Steve Angelou ([email protected])

Received an unsolicited email from "goldenkey247" on Match.com. Claimed to be a British man named Steve Angelou, in California working as a civil engineering contractor. Only child, parents both dead, single parent of 13 year old son named Vincent, son's mother dead. Supposedly went to England on an emergency shortly after first contact--Vincent needed an appendectomy. Then went to South Africa on another contract job to build a road for Shell Corp. Checked email sources and all emails originated in Johannesburg or Cape Town, SA.

After a month in Cape Town, road job was finished (he even sent me pictures of the road project). Claimed to need money because he couldn't cash the check he'd been paid with for the road job. Check was supposedly drawn on Barclays Bank, issued in pounds, and no banks in Cape Town would honor it without putting a 21-day hold on it. Needed money to pay his workers, hotel bill, and for plane ticket back to England. Said he had left all his credit cards in England due to so much identity theft (!) in South Africa.

In the 6 weeks we communicated, I really fell for this guy. When I asked if he was scamming me he was very hurt and offended. His final (I hope!) email to me accuses me of putting money before love and never really loving him, along with other hurtful things I'm sure are designed to lure me back in.

Here are some of the first emails I received from him, one from Match.com and the other two via his Yahoo! account. The Yahoo! emails were supposedly written from Huntington Beach, CA, but header analysis showed they actually came from Johannesburg, South Africa.

From: goldenkey247 < [email protected] > / Received: May 09, 2010
You Look So Cute!

Hi Dear,

I just read through your profile and i decided to write you. I'm a single dad of a lovely boy. I am an engineer by profesion,the nature of my job, takes me to places. Your profile warmed my heart. You look so cute, decent and gentle .I am so interested in getting to know more about you, I signed into "match.com" in search of someone honest, caring, and understanding .I'm an English man and i live in England,i am here on a job which i will soon be done with..!I am able to write to you,who lives far from my home,because distance can be countered by a good communication and i am ready to relocate for the right woman...

I hope you'll give me a chance to get to know you better.

Till i hear from you.

Steve..........

Hi Love!
...
From:
Steve Angelou <[email protected]> [Chat now]
...
Add to Contacts
To: XXXX

Dear XXXX


I just thought I’d share this with you and know what you think. I understand that there are many different ways to partner, and I try not to judge other people’s choices, but for me, I would like to find an equal partner, someone who contributes as much as I do to a relationship. This doesn’t have to be about money, but in totally, the work, effort and total contribution we bring. I have expectations for myself, and in the past I’ve found it difficult to find someone who had similarly high expectations for themselves.

It seems like so many people want to do ‘just enough’ to get by, but I want more than that.
As a basic foundation I think there should be respect for each other’s freedom (though to make a partnership work, I believe that we have to freely choose to take our partner and our family into consideration when we make choices), honesty and openness, I don’t believe that ‘little white lies’ are harmless or kind, I believe that honesty, even if we don’t want to hear what someone has to say, is always more kind in the long run.

I think it’s especially important for partners to be able to trust each other, without that, it just seems like everything falls apart. I also think it’s important to be able to express your needs and wants to each other. And make decisions together about how to meet them. I believe it’s important to be kind to each other, to not be callous with each other’s hearts.

To have compassion and empathy for each other and be willing to really listen to what your partner has to say. I want to support my partner in achieving her dreams, and feel supported by them in accomplishing mine. I want to work together with my partner to make decisions as a family well....

Thanks for reading. Hope to chat with you soon.

Steve...

On My Way To England In The Morning!
...
From:
Steve Angelou <[email protected]> [Chat now]
...
Add to Contacts
To: xxxxx
Dear xxxx,
I want you to know that I will not be communicating with any other woman on match.com because I want to concentrate on getting to know you,I cannot communicate with more than one woman at the same time, please don’t get me wrong am not trying to impose it on you that we must have something just want to have my attention on you and see where it leads us....

