Lovefraud Blog

Romance Scams Part 2: U.S. victims lost more than $230 million online in 2016

February 17, 2017 // by Donna Andersen// Leave a Comment

[youtube_sc url="https://youtu.be/BmIvqOYwGGU" title="Special%20Agent%20Christine%20Beining%20describes%20romance%20scams"]Almost 15,000 complaints of romance scams or confidence fraud were reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2016. Victims of these crimes lost more than $230 million. In Texas alone, victims lost more than $16 million in romance scams. Who is running these scams? In many cases, says FBI Special Agent Christine Beining, the perpetrators are organized crime gangs. Why? It's an easy and lucrative crime. Criminals can often remain anonymous and beyond the reach of authorities. That's why it's on the rise. Romance Scams - Online impostors break hearts and …

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Being With A Sociopath Is Like Being In A Cult

February 16, 2017 // by O.N.Ward// 7 Comments

Every week, a chapter of my book, "Husband, Liar, Sociopath: How He Lied, Why I Fell For It & The Painful Lessons Learned" (available via Amazon.com, just click on the title or book cover) will be published here on Lovefraud. To read prior chapters, please see the links at the bottom of the post. Chapter 39: Past The Point Of Rescue (Hal Ketchum) Secretly, I hoped that Paul would just pick up and leave or be killed in a plane crash or in a car accident on one of those dark nights he came home late from a business trip or “working at the office.” I had never been able to shake my concerns that Paul had been and perhaps still was sexually involved with Anne-Marie. He alwa …

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Romance Scams Part 1: Canadians lose $17 million in 2016

February 15, 2017 // by Donna Andersen// Leave a Comment

Looking for love online is dangerous and in honor of Valentine's Day, law enforcement agencies around the world tried to remind citizens of that. The first of three articles Lovefraud will be posting on the issue comes from Canada. Nearly 750 Canadians reported that they lost money in Internet romance scams last year, totaling $17 million, according to CTVNews.ca. But the Royal Canadian Mounted Police believe only about 5 percent of cases are actually reported so the money lost is likely much higher. Sgt. Guy Paul Larocque says that most of the money stolen is never recovered. According to CTVNews.ca: Larocque added that these scams are often executed by professionals based in other c …

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Identifying sociopathic behavior is easy; giving advice is hard

February 13, 2017 // by Donna Andersen// 4 Comments

Just about every day, Lovefraud receives e-mail from readers who are looking for answers about confusing, contradictory and abusive behavior exhibited by people in their lives. The new readers don't understand what they are dealing with; they just tell, either in a few paragraphs or lengthy compositions, their stories. The e-mails describe some or many of the following behaviors: Pathological lying Pity plays Shallow emotions Devalue and discard Cheating or promiscuity Addiction to drugs or alcohol Controlling demands Financial irresponsibility Manipulation of children Broken promises Claims of “you made me do it” Pleas of “I'll never do it again” The …

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Sociopaths Lack Empathy–Even For Their Own Children

February 9, 2017 // by O.N.Ward// Leave a Comment

Every week, a chapter of my book, "Husband, Liar, Sociopath: How He Lied, Why I Fell For It & The Painful Lessons Learned" (available via Amazon.com, just click on the title or book cover) will be published here on Lovefraud. To read prior chapters, please see the links at the bottom of the post. Chapter 38B: By now, I hope you are catching on to sociopath math and can predict Paul's reaction to arriving late with Daniel's birthday pizza. “But I just got here, and I cut my day short to get the pizza,” Paul said. “Paul,” I replied, “we have to leave or the kids will be late to practice. We'll heat it up when we get back.” “I never said I'd be able to get here earlier,” Paul …

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The tables were turning – I was not the easy open target anymore (Part 2)

February 8, 2017 // by Lovefraud Reader// 6 Comments

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following letter from a reader whom we'll call "Celia." Names have been changed. Read Part 1. His home loan Out of the blue one day, probably two weeks after I had arrived, he had me sit on his lap, and was stroking my arm lovingly. He casually asked if when my home sold, I could put the proceeds into his home loan. I got the strangest twinge of panic inside me, and asked him why I would do that. He immediately threw me off his lap and became tense and argumentative. To calm him down, I suggested we maybe buy a holiday home together along the coastline somewhere. He was not interested at all. Thinking back, he probably had a stinky credit record and …

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The tables were turning – I was not the easy open target anymore (Part 1)

February 7, 2017 // by Lovefraud Reader// Leave a Comment

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following letter from a reader whom we'll call "Celia." Names have been changed. Hi Donna, I have been reading your blog for a few years now and although I have not made myself visible, I have been active reading all the stories and advice you have shared with everyone. Your blog created an awareness within myself of just what I had encountered, and why I felt so traumatised during and after the relationship. There were times I could not bring myself to read some of the stories, as it brought back so much of the trauma I was wanting to suppress. My relationship was very short, about 6 months in total, but nevertheless, shattered my dreams and faith in …

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Convicted con artist Patrick Giblin again pleads guilty to scamming women

February 3, 2017 // by Donna Andersen// 9 Comments

Patrick Giblin, 52, formerly of Ventnor, New Jersey, yesterday pleaded guilty to scamming more than 10 women out of $15,000 to $40,000. Giblin did this between January 2013 and December 2014 while on parole for previously scamming 132 women out of $320,241. Here's Lovefraud's original coverage of the story: Patrick Giblin trolls phone dating lines, taking money from 132 women, on Lovefraud.com. According to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, Giblin's most recent adventures in phone scamming went like this: From January 2013 to Dec. 16, 2014, Giblin allegedly posted advertisements and messages on telephone dating services throughout the United States. Giblin cultivated a telephone rapport with …

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Sociopaths Lie Even When The Truth Would Work Just Fine

February 2, 2017 // by O.N.Ward// 41 Comments

Every week, a chapter of my book, "Husband, Liar, Sociopath: How He Lied, Why I Fell For It & The Painful Lessons Learned" (available via Amazon.com, just click on the title or book cover) will be published here on Lovefraud. To read prior chapters, please see the links at the bottom of the post. Chapter 38A: I always considered Paul honorable and honest, so it took me an embarrassingly long time for inconsistencies in his version of events to register as what they were—lies. I knew my husband had faults and, in all likelihood, had had an affair with Anne-Marie, but it never occurred to me that he was fundamentally dishonest and a chronic liar. But I could not escape the obs …

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Woman finds the ‘pickup artists’ who raped her – and bragged about it on the Internet

February 1, 2017 // by Donna Andersen// 1 Comment

A San Diego woman passed out in the apartment of some guys she just met in October 2013. She was raped. When she awoke, she went to the police. Many rape cases end up being "he said, she said" situations, where the perpetrator claims that the sex was consensual. But this woman conducted her own Internet investigation. She found that the man who raped her, Alexander Markham Smith, 27, and his friend, Jonas Dick, 28, ran a business called "Efficient Pickup." The idea was to teach men how to have sex with as many women as possible. To prove that their methods worked, Smith and Dick posted stories about their exploits including a detailed account of the San Diego woman's rape. It was enough …

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sept4 on 10 Crucial strategies for leaving the sociopath: “All very true and very good advice. I would like to add that too can always call police if you…”
eleanoreliza1234 on When bad behavior shows symptoms, not flaws : “What a beautifully composed response by Emilie 18! Reassuring to know that others have experienced the same. Thank you, Emilie.”
jhmb6 on Narcissists and hoarding disorder: “This article suggests that all narcissists are not simply narcissists. There always seems to be a co-occurring disorder. All evidence…”
Joanie Bentz, B.S., M.ED, LBS, CCBP on Narcissists and hoarding disorder: “Happy Sunday Donna, and I am not surprised based on the story of your ex that he may have been…”
Donna Andersen on Narcissists and hoarding disorder: “Hi Joanie — thanks for this article! My ex was a complete pack rat. I converted my basement into an…”