Online dating scam warning
A gay man has warned people who date online to be wary of con artists after he was targeted by a scammer who contacted him through Gaydar.
Michael (not his real name), in his early 40s was contacted in late September by a man calling himself Stephen Dare.
Michael thought Stephen’s photos were pretty cute so after a few messages he gave out his email address.
“He said that he was a young gay guy who was living in Ireland but was originally from America and was very lonely because his parents had died,” Michael told the Star Observer.
“My Gaydar profile was all about wanting a long term relationship, which I guess was the draw card for him.
“He drew me in with the suggestion that it would be nice to come out to Australia. I said that sounded great.
“At that point he started talking about airfares. I told him that I couldn’t afford to fly him out but I’d be happy for him to stay with me.
“Things back and forth for a while until I got an email where he suddenly said he’s in Africa doing ‘research’- that’s when it all started going a bit weird.”
The Sydney resident asked what this research was but didn’t get an answer and Stephen soon claimed to be stuck in Africa and in need of help.
“He claimed that for some reason his credit card wouldn’t work in Africa, and asked if I could loan him some money until he could reach a bank outside of Africa.
“I wrote back saying that if his card wasn’t working there he could give me his card details and I could get the money out for him from here so there would be no need for a loan. It was obvious that he knew I was into him from this point.”
When Michael was told by a flatmate that a friend had lost thousands of dollars in a similar situation he decided to contact the Star Observer.
Michael says Stephen, who he now believes was in Africa all along, sent him more than 20 long emails during the exchange and that people should be aware of the amount of time and effort that scammers will take in trying to reel in their victims.
The ACCC maintains a Scamwatch website with tips on avoiding getting scammed and where victims can make reports.
They recommend contacting your financial institution as soon as possible after realising you’ve become a victim to block access or suspend your account. In some cases transactions may be reversed and money returned.
info: www.scamwatch.gov.au
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re Frank Deans email regarding Eric Riggin. Hi Frank, I am in exactly the same position as you. Have recently been contacted by Eric (???) original from a ‘bear’ site. He looked cute and then sent me a couple of photos of him with his dog. He has told me exactly the same story about his job… recently moved to Melbourne and his heritage is exactly the same. He has in the last few days told me that his father who he hasnt seen since he was 4 was in hospital and had to fly to Sth Africa urgently. Right from the beginning I was suspicious as I googled his name and found his picture on a online dating site in America. I will string this guy along just for the enjoyment. lol. Incidently he gave me his Melbourne number as REMOVED but he has never answered it. I got stung about 5 years ago and lost nearly $20,000 – all my own fault to a guy who called himself Michael Williams. – he was Nigeria. Alarm bells should have rung then but I was blind to them. How dumb was I. If any one wants to contact me do so through drumannon1 (one) at the hotplace.
No one who is truly into you would ever ask you for money. KISS principle..
Hi there,
I just read your article on the online dating scam. I am currently having the same experience. I was contacted by a really hot guy through Match.com. His name is Eric Riggin (so he claims). Over a three week period, he sent long emails with details of his family … mother deceased, father retired in South Africa, born in South Africa, spend a few years in France then grew up in the Bahamas.
He claimed to be a gold and diamond trader that has moved to Melbourne to set up a new business, entering the country on a 12 month residency visa. After lots of emails that got more and more personal, we decided to meet. I live in Brisbane, but he said he was happy to fly up before Christmas so we could spend time together. Plans were made, but at the last minute his father had a heart attack in South Africa and he had to fly back urgently. Yeah right!
After several phone calls back and forth to South Africa and continued emails of support from me, he started hinting at how expensive the medical costs for his fathers care was, advising that he had use all his money to fly back and pay his fathers medical bills. I was already a little suspicious, but thought that I would keep contact going to see if indeed he would start asking for money. To pre-empt his request, I advised him that I wished I could help him out financially, but I had just paid out thousands on bills and holiday deposits and didn’t have any spare cash. This is when his pleas suddenly turned desperate!
He said that he was able to raise US$15,000 for his father’s surgery, but need another $2,000 to cover expenses and to save his fathers life. He pleaded with me to find the money and asked how long it would take. Of course I advised him that I would not be sending him any money and wished him well with his father. I haven’t heard from him recently and don’t expect to!
Match.com wasn’t interested when I sent them an email. I guess the old adage is true … If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is!
This is a very common and old scam – you can get similar scams where people use 0900 services to contact you via your mobile number.
There is an old adage if it appears to be to good to be true (ie the guy looks too cute) or if things don’t look right then be a bit cautious.
Also watch the language – often simple typos, etc might be key to spotting a false profile.
Other things to do is use good to search for similar images – if any doubts most sites have a means to report what appear to be fake profiles.
Also ask things about the local area where they supposedly live.