by cattyone
Tue Dec 03, 2013 8:43 pm
Around a year ago I received a friend request on FaceBook. He said is name: Steven Walton, from Dublin, Ireland, lives in Preston Lancashire, UK, Chief Construction Engineer at Civil Work, divorced, has custody of 2 children and they live with his mother in Dublin. Phone: 447031884670 (which I was told to use) also another number which he used to call me: 47873149965. I have since found out that a UK phone number starting with +4470, it usually means that s not in the UK at all and it is almost guaranteed to be a scam. He called me very early after first getting on FB and he didn't have a British or Irish accent, he had an accent but I couldn't place it at all.
We chatted on FB and Yahoo. He was very romantic and wrote the most beautiful messages. For example: I miss you even more and am in love with you truly and deeply from my heart." He always said AM, not I am, which I thought was unusual. He professed his love for me constantly, talked about our future together his coming here and me going there.
A few months later he went to Malaysia to purchase materials for a job in Viet Nam. After a couple of days after he arrived in Kuala Lumpur a “doctor” called me early one morning and told me that my "finance" had been attacked and was in surgery. He was in the hospital for 2-3 weeks then I was asked to send money so he could get out of the hospital..his money had been stolen in the attack. The bill was over $2,000, he said he would pay me back as soon as he got back to his hotel because he had some money there. So I sent the money to Malaysia and by time it was received the hospital bill had increased. More money sent. Then even more money was needed because while he was in the hospital the hotel room was locked because he hadn't been there and all of his documents and everything was in there. More money requested to pay the hotel bill to keep the bill current then he needed a new airline ticket because the one he had expired. While in the hospital he sent me a text that spelled his name Stephen not Steven as before and he gave me some ridiculous story about that. So $10,000 later he was back home in the UK. He was going to repay the money as soon as he was paid for the Viet Nam job. BTW he got paid for that job but I never received my money.
More time passed with all of words of love and all. Everything was going well. Then he was going to Australia to do a job, but was going to Malaysia first to get materials for that job and then it would go by cargo ship to Australia. He was also traveling on that ship to Malaysia.
Then the first email came with the first indication of difficulty with the ship: Dearest, well my love Please I need your prayers. We are now at the Labuan Island close to Malaysia and our ship just developed a major fault and we are now moving at a very slow pace. ......... I had to beg the captain to allow me use his computer as usual to message you and to inform you of this recent development so Please Pray for me and the crew members that nothing happen to us.
I love you.
Stephen.
Then the next email came: My love how are you doing today? Honey you what ever situation I find myself in life I always give Glory to God for he alone knows the best in all. Please I need your prayers more now my love .
We are in a very serious problem here and need God intervention. The brain box of the ship is having a very serious problem and we are all confused here.The Typhoon that happened in Philippine last week makes this part of the sea rough so its is also affecting the ship and beside we just received information from the Signal house that there are sea pirates from Indonesia blocking the sea and they are about 312 KM away from us and the nearest place for this Ship to anchor is Labuan Island somewhere in South Malaysia.
As it is now, we are no longer safe because we fear the pirates may attack us because the ship is very slow now. We have called for a rescue team but we are yet to get a response.
The captain of the Ship have announced that all passengers should offload their goods for another means of transportation as the SHIP will duck here for another 20 days until its safe to continue sailing. (all of the emails are exactly alike – even as far as DUCK instead of DOCK)
Honey my problem now is my valuable documents my money ( $260,000 ) United States Dollar which I kept in my cabin safe box. I do not want it stolen from me in the event of any attack by the SEA PIRATES. My plan was to use this money to buy the Equipments needed to start off work from Malaysia and supply my Construction site in Australia which you are aware of.
Pls my love quickly forward to me your information as follows to enable me send the money to you immediately through ATTEX Courier diplomatic security company:
Your Full Name (He knew all of this information already)
Your Receiving Address:
Phone number:
Please get back to me as soon as possible.
Your love..
