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

Keep away from Chris Bob 'James' on Instagram. 'Widowed' with a daughter. Said he lived in Austin Texas and recently moved back to LA. Scammed me out of $1550 because I fell for him and believed every bit of crap he fed me. Likes payment by Bitcoin. He crossed the line when he asked for my bank details, username, password etc and that's when I got out. Fortunately, I'm made of tough stuff and realised what a fool I'd been Still says he's in love with me and all that rubbish. Very good-looking with tattoos. Steer clear! I have photos if you want to see him.

I was speaking with a man aswell called himself Aaron Rogers he was all sweet talk then started asking me for money but I was not stupid and would not send any I never heard from him again

This is going to make you think. I am lovingwomen from POF this guy is Alex he in his own business in turkey finishing a job there and widow and daughter rose and coming back to Jacksonville FLA needing 5000.00 get his equipment fix so he can come home. Block this guy big time. Another one ladies I text with another man from POF Dr Samuel Locklear M.D in Syria donating his 3 months saving life's and get donations for his work and co workers. This goes on for month. Daughter grace Locklear caregiver in Clinton Wisconsin she text me that Dr Samuel was her man and no one will get him. The reason why I cared about was grace I sent gifts for Christmas and birthday gifts and was caring but when I did not send money to Dr frank Boateng in Gahan I refuse to open account and resend money. I had just had surgery and all he card about was getting money to gahant. I am letting you women know it is not safe in dating sites and Facebook these men with take what it takes to steal your money. I tried informing POF and they do not care. Yes he called I could not understand him and it makes no sense to me vthat a father will let his daughter b16 the birthday. He tired telling me that he needed some info for me to be put in life insurance policy and 401k. If this means helping women then I will do what it takes ladies LET STOP These people from UK. and NIGERIA, Africa, please let stop them ladies and also men

Scammer names Mark Formusa and Steve Cryer both scammed my mom out of lots of money. Steve claimed to be a US construction contractor stuck in Ghana who was paid in gold with a laundry list of problems getting it back to US. He faked suicide when my tried to break things off. His wife died of Lukemia and has a daughter in the States named Selena. His "friend" helping in Ghana is Martin Wilson. Recipient of wired $ in WA was Seth. They didn't ask for money at first, as they built trust. Steve was on Plenty of Fish. NEVER do favors or give anything tangible to virtual boyfriends.

There was a guy name Dr. David Miller working in Pakastan. Son in boarding school, a wife and daughter killed in car accident. Saw my profile , and was attracted to it. He talked very sad, but yet kind, and want me to send him $ 500.00 so he can get a vacation permit to come to the states to see me. He said he worked for the UN, will write a letter, needed my address and nearest airport near me, send me the letter and I make the payment to UN. I told him no P

Does anyone know a Campton Williams? Says he is from Brooklyn, NY and is working for UN as a journalist? Has a son in boarding school and his wife died in a car accident 6 years ago. No family to take care of his son in England who is at a boarding school.

How can you find out if you’re being scammed?

Being scammed right now! Asking for money, messaged on Instagram, name Shaun Aldo Ballotto goes by the name preciousheartforyou on Instagram says he is Italian, with a daughter Lia , wife died of cancer 5 years ago...in Thailand sorting his daughters inheritance....

I have been on words with friends. all of a sudden all these men are talking to you. I engaged in conversation with this Larry Scott. His pictures were amazing I fell head over heals. But always had my guard up. If you notice when they type they have a accent. That was my first red flag. So I played along. Then came the big question can I send his kids money? He was supposedly on oil rig . Seems that's a Favorite profession here. He said he had no access to his bank info,out at sea lol.. So told him to give me his accts and I would call his bank and see what they could work out. Of couse he couldn't do that.. Well days went by and he would text me all of a sudden all he wanted was a amazon card lol When money is mentioned its a scammer. read texts carefully . Because the grammar is always a hint. Please carefull I now scare them when they engage me . I tell them when they ask what I do. I say Im aspecial investigator for FBI they then delete me

