Welcome to the Victim Support section.

[wayne]

You'll find instructions on how to find the IP address on most email clients in your welcome PM.

[Pinky]

@cwalker, and anyone else who needs an IP address (just on the chance you missed it in your opening welcome): Most scammers use Yahoo or some other free email. Most of the free email services allow a recipient to view the IP address of any email. One exception is gmail, so if your scammer uses gmail, you can't get his IP (but that alone should tell you he's hiding something).

While you're viewing the scammer's email, your own email service should have a link somewhere to 'reveal source', 'show header', 'see full header' or mention something about headers. When you click on that link, you will find a long list of gibberish and the body of the email. You only need to select and copy the first large section up to the subject line. You don't need anything after.

Next, in another window or tab you should open this link here: http://headertool.apelord.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and paste what you copied, in the box. Click check headers and you will get your answer. Most times the answer won't be anywhere near where your scammer says he is unless he's already admitting he's stranded in Nigeria. In that case, you know it's a scam anyway.

There are other options to click on that same IP check site, be sure to check them out too. One will actually tell you if the IP address you've searched is already reported for scamming. These love scammers do other scams as well. They're common, basic criminals and thieves.

@kindhearted, who said:

I reported this crime to the IC3, Dubai Police, Prime Minister of UAE, Western Union.

Unfortunately those are probably dead ends. Western Union is as culpable as any thief involved in this scam. Talk to a lawyer about their accountability. THEY should have warned you long before you lost so much.

I tried to make a report with local police, and San Diego FBI, but they would not take the report.

They are powerless as they have no jurisdiction outside of their locality.

I still need to contact my bank because I wired money to a China bank account and have the account number etc...

I will send you a PM with an email address of someone who specializes in closing fraudulent bank accounts. But I do know that the Chinese are the least cooperative.

I do want to contact our news stations since I recently went back on Match.com and found a similar profile with a different picture and name...but similar profile to "Paul Roberts". I reported it to Match.com and saw it was removed. It makes me mad that they don't have a warning on the front page of their website...but why would they...they might scare away customers!

I am on Match too. I have noticed that they do take reports more seriously than ever before, but there's still a lot more they can do.

I am still numb and trying to heal...I am so humiliated that it is hard to imagine sharing this story with the news, but as I get stronger I think I will be able to.

Give yourself time.

I was hoping to direct them to your website as well.

PLEASE DO!! We need to spread the word.

If I had only know what I needed to google I don't think I would be in this position. I initially googled his yahoo account, his name, his business name...nothing ever came up on google...good or bad.

Nothing showing should be a warning sign too. Everybody leaves something on the net these days.

So I kept thinking the best. Sorry if my thoughts are all over the place, but that is where I am at the moment.
Thank you for your support...I really need it!

You're the reason we do what we do. Glad we could be here for you. God bless Marisa and Wayne. They foot the bills which always amount to more than donations. Donations to offset operating expenses are always welcome.

[FrumpyBB]

Well said

The only minor detail that I can add is that there is some potential to find out the IP range of a Gmail scammer, with ReadNotify (requires free registration first), it seems to work for non-satellite link scammer cafe connections.

[eki]

Never break 4 things in your life: Trust, Promise, Relation and Heart
when they break they don’t make noise but ......pain a lot

regards,
eki

[tully]

I have just posted info bout a scammer but yet to post his photo and personal details as I am a little perplexed as to why I havent found him anywhere else. All others I have read about are all over other sites with same pics and similar names and profiles but there is nothing about this guy. I.ve searched scamdiggers, tineye and some modelling sites and nothing, I goggled his name and his facebook page came up which I removed myself from and a company that he told me about Chinasavvy, an export co and now this site with my info on him but nothing else. His name is Neeq Gabriel does it ring a bell with anybody? I just wonder why I havent come across him.

[LILYKAT79]

Hello Tully,
Scammers do change names a lot just like we change socks so please take extra careful. Love, Lily Kat

[tully]

Hi thanks LilyKat, I'm sure they would have to change their identities often but I would think he would pop up somewhere. I have also just checked his IP on his email and one site said Korea..lol but then I checked them on another site and they came up as California, where he said he is. I also checked the most recent phone number he gave me and it is a land line in California. So I am really a little confused and I hope I haven't made a mistake in posting him, thats why Im a bit reluctant to put up his photo. Frumpy listed him as white but he is actually black. I know I sound like Im in denial but I really just need to be sure and I don't know how to be..any suggestions?? I know there is so much of him that doesn't add up and I don't have my money back so I suppose that e be enough. Can anyone give me ay insight into the phone numbers and ips as I really am quite techno illiterate. He doesn't sound typical...Help!!

[Pinky]

Some scammers are smart and net savvy. If his old fake identity was exposed he dropped it and took a new one. In fact, if his new one weren't fake, you would most likely find old and valid information on him. Google your real name and see what comes up for you. I have highschool and college alumni affiliations, a blog entry I made about a location where I grew up, some contact information about some family research I did and an old resume and former job listing. He should have something. Does he claim a residence or former residence in CA? There has to be public record that can be validated. If he just pulled a CA phone number and address out of an online phone directory, then call the number. Chances are the real owner of that name has no clue who you are.

