Romance Scam Ryan Van Brugge

I was recently scammed by a man claiming to be Ryan Van Brugge. He said he was a widower living in Oviedo Florida with his young daughter. He found me on match.com and then we started chatting on yahoo instant messenger He was very charming and I fell for it and eventually ended up sending $1200 via Western Union to the supposed nanny service that was taking care of his daughter while he was at work on an offshore drilling platform in the North Sea. I didn't know about this sort of scam and I feel like an idiot. He was so smooth. I have seen the photo that is being used for his profile here on scamwarners and I wanted to make sure the updated information they are now using was included here.

Name: Ryan Van Brugge
email: [email protected]
match username: SmilingG247

Sorry to hear about your story. As you said these scammers are very smooth and make a living out of lies and deception. Don't feel bad for falling for this you weren't the first and sadly you won't be the last either.

Just remember in future that no solider would need to ask a civilian for financial assistance. Any such problems he would take to his commanding officer. Never send any money via Western Union or Moneygram unless you personally know that person. Scammers love Western Union and Moneygram because once they have picked up the cash they are away into the night. That is not to say scammers don't use other services to receive money.

If anyone contacts you claiming they can get your money back or compensate your loss for a fee it is a scam as well so please don't send them any money.