Most internet romance scams are easy to detect, and avoid!

They really are!
First, never send money to somebody you only know from the internet, or phone calls!
There's no way around it.
Nobody who is online asking for money is going to starve, get arrested, get evicted, or have anything bad happen to them because you didn't send them money.
(OK, there is one bad thing that may happen to them.....they may have to get a real job!)
Nobody is going to send you a 'trunkbox' full of money, gold, or jewels because you paid some courier or customs fees.

Always expect to see a face on cams! (Most of these scams are conducted using stolen pictures and/or identity. You are not in contact with the person in the pictures, and who they claim to be.
There are cams everywhere. The scammers will use many excuses why they can't use one. Move on.
Long distance, cross-cultural relationships are difficult enough. Make sure you are in contact with somebody you can interact with.

Learn to use Google!
(Good scambaiters, and victims, post the information about scammers online, so other victims may avoid being scammed.)
Want to feel real stupid? Send money to a scammer or scam mode that has been operating for years, with the same face, story, and often the same email address.
We have provided information to help you. USE IT!
Do a google search of email addresses the scammer uses, also any courier company, phone number. You'll be surprised.

Have realistic goals if you are hoping to find somebody 'special' online. Appropriate age, etc.
As a fat middle-aged man, I know young sexy, pretty ladies are not really interested in me.
Affluent men don't seek out 'average' middle aged ladies online, from Podunk, Nebraska, either.
(Sorry, but that's reality.)

There are some nice, real people online. Don't waste your time, or throw money at fakes and scammers.
Guys, young hot ladies in other countries won't show up at your local airport to meet you if you send them money. It doesn't happen. The requests for money to do this are called 'visa and travel' scams.
Ladies, glove-trotting businessmen or professionals do not need you to 'rescue' them, financially, while they travel. People who travel for work or business have resources to replace lost or stolen passports, wallets, and to pay hotel bills.

Need help with a possible scam or scammer? The following sites can provide help and information.
Dragonladies.org, Help with internet romance scams from Asia

romancescam.com, help with most types of internet love scams

Learn to do your own 'detective' work! You'll be surprised what you can find out about 'real' people, also. That charming guy or gal you meet online may be married, or have some personal history they may not tell you about.
I have used Spokeo for years, and find it a helpful tool in researching both scammers, and 'real' people.

Good luck, stay safe, and don't send money!

people search by Spokeo

How to detect 'dingbats'? (Safety in modern dating)

Sometimes long term marriages fail. One partner is unwillingly pushed back into the world of 'singles'.
This recently happened to a relative of mine. The marriage had been long, not perfect, he was willing to work at it, but she wasn't.
Getting your toes wet in the dating pool, again, takes some courage.
Maybe a lot of things have changed, culturally, since you were last a swinging single?
(Or maybe you are like me, and never really were?)
There are some nice and interesting people you can meet out there, and some real nutcases.
I've learned a lot about digging for info on the internet, with my avocation of chasing scammers. Some of these things apply to real life.
My relative has just started trying online dating, via one of the very commercial, heavily advertised dating sites, that like to throw the word 'God' around.
He asked me to see what I could find out about one lady he was interested in. She was attractive, local, and of an appropriate age.
Most real people are too enthralled with the internet! They leave too much information about themselves, scattered all about the 'net. In this case, it turned out to be good that this person likes the 'net. It took a few seconds to do a search on Spokeo, and you could see this lady was not exactly wrapped too tight.
As my relative said, 'She's a dingbat!'
(A short phone call with the lady confirmed this.)
Sometimes, Spokeo is good for things like this, it will help you uncover blog posts, facebook accounts, social network profiles, pictures, and more.

Search anybody by name, e-mail address, phone number, online username or even friends in your address book and instantly return lots of info.

If you are using online dating, or even just dating in general, Spokeo is a handy tool. You're not snooping, you are not getting access to things the person did not post on the 'net, publicly, but it may be something they forgot about, or something they conflicts with what they are telling you now, or how they are presenting themselves, now.
Another few tips: Get one of those lowcost, pre-paid cellphones, and use that number to give to new people you meet on dating sites. You can go on Amazon.com and pick up a 'Blu' phone, and pre-paid sim card, for under $30. Do you really need some dingbat you chatted with once, calling your 'real' phone?
Use a new, 'throwaway' email account for contact with new people. (Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.)
If the person is local, be very careful about giving out where you work, or live, until you have met them a few times in a neutral, safe place.
People will hand you the tools to do some checking. The phone number, email address are all easily searched. You can even learn to use google image search to see where else 'those' pictures show up on the 'net. (Do they have other dating site profiles)
Be smart! Be safe! There are some good people on the 'net, you may be able to find one.

i use SPOKEO in my internet scam research

Spokeo is an easy to use tool that will find social network profiles, and more, for email addresses. Search anybody by name, e-mail address, phone number, online username or even friends in your address book and instantly return lots of info.

Basic Internet Dating safety

My background as a scambaiter, webmaster of an anti-scam site, and contact with scam victims has allowed me to formulate some very basic guidelines for safe online dating.

