Abdur had just gotten out of an emotionally abusive marriage and got kicked out of his home after the break-up happened since it was her inheritance and house. He wasn’t looking for love after this but randomly got a message on LinkedIn from a woman who claimed her name was Gloria. She claimed that she was a widow of three years with an 11-year-old daughter, and was looking to get to know Abdur. That’s when they quickly shifted their conversations from LinkedIn to WhatsApp. Little did he know the girl he thought he was talking to would end up being a romance scammer, here is his story.
What Was His Relationship With the Romance Scammer Like?
After talking for a month as friends, they quickly shifted into a romantic relationship with one another. He was swept off of his feet when they would send each other lots of romantic songs and love messages. He described their relationship as her having a healing touch and described her messages like they were ones sent by God himself. He enjoyed her companionship that helped him feel like he wasn’t lonely.
She also made him feel like she was fully committed and in love with him. She would tell him that if he ever broke up with her for another woman, she would kill herself because of the pain from losing him.
“She showed that she was committed with all her soul, all her mind, all her heart, and all her body,” Abdur stated about her.
How Did the Romance Scammer Steal Money from Abdur?
Because of her fake commitment to their relationship, she told Abdur that she would send him a package filled with gifts and love letters. As soon as she supposedly sent the package, she also sent him a fake email with a tracking code to make him believe that this package was real.
When the package supposedly got to the city he lived in, Gloria told Abdur that she forgot to pay customs for the package. She told him that there was money in the box to pay him back if he paid for customs and that it was $2,100. She said that if he couldn’t pay for it, an army officer would help pay the $2,100 if she slept with him.
Abdur had a difficult decision to make. It was either his feelings and ego were hurt to get the money, or he would need to help fund it himself and lose $2,100. However, he was promised that he would get the money back. He was also sent a screenshot of Gloria’s supposed Wells Fargo account to show that her parents helped fund some of the package customs.
How Did Abdur Find Out it Was a Romance Scam?
Once she got the money, she told Abdur that he should talk to the delivery agent. He was given an Indian cell phone number to call and noticed that the guy on the other end of the call had a distinctive accent. Abdur noticed right away that the man was Nigerian, so he asked him if he was. Once the delivery agent realized Abdur’s suspicions, the delivery company and agent blocked him off of everything.
The next day, Gloria taunted him and accused him of blocking her then unblocking her the next day. She told him that he lost his mental sanity for blocking him, and made him feel bad for accusing the delivery agent of being Nigerian. He blocked her and stopped talking to her for good.
Abdur now realizes that the Nigerian romance scammers played with his emotions hard to get what they wanted. He knows that in Nigeria, $3,000 is equal to $1.2 million dollars for them which could last them three years with living expenses. This is why they still continue to scam others for their hard-earned money.
Social Catfish is Here to Help You With Your Romance Scam!
If you think you’re dealing with a scammer or have had your pictures stolen, Social Catfish is here to help you!
If you want to be a part of our next YouTube video or blog post and share your story, now is your chance. You can educate the audience about what you have gone through and make sure no one else goes through the same thing. All you need to do is email ShareMyStory@socialcatfish.com, and we will get back to you with more details.
You can also reverse search any information you have on the Nigerian romance scammer to see who it is you’ve really been talking to. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image you can search it up in our search bar to see if there is more information on the suspected scammer you are talking to avoid that pesky romance scam.