My Blog Stops a Scammer!!!
I’ve wondered about the scamming reports that I have blogged about here. I have worried that they are too scary for singles, but then I have gone ahead and posted what I have been reading about online dating fraud, because I want you to be able to protect yourselves. Here’s validation that I am doing the right thing:
This is a post that I put up last June, and then I just got a comment on it from Julie, who this same guy is trying to scam!
WYFF4 ran a story on May 10 describing a classic scam that I’m seeing lots of reports of out of Nigeria. See the Nigerian connection pieces I have written.
From YOur Romance Coach, Kathryn Lord
Ben Coleman contacted Aileen Califano through a dating site. After spending some time to gain Califano’s trust, Coleman asked for money, which Califano rightly refused. Then Coleman sent her $3,800 in money orders, which he asked her to deposit in her bank account, then wire the money to Colorado.
Califano was not fooled. She was sure they were a fraud, and checked. They were.
Sending phony money orders and asking the receiver to deposit the fake checks and then forward the money to another address is a common scam technique. In the May 15, 2006, issue of the New Yorker, author Mitchell Zuckoff wrote about how John W. Worley, a Christian psychotherapist, was suckered into a classic Nigerian scam. If you want to see how a perfectly normal, bright man gets suckered, take a look.
From Your Romance Coach, Kathryn Lord
posted by Kathryn Lord on 06.02.06 at 12.18 pm
permalink | Categories: • Dating Tips • Money Matters • Be Safe • Scams and Scam Protection • Beware! Bad Stories, Bad Advice • 2 Comments
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Comments
Thank you for your story. I have been talking with Ben Coleman for a few weeks now and he asked me for money today. I had searched for something on him on the internet for weeks now and found absolutely nothing. Then today I found your story. He is on singleparentmeet.com. He says he lives in Florida. There has to be some way to make this more public.
Posted by Julie on 02/06 at 01:59 AM
Wow, Julie! That was close, huh? I am so glad that what I wrote helped you. I encourage you to follow up with this guy: Let the dating site know, at the very minimum. Here’s a link to all my blog posts about scamming and scam resources: http://www.find-a-sweetheart.com/blog/C48/
Good for you for doing your research! And what gall he has, repeating his game, and using the same name! Hasn’t he heard about Google too?
Posted by Kathryn Lord on 02/06 at 09:56 AM
Now, let’s keep things in perspective. By far, most people on Internet dating sites are normal folks just like you and me who are looking for love and are honest, or at least basically so. But any technology can be misused, and scammers are figuring out that lonely singles are vulnerable to their whyles. Keep yourself informed. I have written extensively about scamming here. My blog entries are catagorized and you can read all my scamming posts here.
