by Dotti
Wed Jan 26, 2011 5:49 pm
Kobby,
As Michael said, we need more information in order to determine whether there is an error somewhere. I'm guessing that you most likely weren't declared a scammer. We also don't blackmail people here.
I can only think of once recent case here where a real person was posted as a scammer--and in that case we have full information to support that this person did indeed scam a person out of $3000. In most cases, the name a scammer is using is not his own. If you read a bit around here, you will see that we are constantly reiterating that the name used by the scammer is not the scammer's real name, and that if the scammer is using photos, those are stolen also.
But, all names being used by scammers are posted here, whether they are made up or stolen from a real person, for a reason.
Let's say, for example, that a victim comes here and reports being scammed by someone named Mike Jacobsen from Ithaca, New York. There may be a real Mike Jacobsen in Ithaca, and the scammer may have taken information from his myspace page, or even from the white pages. If we have established that there is really a scam, we are not going to remove Mike's name, even though we know (and routinely point out) that the scammer is not Mike Jacobsen from Ithaca. Why? Because the scammer is also using the same alias as he tries to scam dozens of other people. Those other targets deserve to have an opportunity to be warned.
The most likely thing they will search is the name the scammer is using. If they search and don't find the name because we removed it, they are at greater risk of losing their money (and their hearts in the case of romance scams).
Though it is never pleasant to know your information is being used in scams, if you are an innocent person whose info is being used, being posted is more likely to help than harm you too. At least people who find you here can learn that you were not really involved. Victims who don't understand that are more likely to search for you and harass you because they think you stole from them.