A man walked into my office and sat down at my desk to share his love story. He had met a wonderful woman online from another country. They had been communicating for over a year and he was contemplating traveling over 4,000 miles to meet her in person. He wasn’t a rich man, he didn’t own a house, apartment living was good enough for him and his cat, he didn’t drive a fancy car or wear expensive clothes, but yet, to her he offered more than she could ever obtain on her own. She wrote beautiful emails, quirky texts, and they had an account set up that allowed them to talk on the phone for pennies a minute and they talked every day at 6 AM his time. She showered him of photos of herself and her friends, specifically her best friend and her husband along with their small son, the home she got after her parents passed away in a horrific accident. She sent him photos of herself as she performed in “Online Videos”. Videos that you paid for and the girl would perform for you. To him, they were in love, to her, they were playing a game of deception and she was winning. As I watched him I could tell he was beginning not to believe in his own words and he asked what he should do before he spent over $1,400 on a plane ticket to go visit her. He stated he felt something wasn’t right but he wanted to continue this long-distance relationship with her. He agreed to hire our company as we have the capabilities to conduct research outside of the US.
What we learned after obtaining her legal name: She was married, the baby and her friend’s husband was actually hers, the house she lived in was a dream home and she had no legal right to it. She never believed he would come to visit her or that he would actually investigate their relationship.
When our Client informed her of our findings, she requested that he continue to help her, that nothing had changed and she cared deeply for him.
Some scammers believe their own scams and some people who are being scammed believe someday the scam would become reality. Our kind-hearted Client admitted that he would continue to send money to her to help her with her baby, in hopes that someday he would become a part of her life.