Stephen Walton (I thought it was strange that he signed his last name since he had never done that before) I guess the script was written that way or someone else wrote it)
Next email: have sent you the money. It is ($260,000) (Two hundred and sixty thousand Dollars) through Attex Express Delivery Company. This an independent security company in the sea shore here who are in charge of handling of freights and other consignments. (Attex - a courier service that is only in Viet Nam – no shipping out of that country)
They told me they will contact you for the delivery when they arrive The town of Sabah in Malaysia by today because they have no office in your country. I have never trusted anybody in my life to entrust such money in his/her hand, but I have so much trust for you. Honey, be careful with the money, it is part of the profit i made in the last business i did in Vietnam. (hmm, that was when he was going to repay me) I sent it to you as my family personal effect and so the company is not aware of what is inside the shipment and so do not even tell them because I don't trust anybody except you my dearest XXXX. Its only you that can open it as you received it. Honey I have attached the deposit certificate because they will demand it from you when they get to your country before delivery to you. I have paid the International charges here in the ship to send the shipment to you, I also ask them if you will pay any charges there to receive it, but they told me you are only going to pay for local charges to enable their officer in Malaysia deliver the shipment to you in your Address. I had wanted to pay but they told me that it has to be paid to their office in Malaysia because they don't know the exact amount because they have to pay for Malaysia government tax and local bills. Baby the Unlock code number is 6647 please keep it secret. (I had told him 3-4 times I would not pay anything at all) The company is a diplomatic security company and nobody will question them until they get to your destination and so do not fear for i will never put you into trouble.
Love you and God bless you (not his usual wording)
Stephen Walton. (Once again the last name)
Next is from the shipping company: Please be informed that your shipment has arrived from the Asian sea (Labuan Island) to our security company here in Malaysia. Following the instruction, we have been advice to deliver this shipment to you within 24 hours of arrival in our possession.
Please note before two of our delivery officers proceed for delivery of your shipment, you are to pay the sum of $8,950 (United States dollars) to enable us settle for Malaysia tax, vat and local bills and delivery charges. (What part of I will not pay anything he didn’t understood)
However and since we do not want to deliver your shipment to the wrong person, you are therefore urgently advice to forward to us a scan copy of any of the following: International passport or any valid I.D card for proper identification. For quick delivery and payment, you are therefore advice to quickly make the payment into the account below and get back to us with the evidence of payment: (misspelled words)
Bank Name: CIMB CIMB bank is legitimate. In checking with them they do Not have a branch at the address below and want me to send the email to them. They do not want the bank name used in that type of email. The will follow up on it.
Account Name: Yeni Marlina. (she is nonexistent in Malaysia)
Account No:07280004361202.
Swift Code: CIMBBMYKL.
Bank Address: Unit G-03 ground floor MBF building, 282 Sembulan, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,Malaysia.
As we await your response, we anticipate a long and meaningful services to you.
Always at your service.
Mr Ali Goma (c.s.o) (he is nonexistent in Malaysia)
For: Attex Express Delivery.
Someone from the shipping company called me and I told him I wasn't sending any money - well he wasn't happy about hat. (the person that called sounded exactly like the "doctor") The doctor and the hospital do not exist in Kuala Lumpur. By then I had done a lot of research - no such shipping company there and I checked with the bank and they have no bank at that address. Needless to say Stephen was very very mad because I wouldn't send money to pay the shipping co.
BTW - I was never paid back the $10K and now he wanted $9K more. He had told me he had his secretary wire the money to my bank but she got it mixed up so he'd wire it to me when he got to Malaysia or Australia.
I also found a lot more doing my research such as when checking IP headers I found out he also was Stephen Dunn, Rm2802, Sunning Plaza, 10 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, HongKong phone:+852-2159-7657 (that address in the corporate office for Yahoo)
I also found out through IP research that he wasn't even in the UK when emailing or calling me. (all of his emails were sent from Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Never in the UK at all)
After Stephen was told several times that I wasn’t sending any money for the shipment. And I told him that the shipping co. didn’t even exist there.
He then emailed me and said: XXXX i feel so sad because you think so bad of me and am deeply troubled with my personal belongings stucked somewhere in malaysia due to your inability to accept the responsibility of paying the billings for the package to be delivered to you. My reply: Re: your email from this morning - "you said due to my inability to accept the responsibility” ...... Well, the inability is correct - I Do Not have the ability to pay anymore. And responsibility??!! I can't imagine how you can even possibly think it can be my responsibility. Remember I told I wasn't paying.
End of the emails. I asked him on the phone if he was ever going to repay me – his answer: NO.
