Nigera Scam moves to Dating Websites and Personal Ads
January 23, 2009 by Linda Lee
Filed under Articles, Online Safety, Recent Posts, Recent Topics, Rip Off Scams Target Personal Ads, Scams, Websites/Blogs
UPDATE 12-2-09
Many of you would like to have these bogus photos posted. Please right click and save the images to your desktop and then email them to me also if any of you would like to forward me these fake emails and letters I will post them on this blog. Many of you found me through the fake letter I posted, so lets help other people and bust these scumbags!
Email me at scammerphotos @ askmepc.com
UPDATE 11-11-09
Since I wrote this article, so many people have contacted me about this problem.
Many people have fallen prey to these tactics.
This is not just on Yahoo Personals or Match.com or Catholic and Christian Dating Websites, this is happening on all kinds of personal dating ad websites everywhere.
Just read the comments and you can see how large this is.
Please remember, NEVER send money to someone you meet online, never.
This is one of the worst things you can fall for.
These people do not have phone numbers, you can never speak with them, and if you do, make sure you get a call back number, because they may hire someone to call you. This scam takes in MILLIONS of dollars every year.
This scam runs in so many forms it is hard to believe.
Tell your friends and please let the sites you have been betrayed on know what is happening.
Someone needs to guard the gates a bit more carefully. This is a tragic scam that hurts millions of people each year.
I was able to experience this firsthand. I recently put my profile up on Yahoo Personals and I had a few people who contacted me. One person sent me his email and I emailed him at r.hall@yahoo.com ( if any of you want to send nasty emails to this scammer, feel free.) I was very suspicious when the profile of this so called guy named “Randy Hall” was suddenly removed from Yahoo. He said he had a daughter and was widowed.
I got an email back later that seemed a bit weird, especially when the guy did not talk about anything in his profile and
was calling me “dear”. That is weird, my hackles were up and I was highly suspicious.
Note to all women, that is so Nigerian scammer lingo. In all their scammy emails (you won the lotto, bank fake email in dire need, I am a solicitor…etc..) they talk like some British Baron from the 19th Century!
I sent him a curt and very short reply back asking for more details like where he lived and what did he do for a living and why did he take his profile down in only 2 days, and OMG, check out the phony idiotic email that came back.
I started laughing when I read it and immediately knew my instincts were correct-SCAMMER!- I will post his scam email here so hopefully when other 13 year olds or disgusting old crooks sitting in a room in Nigeria try to pull this crap on another person , they will know they are being set up by one of the oldest scams in the book.
Read the letter and I will then explain to you how the old Nigeria scam works.
Hi Linda
Wow, what a letter! I wasn’t sure if I’d hear from you. I’m so glad I did. First, thank you for the compliments. I really appreciate all the nice things you said and the fact that you’re still willing to give me a try.It’s really hard to find a person that is interested in a possible long term relationship and not just a one night stand. I am looking for a best friend and partner. I don’t hang out in bars or date just anyone. I never thought I’d try online dating but here I am. ..Linda , I already let you know that you’re a truly genuine and open person…I am very open, honest and caring….My late Mom was from Kansas and My dad was from, West Africa cos he was brought up from Nigeria … they both meet in Rome , ITALY , where i grow up and they instilled many wonderful values in me.My Late mom raised me to be fighter and always come out on top and that is what i plan on doing.I would be 39 years by Jan 28th . My Dear Linda , am still having Difficult with my laptop for me to send more Pictures of me to you , hope this wont stop us from talking here and carrying the conversation to High level ..I am also a happy, outgoing person..I love to laugh and spend time with friends..Can you tell me how your day went?? what do you normally do at your Leisure time ??? .my favorite activities are basically anything to do with being outdoors..camping is one of my favorite things to do and also trying my hand at new things and I want you to know more about me ..first of all,I have now lost my mother and only have my father. my Late mother and father were married for 43 years and I think that is truly wonderful thing and I want to let you Know that i relocate from Elsmore ,Kansas to Powell St, San Francisco anytime from now which I let you know that i just got a 1story 10 home yesterday .I want this also very much..although my life is full of love , there is the most important element of life that is missing from mine..my life companion.this person must be sincere, honest, understanding and family oriented.I also want someone that is always serious all the time…that is able to just “have fun” and balance this with responsibility..someone that is adventurous,loves the outdoors and laughing…I want someone that can appreciate quality in life but also the most simplistic things in life., but I want to share my life with someone..I do not date a lot because I do not enjoy going out with so many different people….when I do go out on a date it is only because I am quite attracted to that person (in all aspects…not just physically), I think it is of extreme importance to be on the same levels with someone you are to share your life with.i.e intellect, sense of humor and also similar goals in life.these things all add up to admiration, loyalty and friendship..I would like to find this so that I may begin the second journey of my life in which i let you know i my profile so please ask me whatever you would like…I think you are someone that is seeking the same as I and so I would love to pursue this friendship with you to see what happens…only if, at the very least, we would both have gained a great love.of course, hopefully more…;-)..Linda , Let’s I forget , I wanna let you Know That I would be Living the state for Now cos i heard a Called from The Dr that’s in charge of My dad sickness from The Hospital there In Nigeria That My dad is not really good that he want to see me ..I was so shock when I heard That My dad is not good and Been The Only child of My dad i think i need to see Him cos he’s the one left for me now ..To cut this short ,I am On My way to Nigeria Probably In the next 8 – 12hrs cos I have book my plane . so don’t hesitate to mail me and I will reply you back …..But Most especially i will soon be back to state soon I look forward to hearing from you again soon..Please feel free to say anything and I would Like to know know thing about you like :
What are you doing for Living ??