I want us to continue this communication, because there is much to know about each other, though we are far apart, but if we keep communicating well, we will be close to each other in our hearts...My nanny sent a message to me to say that Vincent my son is very sick and might require urgent surgery.Consequently I will be leaving for England 9am in the morning. Please don’t let that scare you, ok.! Just a quick dash to see my son and will be back to meet and hopefully be with you.

I wish you a wonderful blessed day ahead............


Warm thoughts

Steve....

NB: This is my number in England + 447031916852

The rest of his emails were mostly romantic and poetic. When I googled them most came up either on the RomanceScam site or on other love letter sites. Most of his emails, along with his Match profile, were fairly well-written without a lot of grammatical or spelling errors--although some were pretty bad, which he said was because he typed too fast. He said he had a "little bit" of a Jamaican accent because he spent his early years in Jamaica. The home address he gave me in England was 37 Kingsland Road, Mount Bures, CO85AS.

The phone number in England was a working number when I called it several weeks ago. When he supposedly went to South Africa to build a road, the number he gave me was +27710969368, also a working number that he called and texted me from and almost always answered when I called. It was a working number as of this past Sunday, June 20. Someone on RomanceScams googled the phone number and it's associated with a number of scams.

I also have screen shots of his Match.com profile before he deactivated it. I can post those if anyone thinks they'd help. Again, the profile was pretty well-written with no really obvious clues (at least not to me) that it was fake.






Quotes added for clarity - Michelle

Hi ThatHurt, welcome to Scamwarners.

I am glad to find that you realised this was a scammer before things got worse.

There is absolutely no doubt that this is a scam.

If you haven't already done so, please read the informational links at the top of the romance forum, they will give you a good idea of how these scams work and help you to avoid them in the future.

Thank you for posting this information, by doing so you will help other people to avoid being scammed, well done.

If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask

He's at it again:

Less than two weeks after I figured out I was being scammed, the same profile is back on Match.com. Different screen name, different alleged location--now he claims to be in Bakersfield, CA instead of Huntington Beach.

I came across this tonight on Match:



I feel like the nightmare is starting all over again, and maybe it is, for somebody else

I reported the profile to Match; hopefully they'll remove it promptly.

These people make me sick.

Made some edits to the screen shot, resized, added some text and removed username - Ralph

I can't do much to help you get over the hurt and betrayal you feel. That's mostly up to you and the best way maybe to try to put it out of your mind and to concentrate on the good things in your life. It would be too much of an insult to cockroaches to compare him with one of them. It's not possible to make them see how sad, pathetic and perverted they are. You should feel relief and joy that you are not caught up in his lies and deceit any more, as we find many people find it hard to let go.

There are many dedicated people here who track and obstruct these scammers and work with victims to warn and try to assist them. I don't myself deal with romance scammers but many here do. Unfortunately there are many varieties of scam and scammers, and I target other types. Maybe at a future date I'll go after them, but they don't have a free ride from the effort others put in here.

Don't waste your time on these life forms that aren't worthy of your attention.

This information can be cross referenced with my post regarding "Andrew Dorofy Collins". I received the three emails you mention here almost word for word. The difference being "Andy" claimed to have a 15 year old daughter.

His newest name is now Patrick Telford. Same story, except Vincent is 10 years old. Contacted me through Match.com. I truely hope there is no child that he actually uses in his scams. It's only been a week, so he hadn't gotten to the money part of the scam, but he is in England, (or so he says) nursing Vincent back to health, Soon to be on his way back here to meet me and sweep me off my feet. All the emails were duplicates of the ones that have been posted above. He needs some new material if he's going to try to keep doing this. Thank god I believe in Carma.

Welcome here rhonda_vue

I'm glad you started searching and found out you were dealing with a scammer. Scammers use pictures they find on the internet on blogs, facebook etcetera. Most people you see on these pictures are oblivious that their pictures are being used by scammers.