My cousin met this guy on Facebook by the name of Andrew. My cousin lost her soul mate some time ago and is desprately looking for love. This guy has been texting and IMing her since October. He is in construction and took a job in Turkey, but is from California. He states that the contract he took to go over pays him a LOT of money but due to tax laws in Turkey, he is being held until the tax on the money has been paid and he cannot cash the check there or transfer money from his account in California. I'm not sure why as I've tried to tell her if this is legitimate then there a about 100 different ways he should be able to take care of this himself as he states he has the money to do so. He is a widower just like she is and has a kiddo that lives in Florida with a family member. She thinks he is legitimate and that he loves her and all the promises are real. He is going to buy her a new car and wants her to find them a house around $500,000 so they can start a life together. He finally got her to start sending him iTune cards. He then tells her that he has to go to immigration jail because his visa is up. He desprately needs money to pay the taxes so he can come home. My cousin is living on SSDI and really has no money to help him. So he says his friend owes him money and will transfer it to her bank bit is very specific about the bank to be used. She finally agrees. Said friend does transfer the money and she waits for it to clear. Then she goes to transfer to him and because of where it's being sent, the banks fraud team flags it. The fraud team verifies it is good but will not let her wire it. So it's sent back to the sender. The sender then sends her a money order or cashier's check for a total of $13,000. My cousin then sends it via money gram and western union. She is all excited as the lawyer stated prior that this amount will get him home and that he will be able to send the rest of the owed tax money to them. So here it is the day after and she gets a text that immigration is no longer willing to accept that and he needs the rest of the money owed for taxes. $89,000. Help me if you can. I've tried to talk to her but she thinks this is real and that due to conversations with him that he is true and not lying to her. I've shared this link with her in hopes that it helps. She was in a deep depression due to the loss of her soul mate and after this, I'm not sure how to help.

This guy is James Williams also from army” but asking for money for emergency; same story wife died accident, son studied Africa; But this one is the white guy in the picture he video call me and I saw him , I did saw his face; that’s the difference in the other stories; I still haven’t sent any money.

Talked to a bloke named mason apparently he is in Ghana for a children’s orphanage texted for 4 wks apparently someone hacked his bank account an got no money to come home an wants 2500 to come home just letting u all now he was on badoo dating site

Heather your navy friend is trying to pull a fast one on you. I am a retired veteran. And, through out my 20+ years in the military I don't know of anyone who have paid their command to process their leave paperwork. If the command take money to process someone's leave paperwork they would be committing a federal crime.

This is why I don't use dating sites. Dating is for real life. Everything was not meant to be done over the internet. Socializing was meant for real life. If I don't what you ACTUALLY look like or what your personality is ACTUALLY like in person, I'm not trying to date you. No THANKS!

this guy name Richard Alen from belgium met him on POF immediately stated, wife died from cancer 5yrs ago.. hLs a daughter named lisa 13ys old in boarding school with a nanny. on a rig in Alaska something happened need to get to me so we can get married blah blah ,he sent photos songs letters.. black hair, grey beard around 57yrs old. He needed money cause something happened on the Rig wanted an open account from to send money from his company Chevron in Texas.Wanted 30,000$ first.. I told him he was a scammer .. got mad said i called him names .. then asked for itune cards pissed me off..blocked him i have photos and video of the rig ..anyone know this guy?

Please people, cut all contact with these people, online dating is not a smart why to find your soulmate, all u are going to find is scammers. Wake up, not all men are after your money. But if they start asking for money, Don't do it. Most of these men are not even in this country. Find love the old fashion way. Never give money out, real men don't ask for money.

I got a Facebook message from this guy name mike bates. He said he got cheated on by his now ex wife. He said he has a son and lives in Louisiana, but is in the us army. He kept asking me for money with I tune cards, google play and amazon cards. He sent me pics and nudes, now he treated me if I didn’t give him more money that he would send my nudes to my job and that I would be going to jail. Then he called me and it was a guy from Nigeria where is was deployed at. So I’m scared for my life

Does anyone knows luiz gustavo? He has 2 daughters and a mom from brazil and he works in alabama. He's doesn't speak well in english but he is very handsome. He is not asking for anything yet but everytime i ask for a video call he has load of alibi.. We've been chatting and talking for months but haven't seen him yet in a video call. Just pictures of him, his mom and daughters.. He is from brazil and work in alabama as an engineer.. I dunno if it is true..

