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Man Pays $200,000 To Save Fake Online Girlfriend
An anonymous reader writes "A 48-year-old Illinois man has experienced an online scam that was particularly devastating, both financially and emotionally. A woman he believed to be his online girlfriend turned out to be a fake, and his money has disappeared with her. The scam was recently revealed because he went to the police asking for help to rescue the woman, insisting that she had been kidnapped in London. The online 'relationship' between the two began over two years ago, during which he wired about $200,000 to several different bank accounts in Nigeria, Malaysia, England, and the US."
Dumbass
Why didn't he check that she was a real person. Would have cost less than 200k.
Darwinism at work folks. Move along, nothing to see here.
If our elected representatives no longer represent us, do we still live in a Democracy?
How sad
There is no reason to wire that much money to several bank account for an online girl friend, if she's worth $200 000 why didn't she move to him and then he would know she's safe. Move Before she was kidnapped of course.
Where men are men, women are men, and children are federal agents.
There, but for the grace of God, go I.
How do people this stupid have $200,000 to begin with?
I've worked hard for many years, and while my lifestyle isn't excessive, I still don't have anywhere near that kind of money to throw around even if I was getting laid by a real girlfriend.
This guy gave "her" $200k and never even got a blow?
Wow, where do I find suckers like this? I need the cash.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
People with common sense don't get so far into such a scam without smelling a rat... But people who don't have at least some common sense don't have $200K just sitting around. This poor guy must have been terribly lonely, and the perps played him like a harp. Very sad.
Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
This is not the end of the road Blogoviovich, you will rebound from there. Don't give up. Continue the fight.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
This is a freaking horrible scam. I mean imagine. The poor man falled in love wth someone that only wanted his money. That is an everyda issue, but that the guy really believed that scam was true: that is modern day dynamics.
We should have to create something to avoid that people like this guy get rob by playing with his feelings... Is a risky business, and maybe too good to be true. What do you think?
My previous landlord was sucked into this. He has sent over 20k to online scammers who are from the U.S. We even google mapped where they were in Florida yet he still sent money. He was sent various cheques, would cash them and western union the money, then charged with fraud from the cheques. He sent his rent money to "save her" to the point where he was 10k in debt on the house on back payments.
This sounds like a good way to pay off my student loans faster!
People don't think these classic scams could ever suck them in but if they are done in an artful way they actually can sucker people in. Most of these con artists lack the ability but there are a few out there with serious skills that really can sink a strong man's boat.
In reality, the man in TFA has been participating in a covert intelligence test using a new innovative testing method. The cost for this testing is $200,000. I don't think I need to go into what the results of the testing.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Is this a relevant story because the fraud happened online, or because of some other reason that is not in TFA?
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I wish I had 200k to wire period.
Bryan
This reminds me of the story that came out not too long ago about the composer who lost millions, believing an even more elaborate hoax than this guy.
Cant believe someone this naive would have amassed 200K by his own work. Either it is a lottery or it is inheritance. Wish the Koch brothers also would be this stupid and blow some 20 billion in saving fake Republicans and fake libertarians.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
My online profile presents me as a multi-millionaire, ex-athlete, slim, caring and educated individual that would make a perfect employee. In reality I'm a nine to fiver, athletically inept, overweight, gadget-loving and video game playing dork. I've seen other profiles... Some buddies are umm.. gravityphilic.. (you know, symmetrical height and width.. i.e., round), and their profiles invariably show them much slimmer than they are. My friend, who hasn't worked in twenty years, pretends to be a pilot.
I'm just surprised that *anyone* thinks that any online profile is real..
See the difference between "screwed" and "laid".
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
...meet little head.
From my soon-to-be-published book "Dick: An Owner's Manual"
Rule #1: Your dick will lie to you.
bought himself a pretty high-classed hooker. Not sure for how long though......
Insert funny smart-ass comment here.
If it was a real woman, she would have cost him more than that in marriage
On the positive side he probably hasn't bred.
