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Published: April 5th 2014
SCAMS, SCAMS & MORE SCAMS Part 2...Internet Romance. Act 1: Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. She had the biggest smile on her face...so I had to ask.
She showed me two photos...a guy on a motorbike with a snowclad mountain behind...the other less scenic.
"Is he the same guy in each photo?" I asked.
"Of course" she said.
I was not so sure.
The fact that one had a receding hairline and the other didn't...invisible to her...obvious to me.
She was in love...and sorry to say it...but love...or was it loneliness...had made her blind.
*****
He was a Canadian she said...a geologist...found a diamond deposit in Ghana.
Lucky guy.
Arrangement with a local chief to mine it...only needed to set up the licences to do so.
Busy guy.
They were in contact by email and telephone.
When she telephoned him he was either in London or Zurich...she checked she assurred me...he was in those places.
She insisted on a visual Skype session.
Initially his camera would not be working...but some reflections of doubt from her...guess what?
He got his camera
fixed...didn't he?
The night of this visual Skype session was approaching...and she was excited.
Time to prove the doubters wrong...her man in the ether was going to show himself...me wondering if it would have an Adults Only rating.
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They had the Skype session.
Yes...his camera was working.
But she couldn't understand why he was moving around in front of the camera...and all she could see of him was a white T-shirt!!!
Extraordinary.
Still had a pretty hot Skype session though.
Told him to get his camera fixed again she told me.
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Next I saw her she was not so happy.
She had been to the International Airport with friends to meet him...she'd even paid for his airfare.
They waited until the airport was silent and empty...a sad time for her...he didn't arrive.
They had planned to marry she said...she had sent him other moneys for the diamond venture...silly her.
She felt broken then wretched and betrayed.
She'd been scammed.
The woman I had previously known emerged...her sight returned...wound & injure a lioness at your peril she vowed.
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The Australian Federal Police told her she was the first person in the world to come up with a system to trace the emails...and trace them she did.
Eight men in a shed in Ghana were arrested.
The guy in the white t-shirt was black...the resolution in his camera was turned to dark...lucky she could see the white T-shirt at all.
The guys in the photos were different men after all...images taken from dating websites.
The phonecalls in London and Zurich were from the shed in Ghana...connected to overseas exchanges to disguise their true sources.
And the diamonds...never did see any evidence of those.
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The Police in Ghana required her to come to Ghana to give evidence to ensure conviction.
She was now excited.
Not quite as excited when I advised her not to go.
It's one thing to get scammed...its another thing to get killed trying to prove it.
The guys in the shed were small fry.
Their bosses had obviously set up an elaborate worldwide web...no way they would quietly risk exposure by some lonely western woman coming
to blow their scams apart.
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Act 2: The Letter I received a letter from a legal firm in Spain.
Some long lost relative had died and left a lot of money.
One problem...there was no Will...He'd died intestate.
Lucky me.
The Spanish lawyers had managed to trace me in Australia as the only living relative.
Lucky me.
The Spanish lawyers were prepared to give a large slice of the Estate TO ME...if I paid the fees to unlock the freeze on the bank accounts.
They would keep the rest...only fair they told me...to compensate them for the trouble in tracking me down.
Lucky me.
For only about a $1,000 initial outlay...I'd be able to visit all those exotic destinations on my bucket list.
Yep...they vouched it was true.
Lucky me.
Act 3: The Second Letter My father-in-law came to visit...and he was excited.
"I want you to look at this David. Tell me what you think. Uncle ***** died over 80 years ago."
He had received a letter from a legal firm in Spain.
Some long
lost relative had died and left a lot of money.
One problem...there was no Will...He'd died intestate.
The Spanish lawyers had managed to trace my father-in-law in Australia as the only living relative.
The Spanish lawyers were prepared to give a large slice of the Estate TO HIM...if he paid the fees to unlock the freeze on the bank accounts.