So here are the signs: 1. They're good-looking/sexy/fit, that's the initial reel in 2. Claim they're widowers, widows, divorced etc, with a child to support 3. Looking for love; so are you, or you're innocently just looking for a friend, perhaps 4. Some claim to be doctors, engineers, in the military. Actually, mine said he was just poor! There's some semblance of honesty in that, but still... 5. They promise undying love etc etc etc 6. They also ask for personal pics and that one is a definite no-no! 7. They say they need money for certain things and they beg you for help and ask for iTune or in my case Amazon cards The bottom line is, as much as it's hard to take, it's not just them who are the problem, so are we! We have the power to stop it! Here's the annoying thing: I'm still attracted to mine because despite everything the pics on his page look genuine, but if I have to report him I will.

hi im 63 wife passes away never got on line only to buy thing I started getting weman talking same happen to me promise promise promise never meet any of them took me for a lot there names kathbrittany Rhoda satan susan bosswell all cons its a dam shame cant trust noboby nomore any I learn the hard way but it maded me a better person there lost thanks

Ladies, look out for a guy named John B Kelvin. Trolls instagram, known as jbare3360. Already been reported to other scammer sights. His deal is wooing women in and eventually asks for money so he can come see them. Claims to be in the army and is in Nigeria on a peace keeping mission. To get the women to talk to him privately, he gets them to go to KiK where he goes by isjokay070. Gets them to go to Walmart to wire money via Western Union or Moneygram to another Walmart in Vermont addressing the transfers to a person named Dawn Myers who can supposedly get the money to him. Seen him during an instagram search and called him out. He blocked me after that. What a shocker.

I barely escaped this scam. I was contacted on messenger via facebook by someone claiming to be a deployed soldier in Syria, not as a love interest, but as a friend claiming to need moral support. So many signs this was somewhat off; but guess I wanted to believe I was there for a soldier. And then it came, the request for an ITunes card. When I confronted him he went from an incredible kind person to hostile and angry. I couldn't block fast enough. How could I have been so naïve. His facebook page had little to no activity with only three photos, one appeared to be a soldier in Syria, (poor guy in the picture likely has no clue). All the likes on the photos were all Arab names. He claimed to be a West Point grad but had no clue about being a lieutenant, he said he was just a regular Army soldier. Deployed well over a year (think not); deceased parents, no family, a five year old daughter in boarding school, no apparent mother of the child. He also had multiple names, lured me to hangout with two other names. Didn't understand when I asked him when did he enlist. When I asked about the facebook name (appeared to be an Arabic name) over an American name, he said it was his surname. I said your last name? He didn't get it, what did I mean. Anyway, his private email could not be verified though it appeared to work as we did have some correspondence. I blocked everything except the facebook page he uses, I'm watching to see if anything happens with it before I attempt to report it to facebook as suspicious. Here I am, still hesitant just in case he's a real soldier. I guess I need the sky to fall on my head. He's still out there folks; be careful.

I was scammed by a man named Ryan Wood in Two page. He said he was a fisherman, but everytime i tried to ask to see him he could not give me prove of his identity. He deposit a check in my account that results to be from a close account. He asked to send money through Walmart from that money. The check reversed couple of days after. Now i owe money to the bank. The bank is investigating this case.

I have ran into this a couple of times on Grindr. They says they are getting out of the military in 3 months and moving back to your city. He kept wanting me to use the app Hangout or use his gmail email. He kept saying Okay, handsome. No one says, okay. Sad this happens.

Been talking to this guy,who say he livesbin Clinton Hills,Brooklyn, New York,has 1 son he say he raised since wife died in a plane crash.He always ask for small amount of money, and want me to send Amazon cards and steam cards,if mobey is to be sent by Western Union,it is always in someone else namelike Charles Walters. Promised a Lexus, and marriage,every morning he would text a love message at around 4. He say, he get up at 4 and workout, he claim he owns a gym a personal trainer and nutrition specialist. Mom was supposed to be in the hospital on Oklahoma sometime back,and his father had left him an inhertaince of millon of dollars in London, flew out to meet dad's lawyer that the lawyer said he had to come, he is lying He say his Mom is from Australia and his dad is from Brownsville, New York,He know how to photoshop and a smooth talker, was coming to visit,say he was on the pkane when it caught fire and he got smoke in his lungs and he fainted so his cousin said,had to be put in the hospital, then he was coming again,this time he had a wreck,one lie after another His wife was name Lashawn,probably still living,som is name Jason 3 yrs old l am a good and respectful woman who has been scammed by this person,but because l am a believer and have God, yeah l feel stupid, but bless l woke up because l prayed and ask God to make it clear to me.l don't think this is the real person,l think somone is using his infro,but l will not stop until be is behind bars ladies and gentlemen we must come together and work on good people getting scammed we have a soul,they dont .Only hell is their home but KAMRA will come to them. If you have the same story let me know.He also say he has a step sister, Kimberly and 1 best friend Rob and he brags about he is a good cook

