Linda met a man on a dating app called OurTime and started talking via emails. They got to the point where they were talking to one another about marriage and were even searching for a home on the market together. However, even though things were going so great between them, they had still never met each other in person. She later found out he was a romance scammer, but how she found out will shock you!
What Made Her Try Online Dating?
She was married for 26 years before her ex-husband and she decided to separate and move on from one another. Because of this, she decided to take a shot at online dating. She saw an advertisement while watching television and decided to try it out.
That’s when she met the guy who she was talking to, and they exchanged email addresses. They would send emails back and forth about their future, how they wanted to have a family together, and even how they wanted a house and garden together. It was the perfect romantic conversation that any girl would dream of having.
What Made Linda Think That He Could Be a Real Person?
Then a few months later, he told her that he would be contacting her from Cuba since he was going to go over there t0 look after his villa. He wanted to fix the villa up since Cuba was opening up more so. Because of this, he claimed that there would be a lot of opportunities there and went there to take advantage of that.
As they were talking, he would send her pictures and videos of him on a boat in Miami and then again once he got to Cuba. He would also send her pictures and videos of his villa to show her what it looked like. Because of all the pictures and videos that were sent to her, Linda thought that everything seemed too real for him to be a scammer. Because of this, she gained trust in him being a real person.
What Did Linda Send the Romance Scammer?
However, he asked her to send him iPhones from Apple since his finances were locked up in Cuba. He also claimed that iPhones were a way to build a reputation with future business partners. He promised to pay her back if she did send him the iPhones he asked for. Because she wanted to help, she sent him a bunch of iPhones from Apple.
After this, she continued to communicate with him every day and would even talk to him late at night. He would come up with stories about what happened in Cuba every day, and even said he even met a pretend friend named Carlos. With all of the stories, photos, and videos being sent to her she thought that this was good enough proof to prove that he was real.
What Did Her Family Do to Protect Her?
However, her family had a different story. They started to get really suspicious about the guy she was dating and formed an investigative group amongst each other called “The Squad.” They each had a specific role within the group to make Linda realize that the man she was dating wasn’t real. They would work together to brainstorm their next game plan on how to get Linda out of the situation she was in.
Her sister knew there was a giant red flag when she had photos and videos of the guy, but the guy wasn’t speaking. Her other sister, Rebecca, hacked her phone and found out that she was talking to someone about refinancing her house. When she tried to confront Linda, it made her upset that Rebecca snuck on her phone behind her back with how close they were. Rebecca saw Linda as the most important person in her life and hated that this was happening to her. She didn’t understand why Linda was so angry when Rebecca was just trying to protect her.
How Did Linda’s Family Find Out He Was a Romance Scammer?
In one of the photos he sent to Linda, they noticed that he was wearing a gym shirt with the logo of the gym he attended. They did their research and found the gym that matched the logo on his shirt. They found the gym’s Instagram page and found the real guy’s Instagram page of the guy that Linda thought she was talking to.
They came forward, sat Linda down, and told her the truth about how the guy’s pictures were stolen. They showed her the real guy’s Instagram account, which revealed every single photo and video that the guy sent Linda. They told her that the guy she was talking to isn’t the man that she thinks it is. Linda greatly admired the women who went the extra mile to protect her but felt like she disappointed them when the truth came to light.
How Did the Romance Scammer Admit Who He Was?
A couple of weeks later, the romance scammer contacted her and came clean about who he was. He told her his name was Prince, he was from Nigeria, and that this was the first scam he ever performed. He even admitted that he really did fall in love with her even as his actual self.
For Linda, this was a good way for her to end the whole thing with the romance scammer because she isn’t a huge fan of conflict, hate, rage, or anger. She could never find the words to thank the squad so much for their efforts and loves them all so much. It was a bad thing that happened to her, but it doesn’t define who she is. She wants to help other people in her similar situation because it is a lonely thing that victims have to go through when scammers rip them away from their family and friends.
Linda is not online dating anymore and has met a man in person. They have been dating for over a year now and plan on taking it slow. She enjoys the relationship she has formed with him and is very happy.
Social Catfish is Here to Help You!
If you think you’re dealing with a romance 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 cargo 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 romance scammer you are talking to.