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Romance
Romance scams tear at the hearts, lives, bank accounts, emotions and the very core of our being. We as humans aspire to fulfill Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as well as in simple terms, be loved, needed, appreciated and “have someone special” in our lives. We have heard terms such as Black Widows, Sugar Daddys and Sugar Mamas for years but the last few years have brought a new vocabulary and meaning to sweetheart swindles, love scams and romance scams. Every part of relationship science comes into play when a scammer/predator sets his sites on a victim and his/her bank account. As in several sociological theories, the art of scamming is much like the cycle of violence in relationship/spousal abuse. The stage are as follows:
IntroductionGrooming (Emotional Hooks)
Attachment
Trust Test (If you love me, you have to trust me!)
Emotional extortion
(request/demand for money, gifts) Battering/abuse/exile
Make-up (request/demand for money,
gifts) Honeymoon Period"
And the cycle repeats itself and so on and so on..
Love is awesome when it is real. We all like those great verses in greeting cards and poetry is a rare gift these days. Always authenticate who wrote you the love letter. More than likely it was cut and pasted from someone else’s work online. These verses are designed to lure the victim closer with gentle loving words to make them fall in love. Once hooked, the recipient does not want to give up their “love interest” as they get used to and look forward to hearing those things said to them. We college professors encourage you to check your sources. Go to a search engine and cut and paste a couple of lines of the letter/poem. The true document and author will come up and the scammer is BUSTED>>>>>big time. Some victims dare not say anything to loved ones and friends about their new found internet loves as they are embarrassed about it. Unfortunately this also keeps them away from sound advice and financial savvy. Men and women isolate themselves with the computer becoming their best friend with all of the Emoticons and Ivironments. Millions of dollars in Western Union and Money Gram Transactions are crossing the oceans as well as gifts such as clothing, jewelry, laptops (to help keep the scammer and victim in constant touch of course!), electronics, and plane tickets. Please refer to the www.USCIS.gov website for information about tourism, VISAs, etc. regarding entrance into other countries and the United States of America. It is not easy for people to immigrate to the United States legally and easily. Sending someone a plane ticket is a foolish gesture when no VISA has been issued. Please see the page on awareness tips as not knowing someone on the other side of the conversation is one thing but seeing is not even believing. Asking to see someone on a webcam, may or may not result in the true identity of the sender, but at least it’s a start. Scammers also ask to see their victims on webcam in compromising and intimate clothing and positions. Once they have those images, they threaten to put them out on the worldwide web for all to see if they don’t get what they want. Remember, once the mouse clicks SEND, your image is available globally to a computer near or far from you.