Safeguard your personal details!
There is no reason to let a stranger you met on the internet know your full name, address, phone number and other details that may fully identify you
If you are online hoping to meet somebody different, and special, you need to be sparing with your personal details, and only lower your guard a bit after you can independently verify who this person is.
Real people who may care about you will understand.

Use a 'throwaway' email address for contact with unknown or new friends.
Some people turn out to be jerks, and if you are online, you are prone to run into them, as well as scammers.
If you use a 'throwaway' email address, (Easily obtained Gmail, yahoo, hotmail account you don't use with known friends, family or personal business) you can easily close or ignore that account, if or when you run into a problem person.
If you were careful, and did not give them other means of contacting you, you are safe, and they are gone.
You can also consider using SKYPE or a prepaid calling card to avoid exposing your cell or home phone number to a stranger.

You don't know who you are really in contact with on the internet!
You may run into a jerk, pervert, scammer, or that 'single' person you are interested in, is actually married.
PICTURES alone do not establish who you are really in contact with!
Scammers frequently use stolen pictures of people ranging from supermodels, to ordinary joes, and claim to be 'that' person.
Demand to see a face on webcam, and often, (More than briefly, and a few times) before you let your guard down, a bit.
Remember, it's also very easy to feed a recording of a person, over a webcam, making it appear that the person is 'live', on webcam.
You'll have to be careful to spot this. Scammers are using recordings over cams more frequently. Pay attention to the clothing the person wears, the room setting, and the lighting. Is it appropriate for the time of day for where they claim to be? Are they wearing the same clothes for every cam session? Do they only sit and smile at you, and maybe wave, occasionally?
Spotting a 'fake' webcam can be easy sometimes, difficult, others.

Your webcam may be recorded by the person viewing it! I do it all the time to document scammers!
Scammers do it all the time to collect footage of people to use in scams.
Do you really want your image, fed over a webcam, to scam people?
There are also increasing BLACKMAIL scams, where a person is coaxed into appearing nude, or performing sexual acts by a scammer, who has professed love and a desire for a real relationship with the victim.
The nudity and/or acts are recorded, the recording later played back for the victim and demands for payments of large sums of money are made, or they video will be sent or played for friends, family and co-workers.
This is happening frequently on FACEBOOK, where the scammer becomes a 'friend', and then has access to the other friends on your list.
KEEP YOUR CLOTHES ON WHEN THE CAM IS ON!

Google or do other searches, on the email address any new friend you have met online gives you, as well as any phone number they give you.
Search anybody by name, e-mail address, phone number, online username or even friends in your address book and instantly return lots of info.
I use Spokeo, and recommend it!

West African scammers pretend to be anyone, both sexes, any race...but they have some persistent tidbits they use in 'stories', and some quirks in the english they use.
If all the 'white' people I've run into online, were actually in Africa, or had to go to Africa for a job or an emergency, there would be no room left for real 'Africans'!
People who travel the world for work or business do not need strangers to rescue them by sending them money by Western Union!
There are webcams everywhere. Most laptops produced in the last few years have them built into them. Internet Cafes are everywhere, even in third world countries.
'Sorry, I don't have a cam' or 'I am in rural area, no cams' is bullcrap!
If they have the means to be online, there is a cam, somewhere.

Never send money to somebody you only know from the internet, or phone calls!
There is no way around this. Nobody you are in contact with from the internet is actually going to die for lack of medical treatment, or is being held hostage by an angry Hotel keeper, due to a stolen wallet and unpaid bills.
One of my favorite stories is one the West African scammers use with stolen pictures of pretty girls, who they claim have gone to Africa for 'model shoots' or some other temporary employment.
The 'girl' will claim her passport and money have been stolen, and the person who brought them to Africa has abandoned them.
"I have no money and am afraid! Please help me! The hotel won't let me leave until I can pay my bill!"
When you ask to see them on cam.....
"I'm sorry, I can only use the computer in the lobby, and there is no cam. PLEASE HELP ME!"
Later you will get an email that says something like....
"PLEASE HELP ME!! THERE ARE MEN WAITING IN THE HALL OUTSIDE MY ROOM AND I THINK THEY ARE GOING TO RAPE ME!"
What happened to the only computer she can use, is in the Lobby? Did 'she' climb out of a window to sneak to the lobby, to use the computer to send this email?
If so, why the hell doesn't 'she' just sneak away from the hotel?
Because it's a scam, she is fake, you are a fool, if you fall for it and send money.

Don't cash or deposit checks or money orders for somebody you only know from the internet!
Sometimes, your 'international businessman/traveler' will claim he did some work in your country, and has some uncashed checks to take care of.
The checks or money orders are fake, or may be funds scammed from other victims.
Usually you are asked to forward the proceeds from these checks to the scammer, by Western Union.
If the checks are fake, you will be on the hook for the funds payed out, and may be prosecuted.
If the checks are real, you are essentially participating in 'money laundering', and may be prosecuted.
The same fake checks and money orders may appear in a 'work from home' scam. You may answer a classified ad, or email that offers a job, 'processing payments'.
The scammer is far away, and safe from prosecution. Guess who is easy for find and prosecute? You!