What do you seek for in a relationship?
What sort of relationship you seek for?
What are the basic qualities you seek for in a man?
What interests you to me ?
What do you do for fun?
Do you like public intimacy?
How long have you been single?
What’s being single like?
How do you treat your man?
Why do you need a man?
Can you love this me even though you continue talking to me ???
What is love to you?Would you hit your man for any reasons?
Got to go now and Hope to read from you soon
Randy
YUCK!!! Here are the people who are talking to you.
Nigerian Romeo Boiler Room Rip Off Scam
There are tons of “tells” in this email.
Bad grammar and spelling are usually the first giveaway in all scammer emails.
For instance the scammers often misspell stupid words. A good example of this is the fake bank alerts email I recently got that had in the subject line this, ” your accuont will be locked.”
I delete about at least 10 fake Paypal, eBay and bank alerts a day. A popular one recently has been “buyer dispute” from eBay, since I have not used eBay in about 3 years that was an obvious one for me to catch.
Here is the Nigerian Scam in a nutshell. It is called 419 or Advanced Fee Fraud.
I have included some information about some other common online scams for your protection.
Please never send any money to strangers, never login to any place through an email, always find the real bank online or login to eBay or Paypal at their own websites.
Most companies now accept these fake emails by forwarding them to “spoof@—–” ebay, paypal, Citibank, whatever place you supposedly got the fake email from. This helps them keep track of them too.
Be careful out there. The internet is literally open to the entire world and there are many evil people waiting to prey on you and this latest personal scam is a new low of these disgusting crooks!
1. Nigerian Letter Scam
This is probably one of the best known online scams but it still manages to get people to part with their hard earned money. Invariably you receive an e-mail, usually written in capital letters and starts out like this:
“DEAR SIR/MADAM: I REPRESENT THE RECENTLY DEPOSED MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE FOR NIGERIA, WHO HAS EMBEZZLED 30 MILLION DOLLARS FROM HIS STARVING COUNTRYMEN AND NOW NEEDS TO GET IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY…”
The letter says the scammers are seeking an accomplice who will transfer the funds into their account for a cut of the total–usually around 30 percent. You will be asked to travel overseas to meet with the scammers and complete the necessary paperwork. But before the transaction can be finalized, you must pay thousands of dollars in “taxes,” “attorney costs,” “bribes,” or other advance fees.
However, there is no minister or money other than the money you paid in advance. Victims who travel overseas may find themselves physically threatened and not allowed to leave until they cough up the cash. This online scam is also referred as Nigerian 419 Letter, where the 419 stands for the section of Nigeria’s penal code that this online scam violates.
2. Lottery Scams
In this online scam you will receive an email informing you that you have won a lottery or that the XYZ lottery company went into a draw for the distribution of unclaimed money and your email address was selected. You will be asked to make a payment, often in cash, for the money to be released and sent to you. Unfortunately, there is no money and you never hear from the XYZ company again.
Remember, if you have not purchased a lottery ticket it is unlikely that you could have won anything specially if you need to pay to claim it. Lottery companies and agencies do not work that way.
3. Online Auctions
Unfortunately, as online auctions sites have increased in popularity so have the online scams associated with auction sites. Here the scammers place fictitious products for sale and once the auction is over, the highest bidder pays for the product which he/she never receives it. These online scammers are extremely difficult to trace. However, most auction sites have a strict rule and once a scammer is identified, they can no longer use the site.
Another form of this online scam is seek out potential buyers through auction sites. The scammers then send them an email informing them that they can offer them the product the buyer is trying to buy on the auction site for less money. If you fall prey to this online scam, you can say bye to your money and you will never see the product.
4. Online Investments
This is one of the most high risk, high return and popular scheme on the internet. Most of these are scam where you’ll have the operator running away with you investment before you knew it.
A lot of these schemes are also what is commonly known as “Ponzi scheme” where early investors are paid high returns to entice more funds to flow in. Basically, in this scheme investors are paid using the funds that it is attracting until such time it collapse under its out flow of funds. The victims are usually the later investors.
Click on “Ponzi scheme” for more info. One of the example of such scheme that is still operating is the Swiss Cash Fund (1948). Following are some related links:
- Malaysia Central Bank warning
One can still make some good returns in online investments as long as the pay out is not unbelievably high. Usually, a return of between 5% – 7% is a good measurement that it may be a legitimate concern.