Admit it--You're all jealous over how easy this guy got off.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
hey, he's only out $200,000 and doesn't have an ex-wife!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Is this a relevant story because the fraud happened online, or because of some other reason that is not in TFA?
Teh lulz are always relevant.
athough it should come as no surprise, is that this guy's Slashdot member number is 101.
One "Aw, Shit!" is worth 100 "Ata boys!"
Prostitutes would have been cheaper, and he might have ACTUALLY gotten laid.
MSIE: The world's most standards-complaint web browser.
Internet connection $30. Computer $600. Wiring your internet girlfriend money $200,000. Finding out she's fake Priceless. For everything else there are hookers.
I don't know if I should laugh or cry. On the one hand, it's really funny to that that really someone fell in such a trap. On the other hand I have to say it's really sad that there are really many people who don't know how to deal with it. I mean, it starts with the spam in the mailbox. I know many people who probably fall into a trap like this too. But this case is really extreme... I mean, $200,000 is a lot of money.
It's hard to believe stupid tax is getting as high as $200,000 these days.
I'm a little saddened to see all the negative comments aimed at the *victim*. What did he do wrong? He trusted someone. Apparently, that's so idiotic and inconceivable that it makes him the one who's at fault. What's next? Blaming rape victims for not bringing pepper spray on a blind date? What happened to blaming the perpetrator? The lesson here appears to be, if you're capable of scamming people online, then you deserve the money and your victims are morons. I guess the study that was written about in NY Times last year wasn't far off the mark.
"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
I can't speak on behalf of this guy's intelligence, but I am reluctant to conclude he's an idiot. My guess is that this guy is not so gullible in general, but that he let down his guard here because he really wanted to believe it was true.
Well said. I think if the commenters here would get past their 'smarter-than-everyone' mentality, they'd have a bit more sympathy for the dude. We all act dumb for love, that's why it's such a common topic on sitcoms.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
LMFAO
Wait for it. It'll happen.
Con artists can be REALLY good. If she was in contact with him for a long time, he probably really believed her, really loved her. When he found out that this person he trusted was in trouble, he did what he could to help.
People have lost millions over love. The have murdered, committed espionage, and started wars over love.
Need to remember that he was probably not very internet savvy or the scam would not have gotten past the first email.
As far as a dumb move by a person in love, this isn't at all out there.
A HELOC can have that kind of credit line.
New Economic Perspectives
As soon as you see Nigeria and bank in the same context, always run away. In fact, just Nigeria should be enough...
It's sad they had to steal from him. He would gladly have paid 200K just to continue the fake relationship for more years. It seems to me that 200K compensation for being a fake online girl ought to be plenty for a Nigerian Scammer, so why not just continue the relationship for a 200K fee instead.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Ouch.
I could also get a HELO backed "creditcard", I keep getting offers for HELOs for anywhere from 100k to 250k.
So really it'd not be that hard for me to pull out 200k from a "credit card".
Home equity line of backed "creditcard"? Does not parse.
Alright, so Love is a blinding force. This woman must have been what your level 60+ paladin becomes to you after two years of WoW grinding.
That said, it seems the victim knows the bank accounts spread into FOUR different CONTINENTS. Did he really think these "kidnappers" can have the worldwide footprint of a major Fortune 500 company? We know he was a total fool, but still can relate: level 60+ paladin
a funny Mastercard commercial in this somewhere....
and you thought getting married was expensive...
There's your problem right there. Hard work doesn't pay. To make real money you need to climb the corporate ladder and get a nice executive position. Then you get to cash in on the hard work of others.
Connections, nepotism, and political intelligence are the real keys to wealth in the modern world.
There is no social mobility in America anymore.
http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/blog/2005/01/the_economist_o.html
and, from here: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2006/04/b1579981.html
The key findings relating to intergenerational mobility include the following:
*Children from low-income families have only a 1 percent chance of reaching the top 5 percent of the income distribution, versus children of the rich who have about a 22 percent chance.