I had also told him that he was a scammer and had scammed me out of my money. I also told him that the “doctor” and the shipping company were in on the scam also. That also made him furious. I told him that for sure he knows that I’m not a dummy. Sorry this post is so long and believe it or not I actually cut a lot out! Our “relationship” lasted a year. I have pictures, if needed, however I’m sure the pictures are not him at all.
We chatted on FB and Yahoo. He was very romantic and wrote the most beautiful messages. For example: I miss you even more and am in love with you truly and deeply from my heart." He always said AM, not I am, which I thought was unusual. He professed his love for me constantly, talked about our future together his coming here and me going there.
A few months later he went to Malaysia to purchase materials for a job in Viet Nam. After a couple of days after he arrived in Kuala Lumpur a “doctor” called me early one morning and told me that my "finance" had been attacked and was in surgery. He was in the hospital for 2-3 weeks then I was asked to send money so he could get out of the hospital..his money had been stolen in the attack. The bill was over $2,000, he said he would pay me back as soon as he got back to his hotel because he had some money there. So I sent the money to Malaysia and by time it was received the hospital bill had increased. More money sent. Then even more money was needed because while he was in the hospital the hotel room was locked because he hadn't been there and all of his documents and everything was in there. More money requested to pay the hotel bill to keep the bill current then he needed a new airline ticket because the one he had expired. While in the hospital he sent me a text that spelled his name Stephen not Steven as before and he gave me some ridiculous story about that. So $10,000 later he was back home in the UK. He was going to repay the money as soon as he was paid for the Viet Nam job. BTW he got paid for that job but I never received my money.
More time passed with all of words of love and all. Everything was going well. Then he was going to Australia to do a job, but was going to Malaysia first to get materials for that job and then it would go by cargo ship to Australia. He was also traveling on that ship to Malaysia.
Then the first email came with the first indication of difficulty with the ship: Dearest, well my love Please I need your prayers. We are now at the Labuan Island close to Malaysia and our ship just developed a major fault and we are now moving at a very slow pace. ......... I had to beg the captain to allow me use his computer as usual to message you and to inform you of this recent development so Please Pray for me and the crew members that nothing happen to us.
I love you.
Stephen.
Then the next email came: My love how are you doing today? Honey you what ever situation I find myself in life I always give Glory to God for he alone knows the best in all. Please I need your prayers more now my love .
We are in a very serious problem here and need God intervention. The brain box of the ship is having a very serious problem and we are all confused here.The Typhoon that happened in Philippine last week makes this part of the sea rough so its is also affecting the ship and beside we just received information from the Signal house that there are sea pirates from Indonesia blocking the sea and they are about 312 KM away from us and the nearest place for this Ship to anchor is Labuan Island somewhere in South Malaysia.
As it is now, we are no longer safe because we fear the pirates may attack us because the ship is very slow now. We have called for a rescue team but we are yet to get a response.
The captain of the Ship have announced that all passengers should offload their goods for another means of transportation as the SHIP will duck here for another 20 days until its safe to continue sailing. (all of the emails are exactly alike – even as far as DUCK instead of DOCK)
Honey my problem now is my valuable documents my money ( $260,000 ) United States Dollar which I kept in my cabin safe box. I do not want it stolen from me in the event of any attack by the SEA PIRATES. My plan was to use this money to buy the Equipments needed to start off work from Malaysia and supply my Construction site in Australia which you are aware of.
Pls my love quickly forward to me your information as follows to enable me send the money to you immediately through ATTEX Courier diplomatic security company:
Your Full Name (He knew all of this information already)
Your Receiving Address:
Phone number:
Please get back to me as soon as possible.
Your love..
