News Story about a romance scam victim in Canada

From here: http://www.theprovince.com/business/Cre ... story.html

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Creative crooks find victims online - The web lets scammers be sneaky and successful
By Barb Pacholik, Leader-Post
March 1, 2010
Scam artists use online dating and social networking sites to find victims.


She was a lonely, middle-aged lady in Saskatchewan.

He was a successful American businessman working in Europe with a career that took him to exciting places around the world.

He found her through a dating website. His messages of devotion filled her in-box almost daily. He loved her and promised they would be together -- someday. The pair even spoke by phone, forging the relationship.

He needed her, and it felt good to be needed. She trusted him, and willingly shared her address, telephone number and eventually bank and credit card accounts. When he asked for money -- so he could pay taxes to the government in the country where he was living -- she sent it. And she sent more when he asked for cash so he could come to Canada.

Over five months, she sent her online boyfriend $15,000, but still he never visited. When she explained that she couldn't afford anymore, he offered to deposit money to her accounts. Then she could forward him the cash, using a money transfer service.

The deposit arrived, and she sent him another $15,000.

Then she learned what he really loved was her money. The cheque he had deposited to her account was a forgery. By the time the fraud was uncovered, the wired money had already been picked up, leaving the victim on the hook to cover the phony cheque.

In a new take on an old scam, she was bilked by a variation of a Nigerian fraud scheme. The enduring swindle usually plays on greed, offering a share in a fortune. But this one's even more insidious, preying on innocent people looking for love.

An investigation tracked most of the e-mails back to an Internet service provider in Nigeria. The name and e-mail address used by the woman's purported boyfriend had been involved in other frauds.

While he was a fake, the victim is all too real -- one of the sad cases Cpl. Darren McPherson, the Regina Police Service's e-crimes co-ordinator, has encountered. Another Saskatchewan woman lost more than $100,000 in an online dating scam. "Anything bad that could happen to him was happening to him. He had lost his wallet. He was a victim of robbery. He was in a vehicle accident, and he was in the hospital and had hospital bills ... She was very, very trusting, and just responded to him."

"People don't realize that not everything you see on the Internet or not everything you're told on the Internet is necessarily gospel. Anybody can go on and make themselves be anybody they want ... If somebody says that they're a successful business person from Canada or the U.S., and they're off in South Africa or Nigeria or wherever doing humanitarian work, or missionary work, they believe that. They don't question that. And that's where they fall victim to these sorts of things," says McPherson.

Anti-scam websites are filled with photographs of attractive men and woman, whose names and e-mail addresses change as the impostors leave a string of victims.

Social networking fraud is on the rise in Saskatchewan, and it's one of the cons being profiled in March as part of fraud awareness month. The RCMP, Regina and Saskatoon police and the Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission (SFSC) have joined forces to bring attention to identity theft, mass marketing and on-line schemes, home repair shams, and affinity investment scams.

"The crooks are playing on people's emotions and using pressure tactics and trying to groom people to get that information from them. A lot of times, people don't even realize that they've provided it," says Cpl. Trevor Ellis, of the Regina RCMP's commercial crimes section. He uses the example of the "grandson scam." The caller says, "It's your favourite grandson," and the recipient unwittingly provides the name. The caller, now using the name, then goes on to explain how he's landed in some sort of trouble and needs money.

In another ploy that recently surfaced in this province, someone acquired a computer user's e-mail address list, then used that person's identity to solicit money from those on the list because of some desperate situation. In yet another case, a key-stroke logger on a public computer gleaned information from unsuspecting users. One person had their financial information stolen and lost a significant amount of money.

Ellis says it's difficult to put a figure on the amount of fraud that occurs in this province. "We estimate things are well under-reported," he says. Many victims are too embarrassed to report it.

"They'll take anyone's money. They don't care if you're old, if you're young. If you have a lot of income, if you have barely any income."

With the social networking fraud, perpetrators have their pick of victims from popular websites. "Usually there's some kind of indication in there or enough information that they think that this might be somebody that they can take advantage of," says McPherson, who has seen male and female victims of all ages. Lonely widows seem to be a particular favourite of the shysters.

