. my issue is this...he had some packages sent to me from american eagle. it's shoes & a watch. he says there will b more at which time he wants me to mail them all to him in ghana. he will print out a postage label & send to me. i am not spending any money at all. just not sure why he couldn't just have them sent to him there instead of going thru me. anyone aware of a scam like this?

Anyone heard of a lady that goes by the name Petina bermudez ?Supposedly in Dubai?

For about a month I’ve been WhatsApp chatting (phone call and sms) with Oscar Donovan. Age 58yrs. Lives in Camberwell (Australia) and we were to meet near Camberwell. Cancelled late the night before citing a contract needed finalising in Sydney so he can get retirement funds sorted. Still chatting and I hinted he is catfish and he became very defensive. He pledges his love and promises when we finally meet it will all be worth the wait. He hasn’t asked me for anything, no Sensual photos, money, gift cards. Claims his phone is a multi media functioning phone which has internet connectivity but no webcam so cannot video call. Reluctant to take in the moment selfies. Sends file photos including some with his daughter, Melinda. 20 something studying biomedical science in Maryland (USA). Claims NZ wife died 3 yrs ago. Project Manager to do with oil and gas rigs in Mediterranean. Says born in Holland but raised in Jamaica. Accent is strange mix of Dutch and ? Ran all pics via TinEye, Yandex, google..nothing showed up. Thoughts anyone? I’m just leading it along waiting for the request for money or a smartphone. I’m sure he’s catfish but I’m curious to see when he asks me for something scammer.

I have been scammed for over two years now. He goes under Michael Douglas. His story is all very similar. Wife and son killed in Auto Accident. From Portland, Ore. although I could never find info. A real smooth operator and very convincing. I have taken out loans, credit card cash and now wants me to do a remortgage on my condo. His story, was into construction, did a big job in North Carolina. His money was put unto a bank in Scotland. I started sending iTunes for him to fly home to get his passport to fly to Scotland. He supposedly has 6.2 million but can get outbecase of back taxes he owes that his accountant didn’t take care of. In the meantime I keep supplying him with money. It went to several accounts all over the states. Could never figythis out why so many accounts and different people. I said to him irs would just do a levy on the bank acct. allowing the bank to pay irs from his account. He said no that’s not how it’s done there and he needed now tonite a lawyer. More money sent. Believe it or not this is going on for year and half in Scotland. He cannot get his money, says we will be rich I will want for nothing. Very convincing. Now the last straw because I have emptied my bank accounts, want me to refinance myCondo for 40k. Of course it would be for more as I would have to pay off first mortgage. I keep telling him no and he is still trying to convince me. I am 81, he is supposed to be 62. I have spoken on the phone, he sounded Nigerian, I told him this he was very insulted. And he quotes the Bible a lot. Also hates Karma. Would never do anything bad because he’s afraid of Karma. So don’t know if this is a familiar story. Oh and yes I told him the picture he uses for his profile belongs to another. I can remember the stor on that. So I still have not a clue his real name, where he is from, and I have been taken for a lot of Mom, and so very Ashton myself. There is no sense in reporting. How do they find people that use fake everything Is this story familiar to anyone Please be careful, they are professional at what they do. And can convince you so easily.

I have the best one ever - Been very suspicious from the start , very handsome said living in the Dallas area , not in another country. Working for Shell as a Geologist. But his real job is Gold Mining in Peru... Said Born in NJ, but was raised in Italy. Fun to talk to and play with.... Had some interesting conversations. with him falling head over in no time at all. Could not find any presence of him on-line period, which was the first red flag. Would forget what he told me v/s what he had written. The best was the sale of of the 10MM dollar property in Italy and frozen bank accounts when he needed to get his gold out of customs and was 500K short, due to frozen bank accounts. Sent a copy of the supposed letter from the Bank. I can tell it was fake. Signed by the CIO, I was rolling! I looked up the address on the letter and tax records. It does belong to the person he says he is... However, I'm not buying it. Did a trace on his IP, by sending him a link disguised as a Youtube song... And yes , he uses a static VPN!! Did a Ping on it and he is located in the Czech Republic.... I'm still playing with his as now its just fun and I want to see what he will do next.... Anyone have a similar story?

I have been scammed for over two years now. He goes under Michael Douglas. His story is all very similar. Wife and son killed in Auto Accident. From Portland, Ore. although I could never find info. A real smooth operator and very convincing. I have taken out loans, credit card cash and now wants me to do a remortgage on my condo. His story, was into construction, did a big job in North Carolina. His money was put unto a bank in Scotland. I started sending iTunes for him to fly home to get his passport to fly to Scotland. He supposedly has 6.2 million but can’t get out because of back taxes he owes that his accountant didn’t take care of. In the meantime I keep supplying him with money. It went to several accounts all over the states. Could never figure out why so many accounts and different people. He claimed his bank account was closed due to bad credit. I said to him irs would just do a levy on the bank acct. allowing the bank to pay irs from his account. He said no that’s not how it’s done there and he needed now to get a lawyer. More money sent. Believe it or not this is going on for year and half in Scotland. He cannot get his money, says we will be rich I will want for nothing. Very convincing. Now the last straw because I have emptied my bank accounts, want me to refinance myCondo for 40k. Of course it would be for more as I would have to pay off first mortgage. I keep telling him no and he is still trying to convince me. I am 81, he is supposed to be 62. I have spoken on the phone, he sounded Nigerian, I told him this he was very insulted. And he quotes the Bible a lot. Also hates Karma. Would never do anything bad because he’s afraid of Karma. So don’t know if this is a familiar story. Oh and yes I told him the picture he uses for his profile belongs to another. I can remember the story on that. So I still have not a clue his real name, where he is from, and I have been taken for a lot of Money and so very Ashamed of myself. There is no sense in reporting. How do they find people that use fake everything Is this story familiar to anyone Please be careful, they are professional at what they do. And can convince you so easily.

Help my sister doesn’t believe me that this guy is a scammer his name is Giovanni Mata (last name probably spelled different) claims to be an Orthopedic Doctor in Yemen wants her to open an account or tsp a wire transfer?? Any one else dealing with the same scammer?

Hello has anyone talked to a guy named Gabriel Willson he's a Army Mechanical Engineer asking me to send him $500.00 for his retirement form

Some guy on words with friends is talking to me, supposedly a doctor who is from Salt Lake City Utah and is a military doctor in Iraq. IDK how he's a doctor if he went to United States University and they have no medical school. But I don't buy it at all. The questions are always like " if you don't mind me asking...?" And crap like that. And he said " I'm from salt lake city Utah United states". And I'm thinking yeah....i freaking know where SLC is, you don't need to be that geographically specific dude. I'm trying to find these photos somewhere on Google that he's using but I can't yet. Yet.