The GOLDEN RULE to follow when hunting for opportunity on the internet is to be vigilent and always do your research and due diligence checks to ensure that the opportunity is a sustainable entity. If you are one of those high risk takers — do it with your extra, never, NEVER borrow to take a risk!
Related posts:
- How to not get ripped off by so called online “experts”, don’t get scammed online! How to not get ripped of by seo experts, social...
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Iwas contacted by this Keith Anderson from Los Angeles too, at the same time
as the person above…same story everything….I unfortunately sent him money
and have submitted a fraud report to my local police department, Western Union and the FBI…am going to contact the Nigerian Economic and financial
Crimes Commission on Monday to see if they can do something………
howdy! I was contacted by a person on AFF. Their email is sarah.hunts@yahoo.com and on yahoo messenger, sarah.hunts, I hope you’ll say hi to them! I figured, as long as their talking to me they can’t scam anyone else. She claimed to be a sociologist paying her own way in nigeria. She said she lived in Houston, and here’s the address she gave.
16514 royal mile lane(bearcreek,hwy 6 and clay rd)houston tx 77084
This is owned by someone else, and they’re not renting to her.
Here’s the phone number she gave me, that she called me from
+2347084042101
She also gave me a reservation number on british airways for a ticket she never paid for to come back to houston. English is so bad. Said she has sister in UK. All lies!
Hi Linda,
Thank you for posting this. I am currently having a conversation with Brad Hall. He suddenly had to go to Nigeria to see his sick father who is in the hospital. His 8 year old daughter Brenda is there with him as well. But reading your email it is the same guy, same 101 questions. So now I just wait for the ball to drop and him ask for money. He is slick, I have to give him that.
I’ve been in contact with a woman from the Ukraine for a couple of months. Everything sounded legitimate for awhile. She would send pictures, including (family) pictures. I’ll admit, she is the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. The thing that I found really funny was how could she possibly want me, when she has never seen me. I sent her roses for her birthday and she sent a picture with her and the roses. Then things started to become suspicious. She wouldn’t answer my questions and then the BIG one came. She wanted to fly to the U.S., to meet me, but her airline tickets cost $1450 and she was $400 short. She told me the fastest way for her to receive it was through Western Union. I was told to send it ASAP, because she had to make arrangements through work to take off. I didn’t send any money and I haven’t heard from her as often like before. Just remember “NEVER SEND MONEY” to anyone that you contact on line.
Ladies, B-E-W-A-R-E! Like April from 8/19/09, I, too, “supposedly” met Ronald Zambruther this month after signing up on Yahoo Personals. Sent many emails (mindsonminds@yahoo.com) trying to woo me & insisted on always talking on IM…never the phone. Gave the identical life story. Only exception is he claimed he moved from California to Bartlett, TN. Emails were always lengthy professing his love for me, etc. within only a week’s time of conversing with him. Emails usually were full of simple grammar mistakes. Even called me Diane in one of these sappy messages. No doubt, cut & paste. Even possible that the person I spoke to online was not even the same person writing these letters. Seemed to have a British way of writing words more so than Italian/American. Never revealed much about himself more interested in trying to convince me that we were meant to be together, etc. Just too much, too fast. Lots of RED flags!!!!
Unfortunately, the scammer, got a reality check thanks to doing my own investigative work. No reply back. Imagine that. I just wanted to share this & warn other women to be careful. It is sad that people play with each other’s emotions like this with total disregard. These people need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
I’ve been contacted by humblekeith14@yahoo.com. Contacted through singlesaints.com. Said his name was Keith Anderson from Los Angeles. He sent 4 different pictures of the same guy. He was 46 and a widow with a 9 year old son. Said his wife died when his son was born. Died from cancer and kidney stones….seriously? kidney stones? His parents died tragically in a car accident when he was a small child. I kept talking with him anyways. He said he was an IT analysts and programmer. Self-employed in UK on business. Then said he had to go to Nigeria to get the parts he needed. Got an email the day after he was supposed to “travel” about how he & his son had been attacked by robbers on the way from the airport. He needed money for doctor bills, hotel and food. He couldn’t get to his money until he got back.
My reply: Contact the US Embassy. I’m sure they would help.
Come on…I’m a single mom with 2 kids. How much money do these fools really think I would have to share with a person I don’t know and have only talked to for a week.
ugh….they’re scum.
Antoniol3@yahoo.com used the same everything, story, and picture. How can we post that picture of the man and his little girl, so they can know their image is being used.
I too fell prey to antoniol3@yahoo.com from Windsor, CT. The profile has been deleted in the past few days. I was given the same story about his mother and grandmother passing away and then suddenly he had to go to Nigeria to see his ailing father. Never got to the money part or the meeting part, but he had fallen madly in love with me, over a few emails and pictures. Flags went up! However, he did answer my questions but asked the same questions to me again and again. I think it is sick that someone has even thought about doing this. I really do feel sorry for the very handsome guy whose photo is being used.
