25.5.09

Internet love scams?

Awhile back I joined a site that was supposed to be for travel information exchange. I hadn't logged into it for awhile and about a month ago, I figured I'd go see what was up since I got an email that they had renovated. So I updated my profile picture and travel info, deleted a couple of old mails and forgot about it until I started getting notifications that I had mail waiting. Well some of these emails were a tad weird.. Men offering friendship, romance, trust, loyalty and email addresses. Well if you google those email addresses, half of them come up as being listed as Internet love scammers.

They get a woman interested in them, and they are usually travelling. Then the woman will get a frantic message that he is stuck somewhere and desperately needs money to get out, or his son is injured and needs x amount of dollars for medical treatment in Nigeria (yes because we single parents always run off to Nigeria with our kids).

I would offer up a sampling, but when you report them as spam, they disappear from the inbox. I'm sure I'll get a few more and when I do I'll share..


In the meantime, there's even a site on how to deal with these guys nicknamed as the Nigerian 419..

http://www.419eater.com/

All about romance scamming:

http://www.internet-love-scams.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9408

5 comments:

  1. I always wonder how people come into these businesses? Do they grow up thinking, it would be cool to be a scam artist some day?

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  2. Dear Madam, Greets!

    I am Obama Jonas Mabokoko, and I would like to say very sorry for your bad experiencing with the bad men.

    As the Deputy Minister of Dates and Romancing in my country, I am authorized to offer you 100 young and strong young men for the cost of shippingment only!

    Please let me know your address so I may begin maleing your mails immediately. The first will have the bill of lading for all and I anticipate your prompt payment in full.

    Thanks you again, and Greets!

    OJM

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  3. Oh, I've been having way too much fun with this.

    Victim #1 - Claims to be from Miami Florida with a young daughter and surprise, surprise, he is going on a business trip to Nigeria.. Cause you know, we all go on business trips to Nigeria. So I told him that I couldn't wait the extra days, or weeks or however long the scam would take, but if he could tell me right away, was his daughter going to get sick, or was his passport going to be stolen.. User is offline.

    Victim #2 - This one is a real winner. Claims to live in Scotland, but types like no Scot I've ever spoken too. So he claims he is Indonesian, but has a Scottish mom. Lo and behold, he also has a young daughter, and he has to go to South Africa on a business trip to buy Art Supplies. Personally I just go to the art store downtown, but that's me. Then he tells me that he is leaving shortly to go to San Jose California. I asked him what could possibly happen in San Jose California, then told him he was better off going to Nigeria. I think he's blocked me now.

    Victim #3 - I'm not even going to bother chatting with this one. He claims to be in England looking for his soulmate, but from his Yahoo mail addy he flung at me, and according to his profile, he lives in Miami. WTF! How geographically challenged are these people!

    Maybe I should open my own Scam Busters website.. lol!

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  4. I get spam scam stuff all the time. But it is always the Send me your money and I'll send you some back kind. Oh for some Love spam. Good luck with fighting off those countrymen.

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  5. Around here, the scamming men are more cleverly disguised. It's called Match.com. Bah!

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Leave me some grey matter.