Multiple Faces Detected
April 6th, 2021
When we meet people online and start getting to know them, sometimes we get too caught up in the conversations which blind us from seeing who’s really behind the photo. Pictures of the person aren’t always what they seem, as romance scammers find ways to steal photos on a daily basis, becoming catfish and pretending to be someone they aren’t. This was the case for these victims who thought they were meeting the man of their dreams, but instead were meeting a romance scammer who apparently had “lots and lots of gold.”
How Did This Romance Scammer Scam His Victims Using Fake Gold?
A man from Ghana tricked his victims on dating sites into giving him money. He’s gained a million dollars from scamming innocent girls and tricking them into giving him their life savings. He tricks them using “false promises of romantic relationships” and “get rich quick” schemes. He then tells them that he owns large quantities of gold located in Ghana and to send money to him so that he can get the gold to the United States. He also promised his victims a share of the profits once the gold was in the United States.
How Did Victims Get Away With Sending the Romance Scammer Cash?
These victims were then encouraged to hide their cash in a magazine or another book and send it to the scammer via mail. Victims would send up to $30,000-$40,000 at a time using this method to the scammer. He faces 60 years in prison and fines totaling up to $8,000.
How Can You Avoid Romance Scammers?
- When dating online, note that a picture may not be real of the person you are talking to. Many times, scammers use fake pictures of attractive men to lure women in and make them fall in love with them quicker. This then gains the victims’ trust faster so that the women will give up their life savings to the scammer without giving it a second thought.
- Don’t send them money under any circumstances. You never know if the person you are talking to online is lying about their intentions, and there should be no reason why a random guy on the internet would need your money. If someone were really desperate for money, they would ask their trusted family or long-time friends to help them.
- Always try to meet your date in person or on a video chat call. This way you can tell if the person is who they say they are, and see if they are willing to get to know you. If they make up excuses as to why they can’t do this, they probably have bad intentions and just want to steal your money.
- They rush the relationship with you, confessing their love after a short period of time. If this happens, they are trying to gain your trust at a quick rate so that they can get something of value from you faster, such as money.
- They try to convince you to talk to them outside of the dating site. If they only want to text you or message you on another messaging app, they are most likely a romance scammer. They do this because they don’t want their dating account to be reported on the dating app, so they lure their victims on an external messaging site so that victims can’t report their dating profiles if they grow suspicious. They usually unmatch the victim as soon as they message outside of the dating app.
Social Catfish is Here to Help
If you have a similar story that you want to share with our audience and spread awareness, you can email Social Catfish at [email protected]. This will give your story a chance to be shared on our YouTube channel and our blog, showing our audience what to look for when looking for a love interest online.
You can also reverse search any name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image with Social Catfish to find who you are looking for. This will let you know of the person who is really behind the information you have.