I had the same one as AlmostBelieved. Except antoniol3@yahoo.com.
Same exact details. I’m finally thinking this is too good to be true.
So I look up for signs that you’re being scammed. Read the example letter, just like it. And scrolled down and actual read about the same exact guy
with the description of same exact picture. Unbelievable! Live and learn
I guess. I’m just glad I caught it now before it was too late.
I’ve been geeting emails from a Brad Hall of Fargo, ND. It is the same email tha was posted on the front page. Again conctacted through yahoo personals. He has yet to ask for money, but you can see where his “story” is going. Poor writing, cut an pasting, very choppy and crazy spelling with random capital letters. Good eye everyone and thanks for spreading the word. Although I thought this guy was a bit odd, I was greatful to find this information when I googled his email address: brad.hall33@yahoo.com. Good luck to everyone looking for something real.
Girls, attention !! there is a scammer around under the name Johnnie Walker, saying 48, looks older on the photo. Pretends to be a widower who lost his wife and the baby some years ago. Says to be an international constuctor for hotels etc. First alarm signal was for me when he said too fast to love me and wants to marry, always suspicious. Then he said he would be in the UK and lost his credit card… you know the story… big second alarm signal.
Ok, I played the game and asked him, please to understand that I need some proof, if he wants money to pay his hotel. I offered him to that the hotel will send me the bill and I can take care of it. No….he said its not possible, the manager would not be in town. Huh? Then I said, ok, give me the hotel number, I will call them. No… but he mentioned the name. Ok, I called them and of course, as I expected, they didn’t know any Johnnie Walker. I confronted him with this and he said, he instructed the hotel no one to tell something… sure…he was still begging for money. Then I asked him to send me his passport copy. OMG is all I can say. This guy had the guts to send a faked passport copy. have you ever seen an US passport with a photo with landscape in the background and no stars on the photo?
When I told him this he got rude and the “love” turned into “go to hell”….
So, ladies, take a Johnnie Walker whiskey instead of this guy and NEVER sent any money to people you don’t know in person.
I was contacted by a scammer the 1st week I joined BBPeople. He said he was a widow from Italy with 10 year old son living in FL. His parents died within 2 years of each other and then his wife got sick and died too. I was suspicious right away because his name did not sound Italian. After asking him about this a couple of times he told me his middle name which was Italian – ha! His grammar was atrocious and you could tell that some stuff was cut and pasted. He loved me the day after we IM’d, I mean come on! We emailed/chatted a few times and the moment he told me he was going to Africa to deliver cars I knew he was a scammer! I asked what part of Africa he was going to and he said he didnt know! Are you kidding me – who leaves the country without knowing where you are going?! I asked who was going to watch his son and he said since he had no one to watch his son he would be take him with – who in their right mind takes a 10 year old out of school to the African continent when they dont know where they are going? Come on! I immediately told him to make sure you have enough money to cover your return ticket or you’ll be stuck over there LOL. He replied why do you say that. Anyhow, it was fun to screw around with him once I realized he was a scammer. I told him to have a good trip then blocked him from my account!. Ladies and gents beware of these losers! I’ve since blocked him from my profile/email accts.
These jackals prey on men, too. Yahoo is not doing a good job. I have seen same exact profile with different pictures. They have no shame. Ladies be careful. After they sucked in couple of people, then they would delete their profiles and go somewhere else. First sign to be alarmed…..whenever they ask for money.
These jackals prey on men as well. Yahoo is not doing a good job! I have seen eaxact same profile with different pictures. After they sucked in couple of people….then they would delete their profile and go somewhere else . they have no shame.
I have been in contact with Matt Rachlin and he is slick! He did the same thing with me, smooth talking at first, sent me the same email twice, deleted his profile, gave home and cell me phone numbers (that weren’t registered to him. One wasn’t even in the state he claimed to be from.) But, when I researched him and confronted him I got some sob story that he needed money to get home from Malaysia. He turned it around and said I was self-centered and that I needed to make things right with him. I don’t think so! In the meantime, Alex (or ganderson066) has contacted me. I immediately blocked him and I have reported Matt Rachlin on yahoo. Cindy is right, Matt is now using rachlinmt@yahoo.com. Be careful ladies and make sure to do your research once you have a name.
