by fearless
Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:41 am
Dear All,
I would like to share a story of a scam that happened to a very close friend of mine to warn every single woman out there looking for love on the internet. This man called Captain Sean Pietro contacted my friend via facebook (his email: [email protected]). After a few persistent personal messages they began to regularly contact each other via email. This man smooth talked his way into her life. Their online relationship lasted for about 5 months, he sent her "love letters" daily claiming that he loved her and wanted to start a new life with her. He made her believe that he was a 'good man', very religious and constantly gave her bible versus and promised to marry her.
He told her his back story about being divorced and having no family back home in the United States. He claims that he is a Captain in the US Marines and is currently serving in Afghanistan. The alarm bells started to ring when he created this elaborate story in order to scam money from her. He claimed that he has gold bars that he obtained during a raid attack and that he trusted her enough to keep them safe. He has no family back home that he can send them to and the fellow members of his team have agreed to keep their share and send it back to their respective families. She is from Australia so sending it to her would have to be a "secret" mission.
He claimed that he has a contact in the UK that will be able to ship the gold bars to Australia. A small fee however would be needed to cover the remaining money owed to his contact ($300). She was hesitant to be involved she initially refused any involvement at all. It wasn't the money that she was seeking, he convinced her that he would be in trouble by the US government if he was found with this gold. She felt that she needed to help him because she loved him and did as he wished. She sent the money to the UK via western union. Of course there was more trouble after this money was sent because the shipment has been red flagged in New Zealand. A correspondent courier has been in contact with her via emails claiming that the package must be shipped to NIGERIA (always be wary when you see this country - it is almost always linked to scams), so that the government can clear the contents of the package and deliver it with a proper seal etc. She further sent $3000 to the courier in order for the delivery to be completed without further hassle. This courier company used this email to contact her: [email protected].
My friend never wanted anything to do with this package nor did she want or need this money. She was fooled into believing the lies that Sean fed her. Some warning signs may be that your contact NEVER shows his face to you on skype claiming that the internet connection is poor or any similar excuse. These people are professional criminals and will stop at nothing to manipulate you and your friends and family to believe their story, whatever it may be. The scammer is very knowledgeable about the Military, and will send you fake pictures of themselves to engulf you further into the lie. Please beware of this scam and any contact that you may be having which is similar to this story. These scammers have used fear and guillt to manipulate my friend into sending money to criminals.
We became aware of this scam when I asked my friend to read this story that I found on this current website:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=48620
Their stories although different situations were similar.
Please be careful when communicating to people you may not know personally on facebook, skype or email. Use your gut instincts to judge whether what they are saying is true and ALWAYS do your research before sending your money to anyone.
I would like to share a story of a scam that happened to a very close friend of mine to warn every single woman out there looking for love on the internet. This man called Captain Sean Pietro contacted my friend via facebook (his email: [email protected]). After a few persistent personal messages they began to regularly contact each other via email. This man smooth talked his way into her life. Their online relationship lasted for about 5 months, he sent her "love letters" daily claiming that he loved her and wanted to start a new life with her. He made her believe that he was a 'good man', very religious and constantly gave her bible versus and promised to marry her.
He told her his back story about being divorced and having no family back home in the United States. He claims that he is a Captain in the US Marines and is currently serving in Afghanistan. The alarm bells started to ring when he created this elaborate story in order to scam money from her. He claimed that he has gold bars that he obtained during a raid attack and that he trusted her enough to keep them safe. He has no family back home that he can send them to and the fellow members of his team have agreed to keep their share and send it back to their respective families. She is from Australia so sending it to her would have to be a "secret" mission.
He claimed that he has a contact in the UK that will be able to ship the gold bars to Australia. A small fee however would be needed to cover the remaining money owed to his contact ($300). She was hesitant to be involved she initially refused any involvement at all. It wasn't the money that she was seeking, he convinced her that he would be in trouble by the US government if he was found with this gold. She felt that she needed to help him because she loved him and did as he wished. She sent the money to the UK via western union. Of course there was more trouble after this money was sent because the shipment has been red flagged in New Zealand. A correspondent courier has been in contact with her via emails claiming that the package must be shipped to NIGERIA (always be wary when you see this country - it is almost always linked to scams), so that the government can clear the contents of the package and deliver it with a proper seal etc. She further sent $3000 to the courier in order for the delivery to be completed without further hassle. This courier company used this email to contact her: [email protected].
My friend never wanted anything to do with this package nor did she want or need this money. She was fooled into believing the lies that Sean fed her. Some warning signs may be that your contact NEVER shows his face to you on skype claiming that the internet connection is poor or any similar excuse. These people are professional criminals and will stop at nothing to manipulate you and your friends and family to believe their story, whatever it may be. The scammer is very knowledgeable about the Military, and will send you fake pictures of themselves to engulf you further into the lie. Please beware of this scam and any contact that you may be having which is similar to this story. These scammers have used fear and guillt to manipulate my friend into sending money to criminals.
We became aware of this scam when I asked my friend to read this story that I found on this current website:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=48620
Their stories although different situations were similar.
Please be careful when communicating to people you may not know personally on facebook, skype or email. Use your gut instincts to judge whether what they are saying is true and ALWAYS do your research before sending your money to anyone.