Are you suspicious about who you are in contact with? Do you have questions about internet romance scams?
Romancescam.com can help you with internet romance scams, from the former Soviet Union, and West Africa.
This will include most white or black, men or ladies you suspect may be fake, or trying to scam you.
Dragonladies.org can help with female internet romance scammers, from Asia.

Free trial, at Kiva.org

The 'free trial' at Kiva.org continues. Click on the link in this post and you will be awarded $25 US, to use in a loan at Kiva.org. You choose the recipient! Free $25 to loan, at Kiva!

Kiva, small loans that make a big impact

I've been lending money via Kiva.org to worthy people for a few years, and I'm happy to say all loans have been repaid on time, if not early. Unlike our internet scammers, the people you can loan money at Kiva, are willing to work hard at making a small business successful. For a limited time, you can get a 'free' $25 to loan, via Kiva, but the funds for this progam are running out quickly. Click on the link below to sign up at Kiva.org, and claim $25 you can use to make your first loan. Click here!

myinternetdetective.com

I'm working on a new site with another scambaiter, which will have content that is somewhat derived from scambaiting, but is also applicable to 'real' life. Most people are clueless about personal internet safety, as well as some basic techniques and services that let you find out what other people are up to on the 'net, as well as information about you, on the 'net. myinternetdetecive will contain some information on email tracking, IP identification, personal data searches, as well as some more advanced 'net snooping' stuff and resources for getting help with internet scams. Myinternetdetective.com

Kiva.org Lend money to deserving people who want to work!

Poverty, or lack of opportunity is not a valid excuse for SCAMMING. Most people work to avoid, or get out of poverty, not steal. There are people who are willing to work hard, and repay a small loan you can make through them via Kiva.org. Right now, if you create a new account at Kiva, you can get $25, free, to make your first loan, if you sign up using the following link.

KIva.org

Never send money to people you only know from the internet, except through KIVA! I've made many loans through Kiva, all have been repaid, on time or early.

Spokeo helped me find information I used in my divorce

Two years ago, I was trying to end a bad marriage that I got into too quickly. My wife had no intention to end the marriage, until she could find a wealthier man to replace me. My job normally keeps me away from home for several weeks at a time. My wife stayed home, went on dates and assignations, and acted as if she were single, while I paid all the bills and supported her.

I finally installed a keylogger on our home computer to document what she was up to. (Check your local laws to see if this is legal. In my state, it was.)
I could now see who she was emailing in secret.
("You can call now. He's gone for a few days")
("He's coming home tonight. Don't come here.")

Plugging the various email addresses into the Spokeo email search option, I usually found all the information I needed about her 'special friends'.
Here's one example, the gentleman was about my age and size, OUT OF WORK,and being supported by a wife of 25 years, and had one daughter about 23.
Spokeo told me the name, and age of his Wife, and daughter.
Spokeo showed me his social network profiles.
I now had his home phone number through Spokeo.
(My wife called him on his cell phone)
I now had his home address,thanks to Spokeo, for the home he owned and lived in with his wife. I could see a picture of his house.
( I later printed out emails between Romeo and my wife, and mailed them to his wife, but since he was out of work, he intercepted them.)
I had his picture through Spokeo.
I could find and see pictures of his family. This guy was a sleazebag, chatting up women online while his wife of many years supported him.
My soon to be 'EX' deserved him!

I felt less a victim, and the information I was finding on him, and her other 'friends' steeled my resolve to stop being a 'nice guy', and end the marriage quickly, and firmly, on MY TERMS.
As it is with scammers, finding the truth is sometimes very easy, and under your nose. You just have to be ready to accept the truth, and act on it.
With Scammers, the internet is the neighborhood they prey on. You have to look for information and battle them, there, where they live.
Most people now do have a major presence on the internet, usually there is much more information about them on the 'net, and available to the public, than they realize and are comfortable with. USE THIS INFORMATION, if you need to.

Suspect something, or someone? Why wonder? The truth is out there, if you know where, or how to look. 'Technology' can be your friend, also.

Many potential employers will do a search of your email address, also. Is there something on the 'net you don't want them to see?

I admit I get a commission from Spokeo if you subscribe after clicking on the link, below. I have used Spokeo for my personal reasons, and also in the course of scambaiting for several years. If you want to know, and the info is out on the 'net, you can find it. Try spokeo.

Click on the ad below to check out Spokeo, or on one of the Spokeo banners on this page!

people search by Spokeo

Aizah, lolabummy@yahoo.com CEBU Info needed

Dragonladies.org is seeking information on a Filipina using the name 'Aizah'.

She is presently somewhere in the Cebu City area, and possibly taking advantage of elderly men she meets on the internet.

Please visit dragonladies.org for more information.


Click here for the post at Dragonladies.org