Stephen Walton (I thought it was strange that he signed his last name since he had never done that before) I guess the script was written that way or someone else wrote it)
Next email: have sent you the money. It is ($260,000) (Two hundred and sixty thousand Dollars) through Attex Express Delivery Company. This an independent security company in the sea shore here who are in charge of handling of freights and other consignments. (Attex - a courier service that is only in Viet Nam – no shipping out of that country)
They told me they will contact you for the delivery when they arrive The town of Sabah in Malaysia by today because they have no office in your country. I have never trusted anybody in my life to entrust such money in his/her hand, but I have so much trust for you. Honey, be careful with the money, it is part of the profit i made in the last business i did in Vietnam. (hmm, that was when he was going to repay me) I sent it to you as my family personal effect and so the company is not aware of what is inside the shipment and so do not even tell them because I don't trust anybody except you my dearest XXXX. Its only you that can open it as you received it. Honey I have attached the deposit certificate because they will demand it from you when they get to your country before delivery to you. I have paid the International charges here in the ship to send the shipment to you, I also ask them if you will pay any charges there to receive it, but they told me you are only going to pay for local charges to enable their officer in Malaysia deliver the shipment to you in your Address. I had wanted to pay but they told me that it has to be paid to their office in Malaysia because they don't know the exact amount because they have to pay for Malaysia government tax and local bills. Baby the Unlock code number is 6647 please keep it secret. (I had told him 3-4 times I would not pay anything at all) The company is a diplomatic security company and nobody will question them until they get to your destination and so do not fear for i will never put you into trouble.
Love you and God bless you (not his usual wording)
Stephen Walton. (Once again the last name)
Next is from the shipping company: Please be informed that your shipment has arrived from the Asian sea (Labuan Island) to our security company here in Malaysia. Following the instruction, we have been advice to deliver this shipment to you within 24 hours of arrival in our possession.
Please note before two of our delivery officers proceed for delivery of your shipment, you are to pay the sum of $8,950 (United States dollars) to enable us settle for Malaysia tax, vat and local bills and delivery charges. (What part of I will not pay anything he didn’t understood)
However and since we do not want to deliver your shipment to the wrong person, you are therefore urgently advice to forward to us a scan copy of any of the following: International passport or any valid I.D card for proper identification. For quick delivery and payment, you are therefore advice to quickly make the payment into the account below and get back to us with the evidence of payment: (misspelled words)
Bank Name: CIMB CIMB bank is legitimate. In checking with them they do Not have a branch at the address below and want me to send the email to them. They do not want the bank name used in that type of email. The will follow up on it.
Account Name: Yeni Marlina. (she is nonexistent in Malaysia)
Account No:07280004361202.
Swift Code: CIMBBMYKL.
Bank Address: Unit G-03 ground floor MBF building, 282 Sembulan, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,Malaysia.
As we await your response, we anticipate a long and meaningful services to you.
Always at your service.
Mr Ali Goma (c.s.o) (he is nonexistent in Malaysia)
For: Attex Express Delivery.
Someone from the shipping company called me and I told him I wasn't sending any money - well he wasn't happy about hat. (the person that called sounded exactly like the "doctor") The doctor and the hospital do not exist in Kuala Lumpur. By then I had done a lot of research - no such shipping company there and I checked with the bank and they have no bank at that address. Needless to say Stephen was very very mad because I wouldn't send money to pay the shipping co.
BTW - I was never paid back the $10K and now he wanted $9K more. He had told me he had his secretary wire the money to my bank but she got it mixed up so he'd wire it to me when he got to Malaysia or Australia.
I also found a lot more doing my research such as when checking IP headers I found out he also was Stephen Dunn, Rm2802, Sunning Plaza, 10 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, HongKong phone:+852-2159-7657 (that address in the corporate office for Yahoo)
I also found out through IP research that he wasn't even in the UK when emailing or calling me. (all of his emails were sent from Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Never in the UK at all)
After Stephen was told several times that I wasn’t sending any money for the shipment. And I told him that the shipping co. didn’t even exist there.
He then emailed me and said: XXXX i feel so sad because you think so bad of me and am deeply troubled with my personal belongings stucked somewhere in malaysia due to your inability to accept the responsibility of paying the billings for the package to be delivered to you. My reply: Re: your email from this morning - "you said due to my inability to accept the responsibility” ...... Well, the inability is correct - I Do Not have the ability to pay anymore. And responsibility??!! I can't imagine how you can even possibly think it can be my responsibility. Remember I told I wasn't paying.
End of the emails. I asked him on the phone if he was ever going to repay me – his answer: NO.
I had also told him that he was a scammer and had scammed me out of my money. I also told him that the “doctor” and the shipping company were in on the scam also. That also made him furious. I told him that for sure he knows that I’m not a dummy. Sorry this post is so long and believe it or not I actually cut a lot out! Our “relationship” lasted a year. I have pictures, if needed, however I’m sure the pictures are not him at all.