They would keep the rest...only fair they told him...to compensate them for the trouble in tracking him down.
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I said "Just hold on a minute"...and disappeared into my office...returning with the first letter that had been written to me.
On comparison...the letters were identically worded...except for the name of the deceased, the addressee, and the name of the Spanish firm.
Better have a beer to drown our sorrows...dreams dashed.
We'd been scammed...or more accurately...someone had tried to do so.
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The sad thing is greed results in many people taking the bait and paying money to scammers in the faint hope of bountiful reward.
Sorry but true.
If it wasn't true...scammers wouldn't bother sending the letters.
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Act 4: Are you really an Angel?
He had the biggest smile on his face...so I had to ask.
"Don't worry about it. I'll tell you some other time."
"No tell me now. After all you have been through...it is fantastic to see you so happy."
He had been through a difficult Family Law matter...and he'd got an excellent settlement...and a lot of money.
He insisted on telling me another day...but I insisted.
He showed me a photo on his phone...
my opening blog picture.
He told me of a relationship over the internet...her name was "Angel".
He couldn't stop smiling..."How lucky am I" he said over and over.
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Now he was in his 50s...good looking guy...and in anyone's book Angel is young and very pretty.
"What Nationality is she?" I asked.
"American. I've checked her out. She's genuine. I've even got a copy of her passport."
"Oh really. How old is she?"
"34" he said..."How lucky am I?"
"Looks like 17 to me" I thought.
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He had 5 photos of her including of her passport.
I got
him to email them to me.
I then sent him a detailed advice...34 points.
Clear evidence some of the photos had been photoshopped.
Clear evidence he'd been scammed.
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My advice included the following:
"I confirm my strong advice that I believe you have been a victim of a scam apparently originating in Ghana.
Accordingly I have advised you
NOT to send any further money to her.
I am of the opinion the 4 photographs you received from your internet friend are
NOT that person and the passport copy is a forgery.
The 4 photographs and the Passport Photo on careful examination bear this out.
For your interest I make the following observations from examination of the 5 photographs.
Photo 1: Girl standing leaning on white cabinet – 135 KB.
Properties show “594KB (contains 5 included files)”.
Authors/date taken – blank.
Photo 2: Same girl side-on - 112 KB.
Properties show “594 KB (contains 5 included files)”.
Authors/date taken – blank.
Photo 3:
Same girl close up - 111 KB.
Properties show “594 KB (contains 5 included
files)”.
Authors/date taken – blank.
Photo 4 Same girl with signage – 99KB.
Authors/date taken – blank.
Passport Page Photo 128 KB.
Properties show “594 KB (contains 5 included files)”.
1. The passport says it is for Angel Martha Crawford dob 10.4.1979.
That would make her 32 years old.
The passport issued on 2.3.2006 so she would be 27 in 2006.
2. The 4 photos were taken at the same time, same clothes, hair etc.
If the photos 1, 2 and 3 are recent then the passport photo cannot be 5 years ago.
3. The age of the girl in the photo looks a lot younger than 27 or 32 years old...maybe 16-20 years old.
4. The passport photo shows blurred background writing eg “Date of Birth”.
However the passport photo is very clear as are the black print of the girl’s details.
5. I believe the passport photo is a copy from Photo No 1, using oblique head of the girl and rotating it to be vertical.
6. The girl’s hair has been cut off at the base to allow inclusion of the blue top in the passport photo.
7. The points of light on the RHS face edge (chin to hairline and the point of light on the face under the lower RHS curl) are identical in the passport photo to Photo No 1.
8. The large light spot on the RHS neck is identical in the passport photo to Photo No 1.
9. The cut piece of hair above the large light spot on the RHS neck is identical in the passport photo to Photo No 1.
10. The point of light on the LHS of the edge of her face (between chin and mouth) is identical in the passport photo to Photo No 1.
