One common scam is the “Travel expense and visa fee” scam. How it works is that the scammer establishes a need for the potential victim to give money for a plane ticket to the location of the victim. The need is established by some sort of incentive. For example, they scammer will lie about how they feel about the victim to create false relationship (romance scam). Sometimes the scammer will tell the victim that their has been an emergency and they need money to travel. Once the money is wired to from the victim to the scammer (usually via Western Union, MoneyGram, Xoom or other methods), the scammer takes the money and runs.

Travel expense and visa fee scam
In this scam the scammer will say that he/she wants to visit you but doesn’t have enough money to pay for his/her plane ticket and travel expenses. They will then suggest that you send them the money so they can purchase a plane ticket. Shortly later they will tell you they need additional money for a passport, visa fees, transportation to the airport and miscellaneous expenses. In some cases they will also tell the victim that the visa requirements state that they need to have a certain amount of money in their bank account so they can proof to the immigration official that they have sufficient funds for their visa. Some scammers will show fake copies of plane tickets, visas or other documents to make the travel plans appear to be authentic. After wiring the money the victim waits at the airport patiently with a bunch of flowers for his/her love of their life to arrive. Only when all passengers are off the plane and the scammer doesn’t show up do they realize that they’ve been scammed. In order to avoid these scams never send money for any travel related expense, instead make it clear that you will travel to meet them AFTER you have spent considerable time chatting to them for many months. Also, make it clear that you will never send any money to anyone you meet online. If the person is genuine they should be very happy that you will travel to meet them, if they are a scammer and sense that they will never receive any money you will probably find that they disappear as soon as they realize they will never receive any financial benefit from communicating with you.

— filipinocupid/filipinoheart

Message from a scammer:
hello honey i will like you to sen dme 8000$ for passport and visa so taht i will come to your country and you can marry me ]]> http://elamb.org/travel-expense-and-visa-fee-scam/feed/ 0 http://elamb.org/fake-family-fake-kids-real-scam/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fake-family-fake-kids-real-scam http://elamb.org/fake-family-fake-kids-real-scam/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 02:06:02 +0000 elamb.security kelvin kids fake peter idiaregbe ppl rolland owarume kelvin kids fake peter idiaregbe ppl rolland owarume http://elamb.org/?p=3586 Continue reading →]]> Scammers create a believable story that brings you into caring about them and their made up situation. They are exploiting the open and trusting nature people usually have. Once they have your care and attention, they can get what they want from the victim.

*From Reader*

Message Body:
kelrobs99@yahoo.com and his fake kids email codypeter64@yahoo.com he clamed to b an engeineer for company only took two weeks for him to ask for money.. he found me on face book claimed to b from New York.. so sad ppl have to b liars and cheats this is where he wanted me to send money to rolland.i. owarume. address no 44 idiaregbe street delta state nigeria names he used where kelvin robert kelvin peter roberts for hi kids cody and nonna peter

by: INOU

Regina Sechico Ramirez .. Dipolog area Pinan, Philippines Mulitiple fiancee’s. Meet and greet of couse. Think your the only one. But has many and of course requests money for food, medicine, legal fee’s any and everything she can, playing on your affection and belief your the love of her life. She took me or thousands and another man for tens of thousands.

Filipino cupid is one of my favorite dating sites. Filipinas are very receptive for western men and seem very open minded. But I cannot help but thing that there is a largely financial reason for this.

Most of the ladies I have met there end up asking for money or implying that they need money. Since there is very little middle class and so many poor there, it is no wonder so many are on the site pan handling. One friend of mine told me that she thought most of the people on that site were not real.

I wonder how many ladies would be on that site if there are a great economy in the Philippines?

P.S: Here is how to effectively use *cupid dating sites free..
1) Sign up for free
2) Create a profile (don’t be stupid selfish troll.. be your self and real. make sure you post a picture.. it helps to be white, wealthy, 6’0 or taller, blonde.. but its certainly not totally necessary.. above all else be YOU)
3) Fill out as much of the profile as you can
4) In the about me section put in your YM chat ID.. You will have to hide it (i.e. JohnYahoo73 at y.a.h.00) Those who use chat will see this and know how to reach out outside of the dating site… enjoy!

Fake Profile Pictures

Online dating is now a very popular way to meet a partner. Match.com & eHarmony are very popular dating web sites and claim that 1 of every 5 marriage (in Western world?) are from dating sites.

