One northwest suburban man thought he found The One, but his online “beauty” turned out to be a crook. CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker reports.
CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker interviewed Kurt Link, who reports he lives in a suburb in Lake County. He was scammed out of at least $7500 when he sent money to an online contact he never met in person. When he started questioning the online contact, the online contact accused him of “going mad” and being “simply paranoiac” (sic). The contact accused the victim of “thrown me one in this dreadful city” (apparently a city in Russia). The contact also used other attempts to manipulate the victim with guilt.
Hello my beloved Kurt! Thanks that you to me have written you your letter! I love you with all heart and all soul! I wish to be with you and only with you! Kurt, you the man of all my life! I wish to be yours forever! And I hope that soon it will be executed (sic).
— Excerpt from Online Offender “Olga”
FTC Warning Signs of Romance Scams
Online contacts, posing as romance interests, often declare they are out of the country for business or military service. Then they often ask for money from victims to rescue them (e.g., help them get out of the country where they are stranded, pay for medical bills, etc.).
You can use Google for image search recognition; however, Google uses matching pixel dimensions, not only facial recognition. It’s best to right-click and save an image of the online contact’s image. Then import that image into Google’s image search page by using the camera icon in the search box. Often searching an image will reveal that an online romance contact is a scam.
Online romance is very likely a scam …
if an online love interest asks you for money
if an online love interest immediately asks you to leave the dating website where you met, and communicate in the future by email
if an online contact claims love in a heartbeat
if an online contact claims to be from the U.S., but is traveling or working overseas
if an online contact plans to visit, but is prevented by a traumatic event or a business deal gone bad
Millions of Americans use dating sites, social networking sites, and chat rooms to meet people, and many forge successful relationships. However romance scammers also use these sites to meet potential victims. They create fake profiles to build online relationships, and eventually convince people to send money in the name of love. Some even make wedding plans before disappearing with the money.
An online love interest who asks for money is almost certainly a scam artist.
Don’t wire money to cover:
travel
medical emergencies
hotel bills
hospital bills for a child or other relative
visas or other official documents
losses from a temporary financial setback, including a mugging or robbery or business loss
The FTC also warns people not to give an unknown online romance contact a favor by making an online purchase or by forwarding a package to another country. Often, one request leads to another, and then delays and disappointments will follow. In the end, the money will be gone along with the person you thought you knew, according to the FTC.
Also beware of online contacts that are strangers that activate Friend Requests on Facebook, or that join Facebook groups. Many scammers attempt to join Facebook groups in an attempt to research friends and communications of potential victims. Offenders can develop a profile of people to help them identify victims that are likely to fall for their scams, then they use personal information to help deceive the victims into action that causes money transfers.
facebook …
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonCardinal
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonHeightsCrime
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. You can also limit feeds to specific categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor