Johnson Burg, love scammer

(This scammer is also known to call himself Mark West, Mark Coker, Robert Evans and Johnson Leigh. He may be using other names as well.)

IP address: 41.155.60.181 - Nigeria

The following opening letter is a rewrite but still bears many similarities to his former scam scripts (see the links to his other fake identities above).

Hello there

Its somewhat amazing to receive an email from you,I do go by the name John if you like and i have been in the US for 7months. I am thrilled because I never thought I'd hear from you. It gladdens my heart that we are now connected. To be honest with you it worried me that I may not have the opportunity to hear from you and that I will lose contact with you simply because my subscription was running out and I didn't plan on renewing it. (In reality it's because most dating sites are quick to delete fraudulent profiles.) I have come to the realization that life has to move on, no matter what has happened to me in the past. Life is full of ups and down and and I'm glad because I have been able to survive the lows of life. I have never done online dating before and it's kind of strange because how else can I meet someone since I don't do bars or clubs. I have been living in my own shells since the demise of Maria (My late wife). She passed away in 2006 and can you just imagine that it took me almost 4 yrs to come out of my shells and live again? But I'm grateful because now, I am a stronger, wiser and better person.

Myself and Maria after so many years of trying to have children eventually gave birth to Gold and then John. Thet are wonderful children and they mean the world to me. At the moment they live with their granny as in New Zealand as there would be no one to give them that much needed motherly love. I decided to relocate to the US after going through a major heartbreak. Living life all over again brings the much needed freshness back into my life. I am gradually settling in and as soon as I finally settle in, I will bring my children back to come live with me. I look forward to having them live with me some time in a very near future when I have a one big and happy family. My relocation was as a result of my inablity to continue taking the pains of my late wife’s death. Everywhere I go I see things that reminds me of her. So I decided that the best thing for me to do was to start life all over again and give love a chance.

I was trained as an Engineer, however I am an energy consultant by calling, my job entails the management of projects in the oil and gas industry. I participate in the design, construction and commissioning of oil and gas facilities. Currently I am more involved in consultancy works for sellers and prospective buyers of crude oil, it’s basically a negotiators' job. My job gives me some kind of joy on the inside simply because I manage an essential commodity. I am also self employed. I used to enjoy my frequent trips when I just lost my wife but lately I have come to realize that there is more to life than just work as I have toiled hard all my life and look forward to spending the rest of my life with the love of my life.

My number is 530. 953. 0237 (<--This is a defunct landline, not a mobile number) (I lived in Redding, CA for a little while hence my CA number. I will change it and get a landline as soon as I buy my own house. I will get a landline from here) will add you to my IM so we can also IM each other when we have some time.I like to meet a woman who's loving, caring and affectionate. I like the sunrise and its set, I like it when it's chilly, warm a few. Well, I prefer going to New Zealand because of the great adventure and pleasure in there, the land of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I love listening to slow rock, R and Bs, Jazz, Gospel and sometimes pop. I can’t wait to know you more, tell me your likes and dislikes. Tell me about your kids, can we talk on the phone and what is the best time to call?. Waiting earnestly to hear from you. I really do not know what else to tell you as I am new to this but would be willing to answer any questions that would make us better acquinted. I would stop here as I need to get to work but it did feel good reading your email and sending you another. Can’t wait to hear from you....@};-:x I have attached my photo to this email .

Johnson.

I had the exact same e mail sent to me. His e mail address is : [email protected]
I suspected a scam:

Its somewhat amazing to receive an email from you,I do go by the name John if you like and i have been in the US for 7months. I am thrilled because I never thought I'd hear from you. It gladdens my heart that we are now connected. To be honest with you it worried me that I may not have the opportunity to hear from you and that I will lose contact with you simply because my subscription was running out and I didn't plan on renewing it. I have come to the realization that life has to move on, no matter what has happened to me in the past. Life is full of ups and down and and I'm glad because I have been able to survive the lows of life. I have never done online dating before and it's kind of strange because how else can I meet someone since I don't do bars or clubs. I have been living in my own shells since the demise of Maria (My late wife). She passed away in 2006 and can you just imagine that it took me almost 4 yrs to come out of my shells and live again? But I'm grateful because now, I am a stronger, wiser and better person.

Myself and Maria after so many years of trying to have children eventually gave birth to Gold and then John. Thet are wonderful children and they mean the world to me. At the moment they live with their granny as in New Zealand as there would be no one to give them that much needed motherly love. I decided to relocate to the US after going through a major heartbreak. Living life all over again brings the much needed freshness back into my life. I am gradually settling in and as soon as I finally settle in, I will bring my children back to come live with me. I look forward to having them live with me some time in a very near future when I have a one big and happy family. My relocation was as a result of my inablity to continue taking the pains of my late wife’s death. Everywhere I go I see things that reminds me of her. So I decided that the best thing for me to do was to start life all over again and give love a chance.

I was trained as an Engineer, however I am an energy consultant by calling, my job entails the management of projects in the oil and gas industry. I participate in the design, construction and commissioning of oil and gas facilities. Currently I am more involved in consultancy works for sellers and prospective buyers of crude oil, it’s basically a negotiators' job. My job gives me some kind of joy on the inside simply because I manage an essential commodity. I am also self employed. I used to enjoy my frequent trips when I just lost my wife but lately I have come to realize that there is more to life than just work as I have toiled hard all my life and look forward to spending the rest of my life with the love of my life.

My number is 5309 .530 .237 I will add you to my IM so we can also IM each other when we have some time.I like to meet a woman who's loving, caring and affectionate. I like the sunrise and its set, I like it when it's chilly, warm a few. Well, I prefer going to New Zealand because of the great adventure and pleasure in there, the land of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I love listening to slow rock, R and Bs, Jazz, Gospel and sometimes pop. I can’t wait to know you more, tell me your likes and dislikes. Tell me about your kids, can we talk on the phone and what is the best time to call?. Waiting earnestly to hear from you. I really do not know what else to tell you as I am new to this but would be willing to answer any questions that would make us better acquinted. I would stop here as I need to get to work but it did feel good reading your email and sending you another. Can’t wait to hear from you....@};-:x

Johnson.

Yep, this is the real scam. After a few e-mails, he said he wanted to talk and then gave a bogus phone number (constantly rings). After one more e-mail, I told him that I needed to talk to him -- even on the urgent trip to the UK. Beware: He had someone call me from a UK number with a British accent (he said he was a widow from New Zealand) and then "mysteriously" the phone cut out after 1 minute when I told him that his accent sounded a bit British. Of course, I couldn't call the number back. I stopped any contact then. Then, and this was rich: He sent me what looked to be a real return flight confirmation intinerary. Of course, the next day came the "I need hotel money" e-mail.
Unbelievable!

Beware.

This is exactly the same guy who contacted me last week. He sent me his phone number today, with a POEM.
Same Picture, same form letter. THANKS!

the email address he used to me was [email protected]