I hope all my American readers had a good 4th of July.
At this point, I have to be honest with my readers concerning a point about which it is difficult to write. One of the main points of this blog is to not only share different types of frauds with my readers so they can best prepare themselves through education, but also how to avoid being a victim of fraud in the first place. Unfortunately, in this situation, this also means that I need to play the role of a relationship counselor in addition to being an attorney and fraud examiner. I would like to say that this is above my pay grade, but I suppose that would be a cop out. So, let's ask the question: how does one avoid being a victim of the sweetheart scam?
It is easy to look at these situations from a distance and say - "well, how could you NOT know she was scheming you? I mean, she kept on asking for more money, she kept on having you come back for more, etc. etc." But, this is not the answer.
Remember once again - most sweetheart scams are designed to make the victim keep coming back for more. The mark makes a trip to the "girlfriend's" home country, meets up with the girlfriend, has a good time, and pays for the girlfriend's expenses plus some "extra" expenses at the "girlfriend's" request (and no, I am not talking about prostitution. I am talking about the "girlfriend" asking for expenses that "came up" during the time of the mark's visit - i.e. extra rent due, extra taxes due, etc.
Also, remember, even before the mark gets to the "girlfriend's" country, the "girlfriend" could be asking for transportation fees, agency fees, emergency fees, etc.
Here is the hard part - the mark is emotionally compromised because the "girlfriend" is playing on his emotions. They are in a relationship, right? Don't boyfriends help out their girlfriends? She is not asking for a whole lot of money. Just an unexpected expense.
So - once again - how do I answer this? What advice can I give to the lovelorn?
Well, actually I do have some answers. But, this will have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, just remember what a good friend of mine (a family law attorney) told me - a relationship is a transaction, just like any business transaction. She is right, and this does not mean that she is heartless, quite the contrary. And, thinking in this manner helps us to think clearly in these circumstances.
http://www.tauskvega.com/
Have a great and fraud-free day
------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
At this point, I have to be honest with my readers concerning a point about which it is difficult to write. One of the main points of this blog is to not only share different types of frauds with my readers so they can best prepare themselves through education, but also how to avoid being a victim of fraud in the first place. Unfortunately, in this situation, this also means that I need to play the role of a relationship counselor in addition to being an attorney and fraud examiner. I would like to say that this is above my pay grade, but I suppose that would be a cop out. So, let's ask the question: how does one avoid being a victim of the sweetheart scam?
It is easy to look at these situations from a distance and say - "well, how could you NOT know she was scheming you? I mean, she kept on asking for more money, she kept on having you come back for more, etc. etc." But, this is not the answer.
Remember once again - most sweetheart scams are designed to make the victim keep coming back for more. The mark makes a trip to the "girlfriend's" home country, meets up with the girlfriend, has a good time, and pays for the girlfriend's expenses plus some "extra" expenses at the "girlfriend's" request (and no, I am not talking about prostitution. I am talking about the "girlfriend" asking for expenses that "came up" during the time of the mark's visit - i.e. extra rent due, extra taxes due, etc.
Also, remember, even before the mark gets to the "girlfriend's" country, the "girlfriend" could be asking for transportation fees, agency fees, emergency fees, etc.
Here is the hard part - the mark is emotionally compromised because the "girlfriend" is playing on his emotions. They are in a relationship, right? Don't boyfriends help out their girlfriends? She is not asking for a whole lot of money. Just an unexpected expense.
So - once again - how do I answer this? What advice can I give to the lovelorn?
Well, actually I do have some answers. But, this will have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, just remember what a good friend of mine (a family law attorney) told me - a relationship is a transaction, just like any business transaction. She is right, and this does not mean that she is heartless, quite the contrary. And, thinking in this manner helps us to think clearly in these circumstances.
http://www.tauskvega.com/
Have a great and fraud-free day
------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk
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