To ThatHurt,

His M.O. has not changed one bit. Same story, same emails. Apparently he doesn't waste time moving on to his next "Love". I didn't ask if he was scamming me, but I did ask if he was a cop trying to entrap me. He was requesting "photos" of me and was SO upset that I didn't have a webcam. I do, but I wasn't going to let him know that. He had given me the same number in England to call, which I did one time. Realized something wasn't right, and when I asked him about it he had some cockamamie story about calls getting rerouted in England. He said he would call me the next morning on another phone...which he did. But, when the call came it had a local area code, and when I asked about that I got another story. I called the number back and it was a prepaid phone....actually he doesn't sound to bright when it comes to covering his tracks. Poor "Vincent", no telling how many times he's had his appendix out!

I contacted Match.com as well to let them know he was at it again, hoping they have some way to keep tract of this guy so he doesn't do it again to someone else, but probably not. I also IM'd him one last time to let him know the gig was up, I had googled him, and he had been exposed. Haven't heard anything him since yesterday morning...thank god!

Awwwww, live and learn. Men like this need to learn that the majority of women aren't as stupid, nieve, and lonely as they think we are. Feel sorry for the gentleman who's picture he is using...looks like a nice guy, and quite handsome.

Hi Rhonda, good to have you here and aware of scammers now, you cant change what's done now but for the benefit of any new people reading along, once you suspect it is a scammer, the best thing to do is to stop all contact, by telling him anything at all about what you have found you will be helping him, even if he doesn't know it at the time.

Reporting scammers to the dating sites has little to no effect on the scammers and a slightly adverse effect for us, once a dating site removes his profile he will sign up again and copy paste his profile in, it will only take 5 minutes and he could have a nice new persona with a dating profile ready to lure victims. On the other hand, when anybody does research on the details of the scammer, having the profile deleted gives one less place to find clues.

I know it is a common reaction to think you are shutting them down by reporting them but sadly, they are well prepared for this and it will only be a minor inconvenience to them

You mentioned that this scammer provided you with a phone number in the UK, that was almost certainly a UK redirect phone number starting with 4470 these numbers can be set up by anybody from anywhere in the world, calls to these numbers will initially go through a UK exchange then be redirected to any phone in the world that the scammer wants to direct it to, a person who actually was in the UK would have no use for one of these phone numbers but for somebody who is pretending to be in the UK who is actually in Africa, this is an all too common tool.

If you have any questions please ask

Oh my god, this is my scammer top to bottom. I just got rid of him a week ago (Aug 17) after he asked me to give him money. He called himself Wade Bolodenka McGillicutty. I met him on match and he said he was a civil engineer from Manchester but he was working in the US (Mass) at the time that we first started speaking. He then went home to England as his job in the US was over with. After about a week and a half of being home he got a job offer in Cape Town, SA. He went, we kept talking (email, IM, phone calls). He was working on a retrofit to an oil refinery there. Then there was suddenly an accident at the site. He needed a new crane and he was financially responsible for it, to the tune of $50K. He then told me he was just about out of money for him an his daughter (oh yes, it was Patience and she found her mom, along with a teacher, having sex on the living room floor!!!!! -- the trauma that ended his marriage). I even spoke to the sweet daughter at one point. Anyway, he then asked me if I could help out and send him some money. I hung up and haven't spoken to him since. I sent him an email to say I simply couldn't trust a man who'd ask a woman he'd only known for three weeks to give him money. Plus it was completely implausible that a man in his postion would not have insurance to protect himself or the wherewithall to get himself out of the situation. He sent me a couple of attempted guilt emails after the fact which I ignored so I'm sure he's moved on to what he hopes are greener pastures.

See how well our emails match, its quite sickening.

This one was the intro email on match
July 27
Hello
My name's Wade.

I came across your profile and just thought I'd say, "hi".I am new to online dating services,I read through your profile,it warmed my heart. You look cute, decent and gentle .I am interested in getting to know you.

I signed into this site to find someone honest, caring, understanding and, has a good sense of humor,someone not to have a fling or temporary relationship with,but a forever lasting one,starting with friendship.