*Children born to the middle quintile of parental family income ($42,000 to $54,300) had about the same chance of ending up in a lower quintile than their parents (39.5 percent) as they did of moving to a higher quintile (36.5 percent). Their chances of attaining the top five percentiles of the income distribution were just 1.8 percent.
*Education, race, health and state of residence are four key channels by which economic status is transmitted from parent to child.
*African American children who are born in the bottom quartile are nearly twice as likely to remain there as adults than are white children whose parents had identical incomes, and are four times less likely to attain the top quartile.
*The difference in mobility for blacks and whites persists even after controlling for a host of parental background factors, children’s education and health, as well as whether the household was female-headed or receiving public assistance.
*After controlling for a host of parental background variables, upward mobility varied by region of origin, and is highest (in percentage terms) for those who grew up in the South Atlantic and East South Central regions, and lowest for those raised in the West South Central and Mountain regions.
*By international standards, the United States has an unusually low level of intergenerational mobility: our parents’ income is highly predictive of our incomes as adults. Intergenerational mobility in the United States is lower than in France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Among high-income countries for which comparable estimates are available, only the United Kingdom had a lower rate of mobility than the United States.
Key findings relating to short-run, year-to-year income movements include the following:
*The overall volatility of household income increased significantly between 1990-91 and 1997-98 and again in 2003-04.
*Since 1990-91, there has been an increase in the share of households who experienced significant downward short-term mobility. The share that saw their incomes decline by $20,000 or more (in real terms) rose from 13.0 percent in 1990-91 to 14.8 percent in 1997-98 to 16.6 percent in 2003-04.
*The middle class is experiencing more insecurity of income, while the top decile is experiencing less. From 1997-98 to 2003-04, the increase in downward short-term mobility was driven by the experiences of middle-class households (those earning between $34,510 and $89,300 in 2004 dollars). Households in the top quintile saw no increase in downward short-term mobility, and households in the top decile ($122,880 and up) saw a reduction in the frequency of large negative income shocks.
*For the middle class, an increase in income volatility has led to an increase in the frequency of large negative income shocks, which may be expected to translate to an increase in financial distress.
*The median household was no more upwardly mobile in 2003-04, a year when GDP grew strongly, than it was it was during the recession of 1990-91.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Forever alone
Send your spendthrift head of state this
Shortly after my divorce, I gave the ol' internets a whirl for dating. Didn't take long before I found myself in a chat with a nice woman telling me about her life, and how she was going out of town the next day.
"Oh, where to?"
"West Africa. I'm an art dealer..."
NEXT!
Finally wised up and found someone NOT on the tubes.
Stop groping our genitals in airports and go after the 419 and v14g4ra spammers and their botnets.
Either way, whether or not the girl is "real" he is a total idiot. $200k (or even $2) to a cyber-real relationships is totally stupid and unjustifiable.
All we know is that one person who didn't understand posted. It's entirely possible some 10,000 other readers completely understood the original comment.
Ha. Try making 30k/year and then talk about how 120k isn't much.
I guess he thought he was giving it for that, and in the end I'm sure someone got some out of the whole deal somewhere in either Nigeria, Malaysia, England, or the US. I know of a guy (cough), that goes onto these "adult dating" sites and has gotten several hits from "women" trying to get him to vote for them on their cam site. Oh, yeah baby... I'm only a few miles away and will meet you after you give you credit card number (for five dollars, yeah right) to this website. It will help me with my modeling career... So, basically if guys think there is any chance of getting some they will fork over money.
This signature intentionally left blank.
There can be only one!
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
is why we have so damn much SPAM!!!!!
You seem to think Oprah is real. Well it is, for a segment of the population. Don't let the tv stereo-types fool you into believing this is how most people are. TV shows the extremes because normality doesn't make for intresting TV.
There won't be a program Deadliest code, gripping the nation season after season. O.C. Support Desk is NOT a sure fire hit. BugBusters will not be challenged by the president of the US of A.