11. The girl’s hair in the passport photo on the RHS has been thickened with identical curls one above the other.
12. The girl’s hair in the passport photo on the LHS has also been thickened.
13. The Angel signage photo is a different photo of the same girl,
taken at the same time and in the same clothes.
It was presumably taken same days later when you requested one with a sign.
However, the photo appears taken at the same time and in the same clothes as the other photos.
14. The hands around the sign are too large.
15. The nail colour is too dark compared to Photo 1.
16. There are white edges to the hands where they have been pasted on.
Enough said..."
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He was in love...and sorry to say it...but love...or was it loneliness...had made him blind.
And sorry to say it...that's not the end of the story.
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It was only months later...I received an email from Western Union (Names removed by me)
"Dear *** David,
I'm writting you to report a group of scamm artist ,who are really betraying the trust of one of your CLIENT *****. Sir,with lots of fact and documentations that we have here at the
WESTERN UNION OFFICE GHANA WEST AFRICA . Your client *****is dealing and sending his life
savings to Scammers in africa Precisely Ghana in West Africa. I'm a staff of Western Union and i got your contact information through one of the forms your client *****filled in and said you are one of the most trusted person he's got . ***** will usually transfer funds from Australia down here to Ghana West africa thinking he is sending money to a female partner and trying to help them claim what ever unreal funds but the (people) scammers who come to receive money here with us are all Male bearing different female names ...
The internet is awash with men posing as women and then taking large amounts of money from unwary men who fall for them, the same is also true of women. Many of the scammers originate from West Africa , most notably Ghana.Unless one has been a victim of this dehumanizing and demoralizing crime, it would be next to impossible to appreciate such a report from us .... The Western Union West Africa Ghana is taking a serious step in puting a stop to the scammers. Your Client is PRESENTlY in commnuication with a BLACK and 6ft.2 Man who claims to be a female
and his name is
(NAME PROVIDED)... and another from BUDUBURAM GHANA West Africa Who claims to be
ANGEL MARTHA CRAWFORD . if you request for previous transactions through the WESTERN UNION between *****and this two scammers and their associates we will proivde such documents and slips. West African fraudsters are cashing in on age, fear and loneliness with scams ripping tens of thousands of dollars from the savings of Australian victims. Please *** David We imploy you to stop your client and advise him with immediate effect you recieve this alert to stop any further communications with scammers from Africa Ghana...
We recommend you stop all contacts with them, don't send money, don't cash checks and don't re-ship packages.If you do not stop Your Client ***** of sending funds to africa Ghana , we will take a step ourselves and it will really be a case of him sponsoring and helping the scammers.
Customer care Western Union
West Africa ,Ghana
Thanks "
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You'd think that's the end of the story...but it's not.
The following year I received a letter from Malaysia...refuting a claim my client was making he'd been ripped
off.
Through careful analysis I connected it to what is known as "The Selangor Scam".
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He had been to the International Airport to meet her...he'd even paid for her airfare.
He waited until the airport was silent and empty...a sad time for him...She didn't arrive.
They had planned to marry he said...he had sent her other moneys...silly him.
He felt broken then wretched and betrayed.
He'd been scammed.
*****
Same story as Act 1...different cast of characters...different ending.
All his savings gone...all wasted on scammers...can't say he wasn't warned.
Now he lives in a garage...lucky for him he is still in employment.
He was in love...and sorry to say it...but love...or was it loneliness...had made him blind.
*****
I saw a show on TV during the week where others told their stories not dissimilar to these.
I think it said $8 million dollars are sent to scammers every month from Queensland.
I cannot remember the figure for Australia.
These are stories that have to be told.
I make no apologies for doing so.
If one or more are saved from being scammed from reading these stories......
I prefer to sit and watch the sunsets from my deck...much less stressful.
Relax & Enjoy,
Dancing Dave
If you want more read Part 1
CHINA...Scams, Scams & more Scams...the Unsuspecting Tourist
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David
non-member comment
Scammers
Good on yer, Sport! David