Romance Fraud

[poo at Paul's]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-5...

There's a rather awfully produced TV show on BBC showing similar cases, I say awfully produced as it is clear from seeing the very first pic of parties involved, that it is clearly a massive scam, but the presenters keep the pretence up whilst they "investigate it" .

But whilst we may laugh or watch the TV in disbeleif, this is clearly a thing that is going on and it is catching out some rather naive people. But my mate made a point today, how can these people be so utterly deluded and daft, and yet to seemingly have enough gump to accrue or be able to find big amounts fo cash, and also work out how to send it to them.

Some of the cases are just ridiculous, for example, in this one, the guy sends photos from his phone showing him chained up in a cellar to some woman the other side of Europe, but doesnt call the police, or a mate!?

It's mind boggling how they get people to fall for it, but seemingly, they do and hence they keep at it.
The case on TV last night was bonkers, some hottie saying she is an Arsenal fan like the guy she was scamming, sends a photos that he had, and the shirt was so obviously photoshopped on her, the Fly Emirates logo was backwards on it! Poor guy was borrowing money again and again. First, she "meets" him online, not in person, then has to go to Kenya on business......then messages to say she is having to share a room with a guy she works with (and her kid!!) and he sends her 50 quid to get her own room.....ok, not really plausible, but 50 quid.......next she messages to say she's not really there on business, she is there to sort out the $600 million estate of her dead father........ Next thing he has sent her 10k, then another, then another 20k....WTF!

The way they manipulate the marks is incredible.

[dmahon]

@poo at Paul’s

You’re looking good today. Have you been working out?

Ps Any chance I could borrow a fiver?

[randlemarcus]

Must admit, I have had similar thoughts in the past. I understand that the scammers deliberately aim low, to trap the slightly hard of thinking, but am always a bit agog at how Doris from Sheffield happens to have a couple of hundred grand kicking around to help. The more cynical parts of me might suspect that it's a marketing campaign by Romance Fraud Industries (tm), much like the day trading wideboys

[BabySharkDooDooDooDooDooDoo]

People are just desperate and think with their genitalia.

It’s not really much different to the women finding “love” in places like Turkey and Morocco. Or the pensioners bagging a teenage wife in Thailand. Just less suffering for the scammer if it’s online.

[Eric Mc]

Very common. These are often vulnerable and maybe not that brightest. But they are victims and that is the important thing to remember.

The phenomenon is world wide.

I like listening to this podcast series -

https://www.aarp.org/podcasts/the-perfect-scam/

It's American but, being a podcast, is less sensationalist and a bit more level headed than the TV programme. However, romance frauds feature quite a lot on it too.

[Jim the Sunderer]

BabySharkDooDooDooDooDooDoo said:

People are just desperate and think with their genitalia.

It’s not really much different to the women finding “love” in places like Turkey and Morocco. Or the pensioners bagging a teenage wife in Thailand. Just less suffering for the scammer if it’s online.

It's a shame these dirty old men and silly old women can't meet each other and save a fortune.

[austinsmirk]

I saw a bit of it last night. You wonder how these idiots get through life, have jobs, mortgages and then send everything to someone they’ve never met. The chap last night: re mortgaging his house to raise funds? That’s not an easy thing to do. What’s the point where you say to yourself, I’ve never met this beautiful woman, 20 years younger than me who has £100m in gold, but needs my money to release it: hang on a second.

But yes, led by desire.

[anonymous-user]

Jim the Sunderer said:

It's a shame these dirty old men and silly old women can't meet each other and save a fortune.

Trouble is they all want someone much younger and better looking than they could ordinarily get in real life.

[poo at Paul's]

dmahon said:

@poo at Paul’s

You’re looking good today. Have you been working out?

Ps Any chance I could borrow a fiver?

Only if you have been detained at Heathrow by Border Control!

Sadly, i am a poor mark, not because i am not gullible, but because i'd struggle to rustle up that fiver right now!

[poo at Paul's]

randlemarcus said:

Must admit, I have had similar thoughts in the past. I understand that the scammers deliberately aim low, to trap the slightly hard of thinking, but am always a bit agog at how Doris from Sheffield happens to have a couple of hundred grand kicking around to help.

This is the point my mate made. I can only presume that for every such person they find, they try it on with thousands of others, who are gullible but dont have a pot to piss in.

[Gecko1978]

Basically relationships are a trade. One party had X the other Y and you exchange them, so Bernie Ecclestone in his 80s dates a women in her 30s. He gets a shag she gets jet set lifestyle for a few months. If you don't think it all boils down to exchange then you are ripe to be scammed.

[Biker 1]

Its the fake celebrity scams that I find most hard to fathom. Why on earth would a VERY rich celeb, such as Jason Statham need a few grand when he is a multimillionaire? How can someone, presumably intelligent & well qualified, fall for this?
It appears to be a very real psychological problem: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-4...

[Fundoreen]

The sort of money they blow through trying to secure this mystery partner would net them a reasonably escort for enough times to find they have nothing in common and get it out of their system. Stupid bds lol.

[hotchy]

Fundoreen said:

The sort of money they blow through trying to secure this mystery partner would net them a reasonably escort for enough times to find they have nothing in common and get it out of their system. Stupid bds lol.

Atleast the ones who get tricked in Thailand get some fun for a while first. Makes no sense.

[Gary C]

Eric Mc said:

Very common. These are often vulnerable and maybe not that brightest. But they are victims and that is the important thing to remember.

.

Where does being thick end and being a 'victim' start ?

Fool and money eh ?

Must bear some responsibility for their own actions.

[BabySharkDooDooDooDooDooDoo]

Joey Deacon said:

Jim the Sunderer said:

It's a shame these dirty old men and silly old women can't meet each other and save a fortune.

Trouble is they all want someone much younger and better looking than they could ordinarily get in real life.

a lot of them think they’re something special too.

Although I know of one chap who knew exactly what he was getting into. He hated his kids, hated his ex wife, so decided that he’d splash his cash and enjoying hanging out the back of an 18 year old Filipino in his last years

[irc]

Beggars belief. A middle aged woman in my area was scanned out of thousands by a con playing the part of US army officer. Even after she mentioned her new "relationship" to her adult children and was told it was almost certainly a scam she sent him more cash.

[Biker 1]

irc said:

Beggars belief. A middle aged woman in my area was scanned out of thousands by a con playing the part of US army officer. Even after she mentioned her new "relationship" to her adult children and was told it was almost certainly a scam she sent him more cash.

I've heard about this sort of thing before - even though it was pointed out that US forces would probably face court marshal for asking for £££ over social media, & that there was no way of confirming who the 'soldier' actually was, multiple payments were still made.

[Misanthrope]

poo at Paul's said:

But my mate made a point today, how can these people be so utterly deluded and daft, and yet to seemingly have enough gump to accrue or be able to find big amounts fo cash, and also work out how to send it to them.

You don't have to be intelligent to make money. You have to be lucky. Intelligence and street-smarts are helpful but not essential. Luck is essential.
When people succeed they attribute it to skill; when the fail they attribute it to bad luck. But more often than not it's the other way round - when they succeed it's because they were lucky and when the fail it's because they're incompetent.

[Camelot1971]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-5...

I genuinely don't understand how gullible you need to be to fall for that. I can sort of understand the ones where you meet the person and they are leading a double life. But never even met them and yet send over £100k to them??