Most teenagers? Never rebel and get along with their parents and siblings. Most women are not complete sluts in college crying they can't find a good guy while banging the soccer team. Most men do not in fact follow their cock, either that or the navy has a LOT more gay people in it then a republican can stand.
Most people lead simple sensible lives, they might screw up a little by accident but recover and move on. The real idiots are rare. Same as with criminals. Most people will NOT in fact kill to gain a fortune even if they could get away with it.
Humanity is a lot more normal. TV reality is about showing the extremes on the edges but you would be a fool to believe it. Do you believe everyone can run really fast because you just saw the olympics? Then why do you believe all people behave like the freaks on talkshows.
Ancient statistic. 50% of people loose their virginity before 18. Means over half the population does NOT.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
I live my life by the motto "it's not real till I put my dick in it."
This guy can blow $200K on a fake person while I feel bad for blowing money on buying my (real life) wife flowers? I have about as much pity as I do change in my pocket, which is.... 78 cents.
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
I'd of pretended to be his online girlfriend for much less than that.
How does someone that foolish get to have that much available money in the first place?
That stripper is not really into you. She just wants you to buy her a few beers and then pay for a lap dance. No touching.
"God gave man a brain and a penis and only enough blood to run one at a time..."
What did he do wrong? He trusted someone.
Well, actually, no, he didn't trust SOMEONE. He trusted ANYONE. SOMEONE is an identifiable person. Text on your computer screen is not SOMEONE.
What's next? Blaming rape victims for not bringing pepper spray on a blind date?
No, because forcing someone to have sex is not comparable to convincing someone to send you money. This guy is about as much of a victim as the girl who decides to sleep with a convenience store clerk because he convinced her he's a talent scout.
paintball
FTFA: "An identification card the woman provided to the man was a sample driver’s license from Florida, the report said. According to the report, when the officer stated the female did not exist, the man "was in disbelief." The case is under investigation."
Who's to say she isn't real, and gave him a fake ID at the beginning of their relationship because she didn't want some creep from the internet to see her real ID? Just saying, if that's all that they're going on, then there's a real possibility that his girlfriend really could be in trouble. And it's her own damn fault. Chicks lie ya know. Just sayin.
But yeah, he definitely got scammed.
How someone can get $200,000 available cash and then be so stupid to send it a virtual girlfriend is beyond me.
Holy Fucking Shit. Foreign people must really be starting to believe they could topple us with this kind of stuff going on. This must obviously mean he never actually met her yet spent $200,000 on her. What a horrible existence followed by the most tragic of all endings. USA!USA!USA!
There are no words to describe that level of stupidity... I can't believe people can actually be that dumb... Wow... I...I... I'm lost for words.
I wouldn't pay $200,000 for a real GF let alone someone on the Internet. Not paying a ransom that leads to untimely results is not a criminal offense. There are plenty of fish in the sea.
"Me: 1) Degree in Biotechnology and Computer Science. (Did your troll factory offer dual majors, or just the standard "how to be an obnoxious twat on the internet" syllabus?)" - by Americano (920576) on Friday February 18, @02:27PM (#35247076)
First of all, Kevin B. Pease = AMERICANO from Merrimack New Hampshire - kbpease@hotmail.com - YOU DID NOT GET A DOUBLE MAJOR!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kbpease
PERTINENT EXCERPT:
Kevin Pease's Education
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
B.S., Biotechnology
1993 Ã" 1998
Minor: Computer Science
---
LMAO - it took you 6 YEARS to get a CSC MINOR? Rotflmao... and you lied about it here, trying to "pass it off" as a DUAL/DOUBLE MAJOR, liar?? Give us a break!