Often they'll use biblical names like Elijah, Gabriel or Samuel, trying to appeal in particular to those with a religious affinity. "There's a lot of references to, 'I pray that we'll be together and God bless you.' These guys pour it on very, very thick. That should be a warning right off the bat," says McPherson. Some of the other tip-offs are poor spelling, grammar and punctuation; a photo that looks too perfect; calling the victim by the wrong name; changing names; and emphasizing trustworthiness.

Within a couple of e-mails, they're speaking of love and spending lives together, followed soon after by requests for money for various reasons -- airline tickets, transporting children, misfortune, or supporting orphans. McPherson notes that within minutes of money being wired, the person can pick it up from anywhere in that country -- then it's gone.

"Affinity schemes" also exploit relationships to get people to part with their cash. The perpetrators join or pretend to be members of a group. Then they convince respected members of that group to help promote the scheme. Often the leaders unwittingly encourage others to follow.

In one Saskatchewan case, a man won the trust of members of his church -- even offering Bible studies in his home -- and convinced them to invest about $500,000 in his online trading scheme. As authorities moved in, he disappeared. It's believed the man, who went by several names, had operated in at least five other countries, posing as a church member, a pastor, a chaplain and a priest.

In another scheme, a group operating in rural Saskatchewan convinced one individual to invest and provided a quick return. As that person spread the word to his co-workers, they were convinced to join -- and suffered losses on off-shore real estate.

"People (in Saskatchewan) are so trusting. They still do deals on a handshake, and they still trust their neighbour -- and so it makes us ripe pickings for these scamsters," says Ed Rodonets, deputy director of the SFSC's Securities Division Enforcement Branch. He says affinity schemes have become much more common than many people realize.

"It's like coffee row in rural Saskatchewan. If one guy in there happens to invest in something and hits it big, the first thing he wants to do the next morning is go down to coffee row and tell all his buddies. Then they just jump on it."

The SFSC advises investors to use caution -- never make an investment solely on a recommendation from a group or organization, research and be wary of "once-in-a-lifetime" or "risk free" opportunities, and be suspicious of those offering big profits or guaranteed returns.

From inheritance schemes -- a long-lost relative has died and left an unclaimed fortune -- to yet another take on the Nigerian letter -- a soldier in Iraq has stumbled upon a fortune and needs to get it out of the country -- Saskatoon RCMP Cpl. Colleen Lyons has seen almost every sham make its round in Saskatchewan. Among the most prevalent currently are overpayment schemes.

The victims are those selling items through classified websites. The buyer sends a cheque or money order, "but it will always be for an amount much greater than what the negotiated price was." The buyer usually asks the seller to use a wire service to refund the difference.

"There's always some urgency about it," adds Lyons. The victim discovers only after sending the money that the cheque is no good, often leaving victims out-of-pocket about $2,000.

Lyons has seen the scheme used for all sorts of items, from musical instruments to cars. In one case, a teenage victim was selling some computer games.

In another twist, the buyer is taken in by bogus sellers, who often advertise big-ticket items and use an on-line auction site as a broker, sending out bogus e-mails that appear to come from legitimate auction sites. Payment is sent through a money transfer site. There's often a hard-luck story -- marriage breakdown, a soldier deployed out of the country, or a job transfer -- for why the item is for sale. Again, once the money is wired, the would-be buyer is out their cash, and the item never existed.

Police agencies are also raising the alarm on home repair scams, including only partial completion of work, demands for large deposits but never doing the work, providing inferior products or service, doing unnecessary work, and falsely claiming certain repairs have been done. Get references, request written estimates, check credentials, and get the contract and guarantees in writing.

As Fox Mulder used to say in the popular X-Files television series, "Trust no one." And do some homework. "The truth is out there."

For more tips to protect yourself, check out leaderpost.com and the Saskatchewan police website www.sacp.ca/fraudawareness/.


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