Woman nearly falls for 'sweetheart scam'

Posted By SARAH DEETH
Posted 8 hours ago

A 52-year-old woman was the target of a "sweetheart scam" that involved a fake online boyfriend and a request for money, city police said.

The woman chats on various websites and met a man online around Christmas, police said.

The two chatted and she eventually considered the man to be her boyfriend, police said.

The man sent her several money orders from Nigeria with instructions for her to cash them and send him the money, police said.

But when she went to the TD Canada Trust branch on Chemong Road Tuesday she discovered the cheques were fraudulent, police said.

Sgt. Walter DiClemente said he believes the fraud was stopped before the woman lost any money.

It's an online scam that has been going on for years, he said, and preys on people's hearts.

"What they do is put a fake profile of themselves on dating sites and friendship sites," DiClemente said.

Scammers often portray themselves as hardworking individuals and claim they're a doctor or a lawyer, he said, sometimes even sending a picture of someone fitting the part.

The scammer then claims to fall in love with someone who chats with them, he said, and usually tells him or her that they're on their way to visit.

Then, DiClemente said, the scammer will claim to experience a tragedy, telling the victim they've been in an accident or a relative has been kidnapped.

"They'll ask for money for hospital bills or they'll ask for money to pay a ransom," he said. "The bottom line is, 'can you send me some money' or 'can you send me some more money?'"

Realizing someone you've grown to trust is scamming you is sometimes hard to accept, he said.

"I think what happens is our victims think 'I'm not the one being scammed,'" DiClemente said.

But the people perpetuating these frauds are professionals, he said. "They know what to say and they know what buttons to push," DiClemente said.

By the time fraudsters ask for money, victims have often built those people and their future meetings up in their minds, he said.

"They think that finally this person they've fallen in love with over the Internet is coming to see them," DiClemente said.

Most "sweetheart scams" originate from Nigeria, Russia or Kosovo, he said.

"It's almost virtually impossible for local law enforcement here to track it down," he said.

Police say if you feel you've been the target of a "sweetheart scam," immediately stop contacting the scammer, ignore messages, bloc e-mails and make copies of any e-mail conversations.

More tips from police about online scams are at www.phonebusters.com or call city police at 876-1122.