I like your description of what you're looking for in a partner..I'm a single dad blessed with a lovely girl. I am a successful engineer,the nature of my job takes me places.I am creative and artistic,sensitive with a good sense of humor,quick witted friendly and energetic.

I'm from the U.K. I live in England.Presently,I am here in the US,on a job which I am almost done with,please don't let this stop you from communicating,because distance is just a flight away and i am ready to relocate for the right woman, I am ready to give that much for a relationship,when I find one..

I hope I didn't bore you to a stand still and really hope I made an impression in you , I hope you'll give me a chance to communicate with you and know about you.

God Bless.
Wade

This one is when e first came off match.
From: Wade bolodenka Mcgillicutty <[email protected]>
Sent: Fri, July 30, 2010 4:30:15 AM
Subject: Re: hello

Good morning Kar,Thanks for writing back to me through here

I just thought i'd share this with you and know what you think

I understand that there are many different ways to partner, and I try not to judge other people’s choices, but for me, I would like to find an equal partner, some one who contributes as much as I do to a relationship. This doesn’t have to be about money, but in totally, the work, effort and total contribution we bring. I have expectations for myself, and in the past I’ve found it difficult to find someone who had similarly high expectations for themselves. It seems like so many people want to do ‘just enough’ to get by, but I want more than that.

As a basic foundation I think there should be respect for each others freedom (though to make a partnership work, I believe that we have to freely choose to take our partner and our family into consideration when we make choices), honesty and openess, I don’t believe that ‘little white lies’ are harmless or kind, I believe that honesty, even if we don’t want to hear what someone has to say, is always more kind in the long run. I think it’s especially important for partners to be able to trust each other, without that, it just seems like everything falls apart. I also think it’s important to be able to express your needs and wants to each other. And make decisions together about how to meet them.

I believe it’s important to be kind to each other, to not be callous with each others hearts. To have compassion and empathy for each other and be willing to really listen to what your partner has to say. I want to support my partner in achieving her dreams, and feel supported by them in accomplishing mine. I want to work together with my partner to make decisions as a family, and share our power,well....

Thanks for reading

Wade

This one is where he tells me he only wants to talk to me
From: Wade bolodenka Mcgillicutty <[email protected]>
Sent: Sat, July 31, 2010 10:56:31 AM
Subject: Re: hello
Good morning Karen..It' so nice to read from you again...
I want you to know that i will not be communicating with any other woman on match.com for now,because i want to concentrate on getting to know you,i cannot communicate with more than one woman at the same time,please dont get me wrong ,i am not trying to impose it on you that we must have something,i just want to have my attention on you and see where it leads us...
I want us to continue this communication,because there is much to know about each other,though we are far apart,but if we keep communicating good,we will be close to each other in our hearts...
I will be leaving for England 2pm today,I have been in the states for 7 weeks now,because I will be rounding up my job here in the morning,please dont let that scare you ok
I dont know if you have a yahoo messenger in your computer,so that we can chat through the im or any other means if im,it is a fast means of communication,we can instant message ourselves ,ask questions about each other and get instant answers.....
I wish you a wonderfully blessed day ahead....
Warm thoughts
Wade

This information can be cross referenced with my post regarding "Andrew Dorofy Collins". I received the three emails you mention here almost word for word. The difference being "Andy" claimed to have a 15 year old daughter.

Please tell me where to find yours as Wade had the 15 year old daughter so might be more similar to yours.

I have an image of his match profile and his pictures. How do I post them here so others can see him as Wade.

thanks
kar

If you want to post some pictures, then read this topic first: http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3219There you can read all about it, and in that photo forum you can post the pictures too.

well, I am a victim of his scams as well, but had a very good friend turn me onto this site !!!!!

Welcome here Reitpferd.

You are very lucky with such a friend. I hope you found out about the scam before you lost any money. If you received some emails that are a bit different then the ones already posted here, or if this scammer is using different email addresses now, could you post them here please?