Several years ago I was approached by a scammer on an internet dating site.
The guy had his address listed in a nearby suburb and so when he contacted me I replied back. I wasn’t too interested – his occupation was landscaper.
When he started messaging me, he transformed from a landscaper nearby, to an oil executive in Nigeria, my hopes went up. That should have been the first warning sign. (No, not the hope, the Nigeria location, silly).
He sent me a picture and he was nice looking, not breathtaking, but better than average.
He had a son, I believe the son was staying in Holland. He had lost his wife in a tragic car accident. Second warning sign.
He tapped into my nurturing instinct and I was hooked. His instant messages became the highlight of my day. He seemed to have ESP as to when i was on the computer.
No wonder, the creep’s job was to scam. No need to walk away from a computer with that kind of job.
I never did talk to him on the phone. Thank God.
I really thought that a future would be possible with this man. (I know, sometimes i can be beyond naive.)
Then his story started getting weird. He said he had taken a day off to go shopping and had bought an antique bronze skull in the village. (Who the heck bronzes a skull?!!)
Then he said he didn’t have money to get the skull back to the states (btw oil executives always have money) and he wanted to give it to me.
Gosh, I thought about all of the things I wanted to buy for my house and the last thing I wanted as decoration in my beautiful home was a antique bronze skull! (Red flags were waving sky high).
He further said that I needed to be an interloper in a business transaction between someone who would pick something up from my mailbox and send it to Nigeria.
By the way he didn’t trust this person that was supposed to be coming to my mailbox, which happened to be right in front of my house.
WHAT?!!!
By this time there were many problems I had with this potential suitor.
Number 1 – He wanted to involve me in an international money transaction and there was NO WAY I WAS GOING TO DO THAT! (I could get myself thrown into jail for that kind of stupid.)
I watch my money like a hawk and if I don’t know where or what it is financing it stays in my pocket.
This man could be linked to terrorists, a drug cartel or he could just be a kid in a Nigerian sweat factory who preys on American women to scam them.
Number 2 – I do not enable people in their weaknesses. If this was really a business transaction, then he needed to pay for it.
Number 3 – Who in their right mind would buy an antique bronze head and pay $1,500 for it?
Number 4 – I am a single mother with three amazing children. Let me get this right… He wanted me to give him my address to give to someone he didn’t trust?!!
The answer is NOT IN MY LIFETIME!
I ended the scam by saying,”Sounds like quite the pickle you have gotten into but this is your pickle to deal with, not mine.”
No further instant messages came.
To read more information about internet dating scams please click on the following link.https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-you-need-know-about-romance-scams
