Edward Cornerstone

I was on jdate and started corresponding with a gentleman who called himself Edward Cornerstone He is an architect who travels to different countries, bids on contracts and then subcontracts to other licensed architects in that country. he is on linked in but I cannot find him anywhere else

We have been exchanging very deep and thought provoking emails. He claims to be in Scotland working on a project and claims to live in Greenwich

Parents deceased when young, no real close family

The other day I looked on J-date (online dating site) to find his profile gone and a warning in my inbox that someone had been removed from j-date for violating terms of contract. I contacted jdate becase i noticed his emails were missing and verified that his profile was the one that was removed. I begged them for more info because I did not know what kind of danger I was in. Sexual harassment or predator? They have strong privacy acts but they did reveal category of scammer. I confronted him gently about why he was removed from jdate and he told me he had a 3 month membership and cancelled it. He has not asked me for money or anything else. All he has is my email, my name. He asks me all sorts of existential questions in emails about the nature of romance, philosphy etc, it sounds like it is coming from a book. I cannot find his company or anything about him. But don't you have to be licensed to be an architect and are you permitted to do things abroad? I cannot find anything about him. Do I believe Jdate or him? Have you heard of a scam like this? Please let me know. I need help and am afraid

I have additional information. his email is [email protected]. His phone number or cell is 203-987-5316.

What you are describing is textbook romance scammer.

In fact, if you look at the overview here, you will see that architect is at the top of the list of scammers' fictional careers. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3607

Most often they claim to be single fathers, but occasionally they will claim to have no children.

Parents deceased when young, no real close family

He's setting up now for why he will have nobody else to turn to when an emergency arises and he needs money.

He claims to be in Scotland working on a project and claims to live in Greenwich

Another typical scammer claim. They are using stolen photos, and in reality don't look anything like the person they are impersonating, so they have to be far enough away that they can't come meet you. Later, the "stranded in a strange country" approach will be used when the money requests come.

it sounds like it is coming from a book.

That's because it is all copied, probably from the internet. Often (though not always) you can search and find the source.

confronted him gently about why he was removed from jdate and he told me he had a 3 month membership and cancelled it.

Scammers lie, again and again. It is what they do for money. They spend some time building the illusion of a romantic relationship, through a series of lies, until they are confident that you love and trust them. They they will take advantage of that love and trust to get money out of you.

Dating sites like jdate will not close accounts for scamming unless they have real evidence of scamming.
These scammers will typically scam several women at once), and he had started asking for money. He was probably reported to jdate after he asked for money.

You can help other potential victims by posting some of the emails he sent you, as these are scripts that he will use again and again.

Hello debbie4,

What you describe sounds suspicious and similar to many romance scams. The fact that the dating site suspended his account would leave me to believe he was either reported by other members or he purchased a membership with a stollen credit card which is very common for scammers to do. The site would also have information about his IP address where he is logging in from and that might have been a reason too.

Can you post some of the initial emails he sent you? This should help us tell if he is a scammer.

Justin

how do i post the emails? Im not sure how

Just copy and paste the contents of the emails into your post. Remove your name/personal information if there is any--but you will probably find, when you really look at them, that there really isn't a whole lot of your personal information in them.

Okay, he got a hold of this post and sent me an email stating that I was going trying to tarnish his reputation. What did he do google himself, or do scammers keep a close watch on these sites to see if they have been reported?

Scammers will from time to time google their fake names to see if their cover is blown. You have a PM.

Justin may have mentioned it in PM, but often scammers will be led here by victims. Many victims, angry at realizing they are being scammed, or still wanting to believe the scammer, will send a scammer a link to posts here and demand an explanation or confession.

We strongly discourage it, as it does not make the scammer come clean (he will just tell new lies) and he isn't going to feel guilty as he honestly doesn't care. He will more likely change his name and or email address and keep going.

He may threaten you or try to make you feel guilty. This is just another example of how low scammers are willing to sink to steal your money. You have nothing to worry about.