So update on dr Micheal Herris ... I reverse image searched his pic and found conflicting sites and information confronted him with it and he sent me a fake ID pic which I called him out on and then he went on to tell me I had a life and I could choose to walk, which I did and blocked him. Funny thing is I found the guy on insta whose photos he is using and told him and he hasn’t responded infact has a message on his account to say he knows that this is happening but isn’t bothered !!! Be careful folks, I wasn’t looking for love just friends and new people to talk to ... never ever send money and always do a google reverse search on image or try and get a video call so u know who you are talking to. Stay safe x

Please also watch out for a man named Samuel Jeffrey on ehar. He pretends to be a Mechanical Engineer working for an oil rig company in Timika in West Papua, Indonesia. He said his originally from Albania but after her mum died when he was 8 years old, he and his dad moved to Newark, New Jersey. He uses sweet words to fall for him, promises to see you and get married soon, etc. After courting for 2 months he would say he has financial problems with his contract that he is doing in Timika and needs 4k usd. Though he didnt ask me to give the amount, you would feel guilty for not supporting him. Ehar has already terminated his account. This guy was a total lier and scammer. Don't fall for him!!!

Valuable information,Thanks lots for sharing them with us.

I have had my share too. Seeing "Antonio" stories on here made me want to share my the "Antonio" I interacted with who does business internationally. We met online, texted a lot as well as talked. He had an accent (so long ago now cannot describe). He went for a trip, was "detained".... Then asked to wire money. Of course, that never happened, and we never met. He tried several times, saying he was on his way to meet me, that he would sell his house and we would buy a new house wherever I wanted for us to marry and live happily ever after. I cut him off and we never met. I moved to a new city after that, got back on Match.com, found someone who seemed to want "a long term relationship" except this time it was a real relationship - except with a lot of babysitting. He came back from a business trip. Had no time for me, so ended that one. Years later, enter "Eric" aka "Rick", "a retired attorney" who I met in person, 3 weeks later proposed and gave me 2 engagement rings, after taking me to his bank safe to show me his jewelry and watch collections, when he gave me a ruby "pre-engagement ring". He told me that these 3 rings were from "an investment" he had made "to protect assets" from late wife's medical bills. After discovering his motivation for marriage was to have a place to live because the IRS had a huge lien on his "paid off house" that he was "going to put in my name.....to protect me", A Google search found he was not retired, rather disbarred, after taking over $20K of a client's money and refusing to pay them back - after at least 3 license suspensions and reprimands. He tried several times to move in with me, but I refused. I called off the wedding as soon as I discovered he has dementia, not remembering conversations. I have returned everything to him. Today I just realized he stole all of my jewelry. So his "jewelry investment" has grown. He also has a thing for kitchen knives, small appliances. My really nice scissors are gone too. My concern is that he has my personal info and great medical insurance info - and he needs medical care to deal with his double hip surgery aka 10 year drug problem I later found out about... Which apparently was the reason for break ups of 2-3 other marriage engagements within a year before meeting me. His house is now on the market because he cannot afford the lavish lifestyle he was pretending to live and "give me...." - which nothing actually materialized, not even for wedding plans that he always had an excuse why he asked for me to pay and he would cover it later when his money came through, leaving me with bills. I cancelled everything and got luckily got refunds.His daughter filled me in on how he has been living with a woman who could not get him out of her house! She said she had to pay for his stuff to be junked to get it out. I was lucky that I stood my ground on that! Lesson learned. Go slow. Even if things seem fine face to face, there could be ulterior motives which could have nothing at all to do with looooove!

Has anyone been scammed by a Richard Lee Haupt??? Said he was in Germany taking care of his dying uncle. Wanted to pay my credit card and then use it to purchase stuff. Low and behold he paid with a cancelled account!!

This has happened to me over and over.