"Me: 1) Degree in Biotechnology and Computer Science. (Did your troll factory offer dual majors, or just the standard "how to be an obnoxious twat on the internet" syllabus?)" - by Americano (920576) on Friday February 18, @02:27PM (#35247076)
First of all, Kevin B. Pease = AMERICANO from Merrimack New Hampshire - kbpease@hotmail.com - YOU DID NOT GET A DOUBLE MAJOR!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kbpease
PERTINENT EXCERPT:
Kevin Pease's Education
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
B.S., Biotechnology
1993 Ã" 1998
Minor: Computer Science
---
LMAO - it took you 6 YEARS to get a CSC MINOR? Rotflmao... and you had to lie about it here too?? PItiful. You're forgetting that the rest of us know that there is a difference in credit hours/courses taken between majors and minors in collegiate academia, liar.
She must have been quite a scam artist to get someone to invest that kind of money and send it to other countries without ever seeing her. Not being mean or insensitive, but anyone that could be taken for such a ride has to be mentally handicapped in some fashion. I don't believe it is pure lonliness or the need to connect. The guy could get conversation from a $20 hooker, and she would be there in person. This is why criminals that prey on handicapped people are the worst slime. The guy is probably a great friend to anyone that will have him...
MORON!
this is why i do not get involved with online dating, even texting for me is not cool when i am talking with my gf, if I know i can see here in person, i do so, otherwise use the phone...
"Me: 1) Degree in Biotechnology and Computer Science. (Did your troll factory offer dual majors, or just the standard "how to be an obnoxious twat on the internet" syllabus?)" - by Americano (920576) on Friday February 18, @02:27PM (#35247076)
FROM -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2001036&cid=35247076
First of all, Kevin B. Pease = AMERICANO from Merrimack New Hampshire - kbpease@hotmail.com - YOU DID NOT GET A DOUBLE MAJOR!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kbpease
PERTINENT EXCERPT:
Kevin Pease's Education
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
B.S., Biotechnology
1993 Ã" 1998
Minor: Computer Science
---
LMAO - it took you 6 YEARS to get a CSC MINOR? Rotflmao... and you LIED about it here, saying your MINOR was a DOUBLE-MAJOR? Pitiful. You're a lying scumbag.
"Me: 1) Degree in Biotechnology and Computer Science. (Did your troll factory offer dual majors, or just the standard "how to be an obnoxious twat on the internet" syllabus?)" - by Americano (920576) on Friday February 18, @02:27PM (#35247076)
FROM -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2001036&cid=35247076
First of all, Kevin B. Pease = AMERICANO from Merrimack New Hampshire - kbpease@hotmail.com - YOU DID NOT GET A DOUBLE MAJOR!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kbpease
PERTINENT EXCERPT:
Kevin Pease's Education
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
B.S., Biotechnology
1993 Ã" 1998
Minor: Computer Science
---
LMAO - it took you 6 YEARS to get a CSC MINOR? Rotflmao... and you LIED about it saying it was a DOUBLE MAJOR, quoted above? Pitiful.
"Me: 1) Degree in Biotechnology and Computer Science. (Did your troll factory offer dual majors, or just the standard "how to be an obnoxious twat on the internet" syllabus?)" - by Americano (920576) on Friday February 18, @02:27PM (#35247076)
FROM -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2001036&cid=35247076
First of all, Kevin B. Pease = AMERICANO from Merrimack New Hampshire - kbpease@hotmail.com - YOU DID NOT GET A DOUBLE MAJOR!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kbpease
PERTINENT EXCERPT:
Kevin Pease's Education
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
B.S., Biotechnology
1993 Ã" 1998
Minor: Computer Science
---
LMAO - it took you 6 YEARS to get a CSC MINOR? Rotflmao... AND THEN YOU LIED HERE SAYING IT WAS A DOUBLE-MAJOR? Bullshit! There is a large difference in the credits/course hours needed between them!
he's been following me around posting the same nonsense by Americano (920576) on Tuesday March 01, @12:26PM (#35348766)
Doesn't appear to be nonsense Americano. It appeared to be your own words quoted here http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2015768&cid=35349250 literally stating you had a double major, but when your linkln is checked, it says Computer Science MINOR, not major. You appear to lie and you are willing to keep on lying to try to cover up the fact you are a liar.
