Is this camala_honda?

For some weeks now, I have been getting some messages from a person through Yahoo IM. She (If she is a female) started off by chatting.

I put a stop to it after there was no obvious reason why she buzzed me. At least she could not say she just wanted to chat or had a question.

I did take a look at her profile and found a photo of a very attractive girl. This photo has been newly posted.

In her profile, her personal details are the following: Name Juliet Robbins, Nickname Princess, Age 29, Location Ikeja Lagos, Single and looking.

Wow, and someone like that writes to me?

In later days, she sent me messages saying she missed me and promising me things like love and perpetual faithfulness. And, one day I got the following message:

I want you to know how much I love you mark. We have been through so much these past months, but our love has always come out on top. You mean so much to me and I want so much to make you as happy as you make me. Each passing day has me falling more in love with you. You can do the slightest thing and it warms me. Most of the time you don't even realize it. You are always in my thoughts and in my heart. I never knew that love could be so wonderful until I met you. You have given me a new perspective on so many things. I will always treasure our love and keep it safe. I love you mark, Baby.

Ok, I know what you are thinking. I missed the point, didn't I?

This is a typical "Romance Scam".

Now, as far as I can tell, this is not a type of crime which is done only by Africans. I have had reports of women doing this from other parts of the world, but the main stream does come from Africa and from Nigeria in particular.

These people are using most all of the online contact directories and, of course, messengers, to get in contact with their potential victims. They do target the "lonely hearts" and seem to do a brisk business, by promising perpetual love and other things.

You will find some more examples of this at Fun with the 419

I have seen posts, where they jump right in with a story about "millions in the bank, which they desperately need to get out of the country".

This is something I have often noticed. They pitch you the deal almost as soon as they have said hello. Do you remember Larry Adama? It was the same with him.

One guy, tried this with me on MySpace some time ago and put in the wrong profile link. It showed his personal profile and not the one of his girl proxy. Needless to say his account was deleted soon afterwards.

Sometimes I do get the impression, that some of these people are not particularly intelligent, but that doesn't count for all of them. I for one, would certainly not underestimate them.

Tags: romance scam, 419 scam, internet fraud

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