I would like to add that the freddy.dahl@yahoo.com also claimed to be the son of famous writer Rauld Dahl (Charley and the Chocolate factory) with alittle research I did find he does have a son but the age and the details that he did give me didnt match a thing I looked up…… dont jump the gun do the home work…………….
another attempt to scam nice/lonely people for money
2 attempts in one week from 2 different i ds….. allendevries1@yahoo.com and his title is playboy the other is freddy dahl freddy.dahl @yahoo.com Freddys phone number is 0112348037378762 demanded I send him money to help him out? I have photos too of both so called men/ these boys were using both state they are there for business and both sent me the same poem with in days of each other I almost fell for it with one…. my gut instinct was right …………. let me know where to post their photos they used for a personals ad so others dont fall as the one guy his looks alone caught my eye.. to bad I couldnt find the real guy in the one photo I would tell him what has been going on with his photo on yahoo personals
another attempt to scam nice/lonely people for money
2 attempts in one week from 2 different i ds….. allendevries1@yahoo.com and his title is playboy the other is freddy dahl freddy.dahl @yahoo.com Freddys phone number is 0112348037378762 demanded I send him money to help him out? I have photos too of both so called men/ these boys were using both state they are there for business and both sent me the same poem with in days of each other I almost fell for it with one…. my gut instinct was right …………. let me know where to post there photos they used for a personals ad so others dont fall as the one guy his looks alone caught my eye.. to bad I couldnt find the real guy in the one photo I would tell him what has been going on with his photo on yahoo personals
I too was contacted apparently by the same guy as April…. exact same story, etc.. These guys are unbelievable… We definitely need Internet police to “catch” these guys…
OMG!!!!! I didn’t want to think this was real… but then after reading this i’m freaking out… i have been talking to this guy for weeks now… has sent me pictures the whole nine… i gave him my number the other day and he has called me but i could not answer the phone. THEN we talked on the web cam…. granted it was kinda dark on the screen but he seemed like the same guy that was in the pics… then TODAY something in my gut told me something was wrong…. he called me yet again and i answered it… WELL his voice didn’t sound like the guy that was on the web cam… so i came back to my desk at work and was telling the girls about it… and then someone told me about this money thing that is going on in africa. now here is the info he has given me… i hope it helps someone out like this has helped me…..
he claims his name is charles…. he is 31… that he lives in texas but is in AFRICA seeing his step-mother b/c she is ill. and that he would be flying home to texas. we have even made up out minds that he was going to fly to cincinnati. Well after i talked to him today i e-mailed him and said Look… i know that something is up…. first of all you dont sound like you are from the US…. he then sends me an e-mail and tells me that he was raised in UK b/c his dad was in the army. and after his father passed he moved back to texas… now remember he told me his dad just passed about a year. so something is not adding up!!!!! i’m having a cop friend check into this whole thing. b/c ever since i sent him a reply back telling him im just have a few questions, before he comes here and we meet… he has not e-mailed me back and has not been back on yahoo messanger…. MAN THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…….
I would say 95% of the emails I get from Yahoo Personals are from various sorts of scams. They are so obvious, with their lengthly emails (WHAT NORMAL GUY TALKS LIKE THIS!!!!). That is number 1 a true give away that something is not right. Another is that they never really want to meet. The latest guy – his yahoo personal profile says he was born in Wisconsin and raised with 2 older sisters. Then he sends me an email thru Yahoo personals and says he was born in South Africa and moved to US. What story is it buddy???
Next, his profile claims he is from CT and when he gives me a phone number to call – the phone lookup tool on the internet says its a land line in Albany NY!!. I’m so disgusted that I wasted my $ on yahoo personals seriously thinking I would meet an eligible man. shame on me!!!
Matt Rachlin now goes by rachlinmt@yahoo.com
Antonioluis33@yahoo.com is also one of these scammers. He was on Yahoo Personals complete with pictures of him and his blonde daughter. My first red flag was that he said his mother was Italian and his father was from Nigeria. Yet, he had light brown hair as well and did not have a dark complection. He made the mistake of telling me he spent the first 27 years of his life in Italy. So I went to one of the online translation sites and sent my reply in Italian. His response was to send me more pictures. So I replied again in Italian. Moreso than his appearance, the thing that really sent up the warning signals was that he never answered any question I asked and asked me questions I just had asked him….like he was not paying attention or did not understand. The other big thing was that he was actually cutting and pasting out of online travel sites to describe Italy. I actually found the identical paragraph from the travel agency he mentioned. I just feel sorry for the guy and his daughter in the photographs. I’m sure they have no idea they are being used.
I think Julie and must have spoke with the same individual. Almost the same story to a t, just a different profession. I was skeptical in the beginning also, but he said his parents were missionaries growing up, yada, yada, etc. The joke was on him because I have no money to send. I am gonna mess back with him and let him know I found him funding but they require proof. Julie I would love to compare photos. If anyone wants to share stories, my email is hemigurl1965@yahoo.com
Oh yeah he also has a website supposably for his gallery in Cali its called http://www.zambruther-arts.com All along I thought I was chatting with a good looking man american man. All along I wasnt talking to the man that was pictured. They say there is scams in Nigeria with pay pal and he has paypal on the website.
Yes I too almost got scammed. I got contacted by a Ron Zambruther yahoo name was mindsonminds01@yahoo.com . He claimed to be a widower from Cali with a 12 year old son he lost his parents and wife in a car accident 4 years ago. Wss into the Arts and sold his gallery in Cali and moved to Bangor Pa. When we first started talking he said he wasnt in town he and his son were in Florida looking for art so when he comes back to Pa he was going to be looking for a new Gallery. After several days of looking in Florida and not being able to find the Art he was supposed to be looking for he told me he was going to West Africa to look because thats where they were supposed to have the art he was looking for. Well after two days of not contacting me he finally sent me an email telling me as they were driving to the hotel they were in a serious accident and his son was in a coma. He also lost his wallet, credit cards and passport in the accident. Gave me a sob story on not having money to get his son medicine so he could come out of a coma. I continued telling him I had no money. He kept begging saying his son was going to die and he didnt know what to do because he had no other family and I was the only one he could turn too. I sat and cried thinking this guy is scamming me but on the other hand was wondering if I was doing the right thing by just ignoring him. He also told me he loved me after a few days chatting and even asked me my ring size. What a fool I was until I started doing research and realized there was no trace of a Ron Zambruther anywhere. Earlier I asked him his home address and he typed it pretty quick after mapquesting it and driving there to find no such house. I realized he was a big liar. I did contact yahoo and reported his username and email addy. There fraud dept sent me email saying the problem was being taken care of and that account was being terminated. It just really stinks that people can do this to others.
I was contacted from William Deavor through Yahoo Personals . His story was he lost his wallet with his money and credit cards and needed money to live on until someone named Lance ( his associate) came to his rescue . His mistake was telling me he lived in the neighborhood I grew up in . So of course I checked that out there was a family living where he said he lived who knew nothing about him. When i replied telling him this he got very nasty to me and I reported to the yahoo personals because he had been asking me for a great deal of money. I didn’t have it , couldn’t get it , wouldn’t get it. His profile is still up on the yahoo site. I sure hope he can’t contact anyone else.
Deb
It’s not just the women that are getting scammed. I got scammed on a similar singles website and was stupid enough to send the money. Does anyone know what we can do to report these criminals. My money is gone, but I just want these people to get what they deserve.
My scammer’s name is Maddi Haris and used the following email address, maddiharris@yahoo.com. The website I was using was catholicsingles.com, so they’re not just on Yahoo, they’re all over the place.
Julie,
That is very scary, that he used your son’s name! Please anyone who has actual information like this, report it to the FBI.
Your local police really cannot do much, but also in this case it can be reported to the credit card company as well.
I wish I could help more people not fall for this scam, but most people only read my post after they have been burned.
Just wanted to let everyone know I returned the ring to JCPenney because I was suspicous that there was another womans name on the shipping label right above mine. Discovered that it was purchased using a mastercard in her name. She is from Connecticut. No doubt her card info or identity was stolen. Got on yahoo only to spot another profile with the same header, profile details, and writing style as my mystery man. Only this time he was using my son’s name! I reported him and his profile disappeared the next day. Crazy!!!
Yup I got about 10 in my mailbox from yahoo personals right now. You can always tell they are over dramatic and always give there email on the first response. I talked to one of them just to see how far it would go. After about 2 weeks she wanted to come and see me from Africa on vacation from her job. She had almost enough money to get her ticket but 400.00 dollars she needed until she got here. I was like ok send me your money and i will pay for the rest for you. No reponse yet so I guess she is not coming. Her name was Olivia j rangel olivia edwards or rockwildersgirl who knows. I think its funny and they are getting more creative. Also it just goes to show if its to good to b true it probly is:-(
OMG! This just happened to me on yahoo personals! I initiated contact with a “Michael” who had recently moved to Columbus Oh from New York. Within 5 days he wrote back expressing such joy and enthusiasm that I had found him. He too requested that we communicate outside of the personals wedsight. His email is michhud@gmail.com or “Michael Hudson”. He too deleted his profile within 2 days telling me that he did so to “focus on getting to know me and only me”. He sent additional pictures of himself working in Africa. He was a very attractive white man. He needed me to get an IM address to we could communicate more readily. His IM is michhud01. As we chatted for 5 wks he told me he was in Lagos Nigeria working as an architect on a government project. Said he had to be there for 8 wks and this was his first international job and he was trying to start his own business. He too was a widower with a 15 yr old daughter who currently lived with his mother in London England. She was widowed too. He wrote numerous heartfelt love letters with a lot of choppy sentences and minor grammer mistakes. Sometimes his comments didn’t even make sense. He also claimed to be very spiritual/religous and often spoke about God and praying and how serious marriage committments and fidelity were, etc etc. Told me he loved me within 2 wks and asked me to marry him within 3 wks. By the 4th wk he was eluding to having financial troubles and worried about project overruns and being short on cash. By the 5th wk he sent to me a romantic ecard, a day later I received a dozen red roses (proflowers) and a promise ring via fed ex. The ring came from JCPennys (valued at $230 but on sale for $99). That night he asked if I could help raise some money for him so he could get this project finished and get back to the states to see me. He said he needed $15,000 and his mom was able to help with $9000 and so he wanted me to get him the other $6000. He became very angry and frustrated when I told him “no” several times and offered many other solutions for him to consider. He said he had exhausted all other options and I was his only hope. If I loved him I should do this. He assured me I would get my money back because the gov’t owed him $350,000 but refused to spot him $15,000 because they had already given him $700,000 to start the project and would not pay the balance until the project was finished. I had some suspicions along the way but when money came into the conversation that was a HUGE RED FLAG! I called him on his scamming and I have not heard from him since. I’ve also blocked all contact from him in everyway I could. I felt sad for awhile until I found this sight and felt compelled to share my story. The big question: What the heck am I going to do with this ring????
