Since the dawn of time, no one has gotten more hurt than through heartbreak. You can endure betrayal from your family and friends, but the thought of getting betrayed by someone you love and wish to spend the rest of your life with can cause serious trauma both mentally and physically.
We live in a fast-paced world, and now we are so tuned to this lifestyle that the days have long gone when you met and dated someone of your interest in your public life.
You cannot blame anyone since all of life is governed by our jobs in this digitized world. We would rather engage in a long conversation on our electronic devices than meet them in person.
The tradition of meeting someone physically in a public place or at work has been replaced with online dating services and apps. Although it is more convenient to find someone online than to meet them in person, it has also caused quite a lot of heartbreak and mental breakdowns.
The scammers have evolved their strategies to meet the requirements of society as it progresses; however, their modus operandi remains the same: ripping off innocent victims. Contacting a fund recovery specialist to get your funds back from online romance scams is the priority.
Jane Stoneway (name changed), 35, a school teacher from Alabama, suffered from one such heartbreak and found it increasingly challenging to recover from it.
Jane, who comes from an orthodox family, has had a drive to change the world since her youth. The thought that society is declining in its values prompted her to pursue a career as a teacher at a local school. She was brilliant as a child and was always confident and believed in herself.
Normally, Jane would never entertain any friend requests on her social media platform; however, this time she did, and later she regretted it.
It was during the winter vacations when she happened to receive a friend request on one of her social media platforms. It was Christmas Eve, and all her family and friends had gathered. One of her nieces revealed that she is getting married early next year.
After the guest had left, her mind wandered regarding the news of her niece. She was happy for her, but the thought of missing someone special and ending up living all alone dreaded her.
She casually looked at her mobile and saw the pending friend request. She thought, Why not? As she browsed through the profile photo and the achievements of the person who had sent her the friend request, she learned that Robert Smith, 42, was a successful businessman. However, something did not add up; he had fewer friends on his friend list. After browsing for a while, she realized the profile was made just three months ago.
It was odd for her that someone so successful had fewer friends and had created a profile on this social media app just a few months ago.
Our experts say that Jane was right about her gut feeling and should have used her better judgment by ignoring Robert Smith. Romance scammers are known to create fake profiles. The reason that their social media accounts are new is that after scamming the victim, they will delete them and create a fresh new profile. They will also add a few fake friends to their list to lure in their victims. The profile photo used is also fake; they always use a random person’s photo.
If you ever doubt yourself, then download the photo from the profile and do a reverse image search.
However, it wasn’t even the end of the year when the two started hitting it off. As Jane would reveal later, they both shared a common interest; they both wanted to do something for their society, and Robert, although a businessman, was living in Africa and running his business from there in Europe.
As per Robert, he was privileged to have a lavish life, and he wanted to do something for the poor. So a major part of the profits were used to improve the lifestyle of those near him.
Another common mistake many make is to think highly of these scammers; they will pretend that they are working for a humanitarian cause, all the while drawing their victims nearer to them.
After chatting with him for a while, Jane fell head over heels and realized that Robert was that “special someone.”
She did find inconsistencies in his written English during the chat, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt—a big mistake. She did try to call him on a video chat, but he always made excuses that there was poor reception in the area where he stayed and it would be better if they continued talking over the phone.
You must understand that English is not the first language of several scammers, so if you find someone pretending to be your better half, try to reconsider the relationship in which you are about to embark.
Romance scammers use fake profile photos, and they are reluctant to answer any video call. If you encounter such calls, you better find love somewhere else.
By February, Jane was so into Robert that she wanted to meet him in person. However, at the last moment, he would always make the excuse that he had some serious emergency.
As per the experts, these scammers will either promise to meet you and marry you, or the victim will ask them to meet you in person. In either case, one party would advance to another; however, scammers will make some excuses at the last moment.
Another pattern that you must understand is that scammers are always a flight or two away from you and will live in a highly inaccessible place. Thus, it is almost impossible to meet these charmers in real life.
Disaster struck in March when Robert did not return Jane’s calls. A few days later, Robert called her and claimed that the neighborhood mafia was holding him captive. He had already liquidated his business assets to pay them. However, they were still insisting on being paid more, and Jane was the only person who could help him.
Jane was shocked and quickly replied, how should she transfer the required money? Robert gave her a wire transfer account and asked for $3,400.
It was already August, and by now Jane had already made a total payment of $95,000, and Robert had not been released from the clutches of the local mafia.
There was a change in Jane’s routine; she had lost interest in teaching, which she enjoyed the most. She started staying back home frequently and was always upset and sad.
Her mom had noticed the change, and one fine day she mustered the courage to meet her in person.
When Jane opened the door and saw her mom, she burst into tears, and when the mom inquired regarding her current state, she told her everything about Robert.
Her mom was thoroughly convinced that she must have been scammed since the local mafia won’t keep their hostages for such a long period and frequently asks for money.
Our experts point out that Jane’s mom was right. Scammers have a way to gain the trust of their victims and then milk away money through some life-threatening episodes. They will continue to rip off their victims until either their victims can’t pay any more or their friends or family reveal that they have been scammed.
Still disbelieving that Robert was not a scammer, she reluctantly made a trip to the local law enforcement agency and filed a report with her mom and dad. On hearing the entire story, the officer revealed that she had been a victim of an elaborate scam.
The officer further said that such online romance scams are a dime a dozen, and they frequently receive such cases.
Jane was contacted by one of her nephews, and on his suggestion, she searched for an online financial fund recovery agency. Through his guidance, she managed to get hold of a reliable, trusted, registered, and experienced online financial fund recovery specialist.
It has been more than a year now, and while Jane managed to retrieve $50,000 of her lost funds, the case is still ongoing.
Jane managed to fall in love with her psychiatrist, who was counseling her. It seems Jane finally got what she always cherished.
As per our experts, many scammers stalk their prey online. They will gather enough information regarding their victim to use it against them. Most victims have admitted that their scammers shared the same interests as they did.
It is easy to fall in love, but it is equally challenging to come out of it. Scammers understand that their motto is to financially strip them, regardless of what their victims might undergo later.
If you are facing the same problem that Jane encountered, you should reconsider your online romance.