[tully]

Ok the blinkers are well and truely off..I know I have been scammed and have known all along, don't know why I have waited to post his info?? One day I feel strong and ok about getting through this and the next I am shattered all over again..today being one of "those" days ... I am a strong, capable, attractive, vibrant, mature woman (sounds a bit like a scammers profile doesn't it? lol). Firstly he was moved from Nigerians in Malaysia but he was posted in white males so he needs to be moved again to black males, can someone please help me on the best way to do this. Should I post his info here and let you move it or should I just post a new one under black males?? which is best way. Rechecked his IPs I used the server ones initially and they came up California (sunnyvale) but saw Marissa mention of this y'day so looked again and found others which originated in Malaysia!! His latest number is a Cali land line and I have been communicating with him on it so?? but also found another Cali number that he has called me on and a woman answered..(message bank)..anyway can someone please help me to get all his info posted asap as I really need to delete it and him from my life ..thank so much..

[Pinky]

Just start an entire new post on him where you think he belongs. Make the subject title his user name and email address. Include the pictures he's using as they are most important. And he belongs in Black Males, only if he's using pictures of a black male.

[tully]

I thought once I posted all info on the scammer who got me that I would feel much better..it doesn't seem to be working, I'm feeling sad and depressed. I know I have to go through a process of grieving but I just want the pain to end. When I see the photo's of "him" that I posted here it just makes me feel sick, I know it's not him but I'm having trouble disassociating him from the picture's of the man "I feel in love with".

I haven't let anyone in my life for over 3 years as my last partner and my best friend had an affair which devastated me and made me lose trust in everyone and faith in love. I became angry and bitter but I realised I didn't want to be this person because it was against all of who I really am. I quit my job, sold my house and gave away most of my possessions & went to India for 6 months to live & volunteer in an orphanage. For me it was about giving but what I received in return was remembering how to love openheartedly and selflessly. It was truely the most amazing experience of my life.

When I returned home I was very ready to welcome someone into my life, I was ready for love. A friend suggested I join Match.com, I was a bit reluctant about a dating site but thought it couldn't hurt and decided to give it a try. I was only on for about 3 weeks and realised it wasn't for me as most of the men don't even read your profile they just look at the photo & think..hmm she's alright I might give her a go..or something along those lines!!

I logged on this day to unsubscribe and as I was about to I received a "wink" from a black man in the USA. I had been contacted by many other men from overseas & had thanked them for their interest but said that I was looking for someone local. Apart from this ones gorgeous smile there was something different about him, a warmth and a light and I'm sure the man in the pic has those qualities..so I thought, "why not", even if we just develpoe a frinedship. Being new to internet dating I had no idea about these scams so I thought I'd really found a wonderful man that maybe I could share my life with. That was 6 months ago and you know how the rest of the story goes, it was only just over 2 weeks ago that I finanally realised what he really was so it is all still very raw.

I said in an earlier post that I wont let this experience harden me or make me cynical but how do I trust..yet again?? I do know I will never again join a dating site and will only have a relationship with someone I can physically see and touch. Any & all suggestions most welcome..

Thanks for listening..

[rats]

There is no way that I can fully express what this site has meant to me. Wayne and Frumpy a special thanks to you both for answering my repeated questions with patience and compassion... It has been a little over a month ago that I found out that I had developed deep feelings for a man who was not what he was protraying. He used my kind nature and concern for children to try to extort money from me, when I questioned him he became unreasonable and even frightening. I think the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that these guy get off without suffering any consequences for their actions, they are totally unaccountable for their evil doings. The work done here is very admirable but as I am gaining knowledge, I go through Myspace and Facebook not to mention the dating sites and the magnitude of this problem is overwhelming....these scumbags are literally everywhere. I honestly think that there are an equal amount of frauds as there are ligitimate people on these sites. In my opinion this is the root of the problem. Those people in charge of the administration of these social networks need to accept some accountability even if it is minimal in having some type of mandatory education on the dangers of internet scamming. I am a well educated, knowledgable woman and when I joined a social network I was very aware that there were men out there who might represent themselves without being completely truthful....On the other hand I had no clue that there were actually people out there that would purposely deceive and defraud lonely even disabled individuals with the soul purpose of financial gain. It had just never crossed my mind and I had never seen anything on TV about it. I just feel like these social networks need to step up and do the right thing and when there is a confirmed case of scamming they should be obligated to blast it on their mainpage with a warning to potential victims....It is just wrong on so many levels that they continue to ignore this problem. Thanks again to all of you for sharing your experiences.

[tully]

Please Help

[Pinky]

Tell us what more we can do?

Tully, you know some things can't be fixed instantly. Time is a healer.

[The Wild Geese]

Tully please don't be cruel to yourself. If you give yourself time to heal, you will then realize that this sad experience you are undergoing now is not as bad as you thought. You will learn to accept and laugh at your mistakes. Take me for example, I was once in the deepest pit of a scammer but I am charging that incident to my experience. Can you imagine that I WG thought that Tagged is an Instant Messenger like those windows messenger? Where in only those who invited me can contact me. I was really green! I did know I signed inn to a dating site. Yes, yes, you people just laugh at me because I was ignorant but now no more! Now I laugh at it eventhough I lost lots of money. As what Pinky said, things can't be fixed instantly. Time is a healer.