I received almost the same letter content from antonio.luis32@yahoo.com. Probably using picture picked up from somewhere. I was suspicious from the start, and i checked full headersfrom email he sent to get isp, and locate where emails were coming from.
Yahoo personals also has an online scammer Andrew (Andy) Groge
andmil001@yahoo.com
Says he is a civil engineer in Africam after about 5 weeks of emails says he is having trouble getting the money the government owes him over there and so wants to come back to the states and needs me to send him money.
well I almost fell into the same situation but caught on only after giving my phone number, I ask for his and it belonged to someone else and he said he made a mistake and gave me another. He too was a iron ore consultant from williamsport pa working in Nigeria and told me he would buy me a new car , he has a house in Dublin ireland and lost his wife in a tsunami and father in same yr. I told him he gave me a wrong number and goodbye. His personals name is William.Deavor@yahoo.com. He is still listed so im sure he is still scamming.
I ALMOST BECAME ANOTHER NUMBER ADDED TO MATT RACHLIN LIST OF VICTIMS.
ALMOST I SAY BECAUSE, FROM THE FIRST DAY HE CONTACTED ME ON YAHOO PERSONALS
I KNEW SOMETHING WAS FISHY.
MR RACHLIN STORY WAS TOO PERFECT, EXCEPT FOR THE DISCREPANCIES IN AGE, AND HOW HE WROTE ABOUT HIS DAUGHTER.
HE ALSO SENT PICTURES OF A LITTLE GIRL TOPLESS AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT CONCERNED ME LOTS. I TOLD HIM THAT HE WAS VERY BRAVE FOR SENDING THOSE PICTURES TO SOMEONE HE BARELY KNEW.
HE NEVER RESPONDED TO MY COMMENT.
HE WROTE VERY SCARCELY AND WOULD NEVER BE ON LINE WHEN HE SAID HE WOULD BE. TODAY HE EMAILED ME AND GAVE ME HIS NUMBER. I WAS VERY APPREHENSIVE BUT I CALLED HIM. HE ASKED TO CALL ME BACK BECAUSE THE RECEPTION WAS REALLY BAD.
I RECOGNIZED THE ACCENT IMMEDIATELY SINCE I HAVE MANY FRIENDS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF AFRICA. I BECAME VERY SUSPICIOUS AND I HAVE CHECKED HIS NAME IN EVERY SITE KNOWN TO ME. I EVEN SPENT $80.00 ON INTELIUS. IT HAS BEEN WORTH EVERY PENNY. I WILL BE CONTACTING THE REAL MATTHEW RACHLIN TO LET HIM KNOW
HE HAS SOMEONE USING HIS NAME. EVEN THOUGH I THINK HE SHOULD HAVE A CLUE BY NOW.
THE MATT IN NIGERIA IS CALLING ME EVERY FEW HOURS. NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT I WILL ONLY ANSWER HIS CALL TO LET HIM KNOW NEVER TO CALL AGAIN, AND THAT I WILL BE REPORTING HIM TO THE AUTHORITIES AND POSTING ALERTS ON ALL THE SITES.
HOW DISAPPOINTING! YAHOO PERSONALS SHOULD BE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE IDIOTS.
I WILL BE PULLING MY NAME OFF THE SITE TODAY, I REALLY DON’T WANT MY INFO. OUT THERE ANYMORE THAN IT IS ALREADY.
MATT RACHLIN 40/41/43/44
A CANCER THAT LIVES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, FLORIDA, NIGERIA, AND CANADA, FOR ALL THOSE INTERESTED.
I AM SAD BUT PROUD OF MYSELF FOR NOT FALLING FOR THIS PERVERSE ANIMAL.
ladies i believe i have been contacted by some of these superfishual characters that you all speak of. i was contacted by one that claims to have been an only child of both deceased parents stuck in nigeria. she went down there with a friend that she met here in tennessee while going to school. they went to nigeria because her friends mother was in bad shape (medically). they were in a car accident and the friend that was visiting her mother died. the girl i communicated with was rushed to a hospital for loosing a lot of blood and was treated. she has been recovering and had no way to pay her doctor bill. they are supposed to be holding her passport and returning ticket until the bill gets paid. she had asked me to help her contact the doctor and get the $450.00 doctor paid so she can return. i did contact the doctor via email and got the doctor on the phone to talk about the bill. the doctor has been calling me ever since and this girl has been begging me to send the money so she can leave and come back to the states.this has been going on for about 1.5 months and i haven’t sent anything for the fear of it being a scam. she also got really personal and loving with me in such a way to obligate herself to bear my children and get married when she got back.her name is nora kelly jones and the email address is norajones23000@yahoo.com.
