Love is Cruel III

Continuing with our discussion on the sweetheart scam:

   At this point, the mark is in communication with the girl of his dreams.  Emails have been exchanged and maybe even a few phone calls.  Now, it is time to meet the fantasy girl.

    This is where the "meat" of the fraud comes into play.  At this point, there has been no real investment of money by the mark into this fraud, just time.  The purpose of the "girlfriend" is to get the mark interested to the point where he will want to spend money.  As stated, the "girlfriend" and the agency that arranges the meeting take the time and effort to make the "girlfriend" look as enticing and beautiful as possible in the pictures and the emails and phone calls are designed as "come ons" to get the mark to take the bait.

    Once the mark is interested, money will begin to exchange hands.

    There are two real ways at this point that the fraud can proceed.  The first way, and the less dangerous way, is for the "girlfriend" to propose that she come to the States to visit the mark so they can get to know each other.  Since the "girlfriend" will be (usually) coming from a country that requires a visa, this means that she will have to get a visa from an American Embassy or consulate.

    The "girlfriend" will request that the mark send her money so she can proceed with the visa.  This usually involves: (a) telling the mark that she needs transportation to an American Embassy or consulate from her hometown so she needs plane tickets; (b) money to stay at a hotel while she waits for a visa interview; (c) visa fees [which actually is a legitimate requirement since the Department of State charges for visas, but not at the price she is stating] and (d) money to pay an agency to help her with the visa processes.

    The "girlfriend" can demand several thousand dollars for this, once again stating that she needs the money for the above requirements.  The mark, thinking nothing is wrong, will send her the money.

    This is where the mark is "hooked."  Once again, like the Nigerian 419 scam, the purpose is to keep the mark coming back for more, not for an end result.  Once the money starts flowing to the "girlfriend," this is where the fraudsters make their money.

   We will discuss how this fraud develops tomorrow.

Here is some more interesting reading on the subject: http://www.kmbc.com/money/9246998/detail.html

www.tauskvega.com

As always, have a great and fraud-free day.

---------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk