Editor’s note: Lovefraud received the following story from a reader whom we’ll call “Clara19.”Â
I was contacted through Pinterest. The thumbnail picture was a military man…seemed safe enough to chat.
Went very interested in a romantic relationship too quickly. I got daily texted graphics proclaiming his love for me. This started to break my caution down.
After a few weeks he started mentioning he needed money. He was on an oil rig and ran short of funds to pay shipping costs and I should sent 12,800 dollars to him. He gave me 3 different places to sent money over the course of a week.
My bank thought it was fraudulent. I did further online research and found the scammers had even created a Facebook site for the fictional person of Daniel Oldenquist, who supposedly lived in Utah.
More research by me revealed that the picture was actually of a General Stuart James. This person has had many different names attached to his pictures by scammers. While he is now retired, the picture used in scamming is of him at a much younger age.
I was one day away from sending money to the scammer. That one last bit of research that revealed the true identity saved my money and once I chewed him out online, he disappeared.
Editor’s note: The “oil rig” story that Clara19 mentions is a standard con artist ploy. Multiple women have sent Lovefraud pictures of soldier James, asking if he is real. He is real, but his identity was stolen by scammers.
Dating apps lead to stronger marriages — really?
Interesting..thank goodness she did ONE MORE bit of online research..and saved herself a whole lot of grief.. several years after my divorce, I had a conversation one afternoon, with my dad. We 2 were alone in the house, when he asked me “do you remember that 80 acres you tried to buy, on a land auction”?? Oh yes, I did. A memorable trip to a nearby city, ended up with him, his grandparents going to several large banks, trying to arrange a loan to buy this next door piece of farm ground. Dad, said “did he ever tell you, he called me”?? No, I said. Well, he did, chatted up very friendly, asked Dad if he could borrow $100,000, so he could buy this 80 acres..Dad, replied “I told him I couldn’t round up that much money, even if I had it”..I was horrified. And grateful that Dad didn’t go along with this. The land did sell, at the auction..my ex and his grandparents had money on hands from THEIR CDs..but their price was the opening bid. and another neighbor got it. I did some figuring with a calculator, and Dad’s $100,000 would have bought that piece of land, and a generous chunk of leftover money, that he could ‘play with’..I was NEVER told about this, from my ex. If Dad hadn’t told me (and he never made up tall tales)..I wouldn’t have known. All I knew was how COLD, angry my ex was towards me, and I had NO way to know what or why I had made him so angry. Dad got the better of him, and he blamed me.
Hopefully Clara has now learned that this should prompt her to build her caution up, not “break it down”!