But on thing that goes unsaid is the amount of scams that happen on these sites. There are many “romance scammers” on these sites. Below are examples of face profile pictures that these con artists use to lure you in.

http://ic-girl.blogspot.com/2009/03/cewek-cantik-dari-medan.html

I want to protect my real identity so that I can protect my personal life.I will tell you how I was scammed out of a lot of money from Filipino cupid.
I have been going through a divorce from my wife of 15 years. Tragically our relationship feel about due to communication issues. Because of this, I have been very lonely and seeking a new life partner.

I heard Filipina women were very good, faithful women so I decided to try Filipinocupid.com. I was shocked to find a FLOOD of scammers, con artists, sex shows, liars, and desperate single mothers begging for money on that site. 1 out of every 3 ladies I talked to here trying to get money from me.
That should have been my first warning. Of all these ladies, I found one that seemed different. She said her name was Ludivina. She was loving, caring and very beautiful. We started to talk to her and I was immediately amazed by her. She seemed very sweet and that is just what I was looking for after having a hard time in my dwindling relationship with my wife.

If she needed something, I would happily provide it. I make a good living and I actually enjoy helping others. I just have a problem about people being ungrateful, liars, and being selfish. So I never want to give money to scammers. Sometimes I would even give scammers a chance to tell me the truth and just give them money, usually they don’t trust me so they keep lying, then I don’t give them money.

After about 8 months, Ludivena told me she had not given me her real name, or real picture. She told me that she had done it all initially to get money, but now she wanted to get serious about me.

I was heart broken. She totally crushed me. I was totally in love. I was willing to share my whole life with her. I would have done ANYTHING for her. Now I don’t trust her.

Despite all the scammers, I did meet a few life long friends. And I still believe there are great Filipinas there that would make the best wife.

How and Why I became a romance scammer on filipinoheart.com

*The following is a real event that has been re-written from the original for clarity with names changed to protect those who were willing to come forward… the real ludivina yasay is a lady that scammed me lol. The original author of this story is not named but she really did do this. I may post the original (and change the names) for now you get a simulation of a REAL event.. the emails in this post is real, the story is real.*

My name is Ludivina Yasay. I am from Cebu City, Philippines. About a year ago, I scammed an American named Matt T. I met him on a popular dating website called filipinocupid.com (filipinoheart.com in the Philippines). Over the course of 8 months, I took about $3000 dollars from him.

Why did I do it?
I needed money.

How did I do it?
I gained his trust, told him what he wanted to hear and he believed me. He fell in love then gave me money.

How it all began
After graduating college, I could not find a job. Jobs are REALLY hard to get in certain parts of the Philippines. Places like General Santos, Cebu City and many other places have many people and very little jobs available. Many families can barely afford to pay rent, utilities or even eat. Even with a college degree, I could not find a job for over a year.

I started searching for jobs online. While in the Internet café, I over heard two people talking about how they would get money via Western Union from a person they were chatting with. While I was trying to unsuccessfully get jobs each day, they were getting paid from some guys online.

Filipino Heart Scam Ring
I found out my friend was involved in the same people I had seen in the Internet cafe. She explained to me what was going on. She told me that they would find guys from the United States on dating sites. They used a fake profile on Filipino cupid, flirt with these men, start a relationship, then get money. This ring of Filipino heart scammers were mostly gay men.

They told me that they do it so much that they are actually able to buy home, cars and live very well in the Philippines.

Since my family and I were struggling, I decided to do it. I create a fake account with a picture of a model. I had a set of pictures. Very quickly I had a guy who was interested, Matt T.

We began to talk and I told him everything he wanted to hear. I told him that I was looking for a guy who is serious, I told him I was attracted to him. I told him anything to make him feel good. I didn’t care about him he is just a stranger. I just need money.

How I got the Money
Message to Matt:

hope you have a very nice day today… its have a wonderful today when i found you.. i fill always happy when you respond to my email.. and i fill that your a guy i that god given me and i know in my heart your the right one for me…. hope we could chat soon. i miss to chat w you.. take care….. love”

from MATT:

That is very sweet. I look forward to taking the time to know you better. I want to know the dreams and wishes of your heart.

After a short time, he started to trust me so we were starting to speak like friends. When I mention to him that my family does not have enough to eat he is concerned for me.. his “friend”. I did not ask for money directly. When I mention I am in trouble, he offered to send me money. I pretend to be reluctant, then took the money.

Falling in Love & telling the truth
Everytime I mention my troubles, he offered money. After a while we started getting closer and closer and he is giving me more and more money. The funny thing is I never even really asked him.. I just gained his trust and he offered when I said I am in trouble.

He told me about how he is getting a divorce with his wife. He told me He has two kids. He told me how he is lonely lately and all about his life. Over the months, he help me anytime I needed it. He helped me move to another city, find a job and even explained how I can help him with a business he runs and pay me!

