Please help my friend

Hi, I have a f riend who has had a really rough time in the past 6 months. Now she has been talking to a guy through Eharmony for about 2-3 weeks now, up until today it was- just emails back and forth - talking about their lives, dreams, etc. He told her that he is from Canberra (where she lives) but is currently working in Dubai as he is a computer consultant or something like that. She told me that he knows all about Canberra, restaurants, festivals, places to do stuff etc. She said its stuff only a local person would know. He told her that came originally from the UK, that both his parents died when he was young, that his gran raised him and she still lives in the Uk, but is battling cancer.
It seems that they have talked about anything and everything. My friend was falling for him hard. He has told her that he will be coming back any day now, but suddenly today he emailed her asking for a couple of hundred dollars for some tax that has to be paid, that he cant access his own bank account but will pay her back as soon as he gets back home. Up until this point she believed everything he said.. but now she is worried that he is a scammer and I hate to tell her that he is.. she has had such a bad run of things lately. 2 guys that she liked used her and cast her aside, her cousin died this morning, shes just having a really bad time.
She gave me his email address and the details that he gave her to send the money to..
his email is [email protected] he told her his name is george graham. He told her the money is going to the company and not him, to send it through western union (which makes me doubt the whole thing.. companies have bank accounts, why would they need to use western union?) but the details she has to use for western union are olayemi adebowale bodija ibadan, oyo state nigeria 23402 and that there was a secret question and answer. the question was something like what is the money for... the answer was tax ... also he gave her an email account for the company which was [email protected] which also makes me doubt the validity.

Can anyone please help me.. I hate to tell her she has been suckered, I really wanted her to have met someone nice as she deserves it more than anyone. She said he knows so much about canberra that he cant be a scammer but this money thing makes me doubt it all... Thankyou in advance.. please please please help
Cheers, Christine

Definate romance scammer . Why would someone working in Dubai need money sent to Nigeria .

[AlanJones]

As T5 says, definitely a romance scammer, no one in Dubai would want money sent to Nigeria - how would they collect it?

The use of a question and answer it to get around the fact that they don't have ID for their George Graham character and will use the Q&A to enable them to get the cash.

Finally, no large legitimate company would use a Gmail account for their email.

If she has pictures he has sent, try doing a reverse image search on them on Google Images or Tineye and you may well find where they have been stolen from or even that they are already being used by scammers.

He told her that he is from Canberra (where she lives) but is currently working in Dubai as he is a computer consultant or something like that. She told me that he knows all about Canberra, restaurants, festivals, places to do stuff etc. She said its stuff only a local person would know. He told her that came originally from the UK, that both his parents died when he was young, that his gran raised him and she still lives in the Uk, but is battling cancer.

Wikipedia is an easy search

Code: Select allhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra

Both email address are free

his email is [email protected] - [email protected]

Yes you are right very suspicious to use western union instead of this company bank

to send it through western union (which makes me doubt the whole thing.. companies have bank accounts, why would they need to use western union?) but the details she has to use for western union are olayemi adebowale bodija ibadan, oyo state nigeria 23402 and that there was a secret question and answer. the question was something like what is the money for... the answer was tax ... also he gave her an email account for the company which was [email protected] which also makes me doubt the validity.

Hope she will listen to you, you sure are a good friend

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2572319/Business-student-posed-online-dating-sites-high-flying-engineer-architect-dupe-love-struck-women-world-186-000.html

It's very rare that they get caught and prosecuted but if you read this news story you'll see that it fits the general outline.

These criminals love the idea that they can just chat online and get money for doing it. Lying is just second nature and even when their lies are ridiculous (like sending money to them via Nigeria) they expect you to believe them. To them it's not lying, they consider that they're earning what money they steal.

He'll take every cent she has, pressure her to take out loans, and then drop her when she stops paying. He may recruit her as a 'money mule' if she won't let go, and 'money mules' who began as victims have ended up in prison.

There isn't a good ending to these situations. That's the bleak reality.

he knows all about Canberra, restaurants, festivals, places to do stuff etc. She said its stuff only a local person would know.

It's not hard to get a "local" view of another area these days. A scammer can get a pretty plausible background just by visiting a few tourism sites like this: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Australia_and_Oceania/Australia/Australian_Capital_Territory/Canberra-1878455/TravelGuide-Canberra
Then just pull a few comments off the tripadvisor forums: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g255057-i917-Canberra_Greater_Canberra_Australian_Capital_Territory.html
Voila! You have enough info to pose as someone who has lived there. Some scammers don't even bother to edit the material, and literally copy and paste statements directly off the websites.

The other explanation is that he has targeted someone from Canberra before. Scammers will not hesitate to recycle information given to them by previous victims to make them look more plausible to new ones. In fact, they will simply copy former victims' chats and emails word for word if it will help their next scam! That's why we always tell people not to tell scammers they were posted or point out why we know they are scammers--that information can only help the scammer the next time around (and believe me, there is a next time.)

that he cant access his own bank account

Typical scammer fare. It's an international economy. An experienced traveler WILL make sure he has access to his money while overseas--it's not that hard.

He told her that came originally from the UK, that both his parents died when he was young, that his gran raised him and she still lives in the Uk, but is battling cancer.

Again standard scammer storyline, intended to elicit sympathy and also an attempt to justify why he has nobody to turn to besides some woman he has only known for a few weeks.

Unfortunately, knowing that she is going through a tough time won't discourage the scammer--to him, it makes her an easier target, and he won't hesitate to exploit her current vulnerability for all he can get. As difficult as it is, the best thing you can do for her is try as gently as possible to help her see the truth, and make sure she cuts off all contact with him. The sad reality is that he will probably come along under a new name and identity and try again, so she needs to be learn the signs to look for as well.

More details would be nice . Like email headers and online profile links . Don't post those publicly . Message them to a moderator or member of sufficient standing and it can be investigated .

Hi chrissym75, while you may hate to tell your friend they are involved with a scammer, you have to. It is so hard when you are being scammed and in the middle of it. The scammer has told her wonderful things, made her feel like she is the most wonderful woman in the world, and of course he has no one else in the world he can depend on. It is all with the intent of making her feel loved and needed like never before and this is all coming from a professional liar. The only purpose for this is to get her to send money. I will tell you when I was in the middle of being scammed I felt wonderful. I was in love and I wanted nothing more than to help this terrific man who only needed just some help to finish his business and come back to me. Of course, once the money goes it is gone forever and it will never be enough. Something else will stop him on his trip.
Please help your friend stop. Bring her here to see the stories and how they unfold, Yes, she will feel horrible at first, sad, angry, mad at herself, but otherwise, if she doesn't stop, it will only get worse. The scammer eventually will have little talk of love and only talk about money and coming home. He may even bring in other characters, who will call or write and the sums of money asked for get bigger and bigger. She will need your help and concern and she can come here also at any time for support.
I know it is hard. The psychological damage is far worse than losing the money. All your friend wanted was to reach out and connect to someone and she did, but someone only intent on hurting her and taking her money. It's always a balance of cold hard reality-yes, you are being scammed and have to stop talking to this person- and the hurt and pain over losing someone who you thought might be your one and only true love.

You are a good friend, PLEASE STOP her before she loses money (that first couple hundred dollars will just open the door until she is drained completely) this kind of scam also drains men and women emotionally, so that they are unable to move on...Help her now...contact a moderator on here if you need help.