He has been exposed as a liar and with his own words quoted no less http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2015768&cid=35349250
"Me: 1) Degree in Biotechnology and Computer Science. (Did your troll factory offer dual majors, or just the standard "how to be an obnoxious twat on the internet" syllabus?)" - by Americano (920576) on Friday February 18, @02:27PM (#35247076)
FROM -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2001036&cid=35247076
First of all, Kevin B. Pease = AMERICANO from Merrimack New Hampshire - kbpease@hotmail.com - YOU DID NOT GET A DOUBLE MAJOR!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kbpease
PERTINENT EXCERPT:
Kevin Pease's Education
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
B.S., Biotechnology
1993 Ã" 1998
Minor: Computer Science
---
LMAO - it took you 6 YEARS to get a CSC MINOR? Rotflmao... and you even LIED about it here saying it was a DOUBLE MAJOR but you only have a MINOR and there is a big difference in the credit hours/coursework needed for a MAJOR, vs. a minor. You're a liar, and you're caught red-handed, scumbag.
A friend of mine was on a dating site and started chatting with someone who seemed interesting. At first, just on the site. Then via emails. Even then, he was concerned that she might not be a real person, because, you know, that happens. So he checked the email headers. They appeared to be legit.
She claimed to have an undergraduate degree in medicine. Since I have some knowledge in that area, I helped him converse with her on that topic. She became subtly evasive, in that she never had anything intelligent to say about it and avoided the topic in discussions she initiated. But we persisted, kept linking to articles, talking about recent developments, stuff in JAMA, etc. It was kinda funny, because it was obvious that either she had lied about her medical background.
Eventually, she sent him a picture. First thing he did, of course, was to do a reverse image search. That immediately lead him to a porn site for someone with an entirely different name. Likely: this is a scam. Unlikely but plausible: those really are her pics, and she'd done porn to pay for school or something. The thing is this wasn't just a pic of the same person. It was the exact same picture. He decided to play along anyhow. What harm could it do to not jump to (obvious) conclusions when you don't have absolute proof? No need to make accusations or anything.
It wasn't long before 'she' asked for money. Her boss had demanded sex, and when she refused left her stranded in a foreign country. She needed money for a plane ticket home. He knew this was coming and had his own sob story prepared. His car was in the shop, and his boss hadn't paid him the last two pay periods, so he wasn't going to be able to make his credit card and rent payments.
That was the last email exchanged.
This friend of mine is actually a really great guy, and I felt bad for him that someone had tried to scam him. Of course, he was also smart enough to not get emotionally involved. But what's interesting is that the checking he did wasn't all that hard. Maybe interpreting an email header is hard. But a reverse image search engine? Upload an image, see matches. Maybe the hard part is knowing that it exists. Either way, he was smart enough to have just the right level of paranoia (or discrimination, more like it). The problem with other people is that they never learn basic critical thinking. Are they just stupid? Or did their parents and schools never bother to teach it? My parents taught me to be wary of strangers, without being rude about it. Not everyone is out to get you, but you will frequently encounter people who have no qualms about cheating you. Size people up before trusting them.
This guy who was cheated out of $200k... how gullible was he? Who just sends money to a stranger? I don't care how convincing a person seems. I'm not sending them money. Even if I DO meet them, I'm not writing a check for $200k. A well-meaning person wouldn't ask for it in the first place.
In about 1997, I met a girl on the internet. She was a medical student in London. (Sound familiar?) But actually, she knew TONS about medicine, as well as a lot about our shared interest in psychology. This one seemed legit. I had some other friends in the UK, so I decided to visit. At Gatwick, I was greeted by a very attractive girl of Indian descent. She was exactly what she claimed to be. Today, she's a research cardiologist at a major London hospital. Weird, huh? Of course... she never asked me for money.