We started to really get close and even fall in love. Over time, I realized that I really love him and do not want to live a lie. As a practicing Catholic, it was hard for me to accept this lie.

I went to church and did confession. The priest told me I should tell him the truth.

The closer we got the more I realize I cannot do this anymore to him. He thinks I am some other woman. One night he told me he wants me to be his girl friend. So I decided to tell him the truth.

I told him my real name, showed him my real picture. He was upset that I had lied to him for so long. I was not sure if he would ever talk to me again after I told him the truth. But I wanted him to know the truth.

I wonder if I can gain his trust back. I feel that I hurt the only man I will ever love.

I regret what I did to him. More than anything else, I don’t want to lose him.

DO NOT BE A VICTIM!

From The Victims Perspective
More important than the loss of money and time, you lost your hope in a dream of being with someone you thought you could finally connect with. For a short time there was no more loneliness. You took a risk with your heart and allowed yourself to believe in love. But you found out your love was for a false profile and a false identity created by a desperate person who is in a third world country on the other side of the world.

Why me? I was only trying to love, but instead I got betrayed by greedy, selfish people that only care for themselves.
Now who can I turn to? Who can I talk to? Anyone tell will just think I am a fool for giving money to a stranger online. No one will understand that.

These are the emotions of a victim of the romance scam.

eHarmony, match.com and other online dating sites claim to be the cause of 1 out of every 5 relationships. I believe it, but what goes unsaid is the larger percentage of scams there are on these sites. Romance scammers are people who get in close to you, get in a relationship with you than start asking for money. The hook is to make you care for them and their life, their situation. Then they take as much as they can from you. Their intention is NOT love, it is your money. So they probably have three or four “relationship” with people just like you. Their favorite is the one that gives the most cash.

Scam Warning Signs

Asks for money to see her on webcam?
Asks for money for education?
Asks for money for food or rent?
Asks for money for plane tickets or visas?
Asks for money for a medical emergency?
Professing love at first sight?
Multiple requests for Money?

Onlinedatingtips.com

Dear Friend,

Thank you so much for your response to my email. It is only natural that you be a bit apprehensive haven received such a mail from somebody that you barely know. Therefore I would want to start by properly intimating you of who I really am. My name is Ho Chen Tung Foreign operations Hang Seng Bank Ltd. (Hong Kong). Moreover, I believe that you will be anxious to know the kind of business proposition that I have in stock for you. Well, I am soliciting your assistance to be able to transfer a huge amount of money US$21,300,000.00 from my bank that is lying idle with no one ever coming to lay claim to it. Before I go ahead let me tell you how the funds came into existence in the first place.

We had a client sometime ago by the name of Mr. Fayez Abdulaziz Abiri from Iraq and he was a member of the Iraqi forces and also a business man. He made a fixed numbered deposit with a value of US$18,796,000.00 only for 24 calendar months in my branch and this was before the USA and Iraq war.

When the 24 calendar months elapsed, we sent a notification to him so he will advice if still want to extend his term of deposit or not but we did not hear from him. After sometime we tried contacting him again and still there was no reply from him. As his banking officer, I decided to carry out my own investigation as to the where about of Mr. Fayez Abdulaziz Abiri only to find out Fayez Abdulaziz Abiri had died of Kidney infection at Mukaradeeb where his personal oil well was.

It is obvious that you would now want to ask if Mr. Abdulaziz Abiri did not have a next of kin. Interestingly, he did not leave a next of kin on his official document. In fact I asked him some time ago if he was sure that he will not want to include a next of kin in our record and he told me that none of his relative is aware of the account and he wish that it remain so. And to date this money has accumulated interest. Therefore, nineteen million five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars is still lying in my bank and no one will ever come forward to claim it. However, according to the laws of my country at the expiration of six {6} years the funds will revert to the ownership of the Hong Kong Government if nobody applies to claim the funds. Against this backdrop, my suggestion to you is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand as the next of kin to Fayez Abdulaziz Abiri so that you will be able to receive his funds.

If you are interested in doing this business with me, please go ahead and contact me again with you full names, contact address and telephone numbers. I want you to know that I have carefully planned out the modalities of this business and I will be intimating you of it upon confirmation that you are willing to move ahead with me. You will be made the next of kin thereby putting you the position to inherit this huge amount.

Finally, I need you to know that I have evaluated the risk involved in this deal and I guarantee that if you follow my instructions religiously, it will be hazard free. As far as I am concerned it is worth undertaking and I implore you to come along with me because the reward will be great for both of us.

I anticipate hearing from you again soon and I hope it will be positive because I really want us to work together as partners in harnessing this once in a life time opportunity.

Regards.
Ho Chen Tung.

Thanks