It is good to see people finding this post and alerting others.
Eric, thanks for letting us know that men are getting hit on for this scam as well.
BEWARE of the Nigerian scammer everyone!
Maureen, please contact me at sunnybunny@aol.com, I would like to find out what you have done to report Matt Rachlin as I would like to do the same. it looks as if he was speaking to us at the same time and telling the same story.
By the way, this is the profile I had
http://profiles.yahoo.com/matt_rachlin?fmt=2.0&intl=us&os=win&ver=9.0.0.2034
We meet on Plentyoffish.com and soon moved to Yahoo Messanger I don’t remember what his screen name was on Plentyoffish as he deleted it shortly after we started talking
Deanna
To Mareen Walker,
I too was contacted by Matt_Rachlin@yahoo.com and the story is exactly the same as yours. Only I was stupid and sent him money, now he sends me harrassing messages via e-mail almost taunting me for being a fool. I am a fool and I would love to bust this guy. He is partnering with a guy by the name of Anthony Egbogu, this is who I sent the money to. I tried to go to the police, but they said I willingly sent him money so they can’t help me and they wouldn’t even take a police report. I have no idea what I can do to stop this.
Deanna
Trust me, it’s not just the women. I just joined Yahoo! Personals a few weeks ago, and have already gotten at least 5 emails within the site from scammers. They all included an outside email address to continue the conversation and all had poor english. It’s fairly easy to spot them (especially if you have seen emails from Nigerian scammers in the past)…and I did try to initiate an email back and forth with one of the hits, and the story I was given was so sad, it was laughable (fiance beat her, and left her in Nigeria with no money and no passport…I thought it was kind of them to say they were in Nigeria, because that made it REALLY easy to spot).
PS: I happened across this site because I did a Google search on this subject…I didn’t realize it was as widespread as it is.
Thank you for sharing your story. This seems to be quite a popular scam right now.
I dread to think of all the women who have fallen for it.
I have not heard of any men falling for this scam. Hello Guys, have any of you had this happen to you? If so please share your story with us.
Yep…I met the same George Anderson on Yahoo Personals. His story: He’s working a contract job as a civil engineer in South Africa. He said he was a widower with a 16 year old son. He said he was French but inherited 2 homes in Auburndale, Florida. He even gave me the address of one of them. He was quite charming but I’m certainly no baby lamb. He said that he would be back in the US at the end of March. Then he started the “worried” thing and after pressing him he said that he couldn’t cash the check from his contract job until he got back to the US. He needed $10,000 to pay for the hotel and plane fare. Red flags abounding, I decided to throw out the bait and said that I “sure wish I could help him out but that would eat up almost all of my savings.” Of course he took the bait and I, obviously, cut off all contact. Look, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with meeting people online but it is absolutely imperative that one listens to their gut. Stay alert and stay smart.
I know just how you feel. Using those services is hard enough as it is, and then when you have scammers like these guys on there it really ruins it. I am always warning people to be much more careful online, and then this even happened to me.
OMG I had the same situation, the shame is that the guy they posted was so handsome. I really thought it was true. What threw me off a little was the fact that his mom was from a small town in South Africa, and he now lives in a small town called Castle Hill NY. Who the heck says a small town in the Bronx NY. Not us New Yorkers. This guy lasted almost one month emailing me and with phone conversations. This is why is so hard for us to trust any man. As for me this was the end of online personals. I prefer to stay single and not deal with this bull.
Thanks ladies for your info and good luck.
I too was contacted by a nigerian scammer through yahoo personals ID is Matt_rachlin@yahoo.com. It is exactly the same method that linda describes in this story, how they talk to you for about 2 weeks post picture of themselves and a child, say they are oil exporters from UK travel to nigeria to pick up merchandise, then get stuck for VAT tax ??? ask to have money sent via moneygram incorrect spelling on simple words and when you speak on the phone its a a british accent but different voice also never want to speak for long always want to IM I also figured something was wrong so played along to see where it would lead If there is a way to prosecute these people I would be more than happy to do it. Please don’t get caught up in this nonsense they only want the money.
Hi Linda,
Wow….I received almost the exact same letter as you did. We chatted for a few weeks and my gut always told me something was wrong, especially when he wouldn’t answer the questions that I had asked. Then all of a sudden, money how he need it to help pay for an operation for his dad in Nigeria. Yea right. What really bothers me is the fact that they can take a picture of a perfectly innocent man and make me even less trusting than I already am. I would give anything to find this man (in the picture) and with evidence maybe put these guys away, for a while anyway. Thank you for letting me vent!
Thank you for sharing. I hope every person that finds this post will leave any new information they have on any fake guys to help warn other people out there!
Yahoo personals has on online scammer GEORGE ANDERSON ganderson066@yahoo.com
Says he is on business in South Africa… needs money but has to have it sent to his “Friend” who is African AND only by moneygram!!!
watch out