05.26.08
So, I cursed out an online romance scammer
My Match.com profile had been inactive for a while and I logged in to search for “hunnies”. I got a message from a girl identifying herself as Jaimey Daniel. Her profile stated that she was 28, lived in Daytona Beach, basic stats, but no picture. She tells me to contact her through her Yahoo messenger. We exchange messages. She says she lives in a city called Port Orange, close to Daytona. She likes dogs, walks on the beach (who doesn’t?) and cooking. She sends me pictures, she is very attractive and exotic looking. I am suspicious that she might be some web-cam girl, since attractive girls don’t need to meet people online. Then again, she does live in Port Orange where the nightlife must be stultifying.
I download Yahoo Messenger. We chat for like 2 hours about relationships, food, music, etc. She doesn’t give specific information like which bands she worships. She says she is birracial, with Britsh and African ancestry which would explain her exotic look. She studied marketing but works in her aunt’s clothing store. She says her father is deceased. We’re hitting it off and I have no reason whatsoever to feel suspicious.
The next day I log on again. After a few minutes, she mentions that she is out of the country but will be flying back soon. When I inquire what country, she says Nigeria. I become apprehensive; then she says she had gone to the airport. Authorities were charging her $600.00 to leave the country, which she didn’t have. Her plane ticket cost $1000.00 with KLM Airlines. She asked if I could wire her the $600.00. She would pay me back when she returned. I’m on the verge of exploding since just a day earlier, I thought I was chatting with a real person in North Florida, not a fucking scammer in Nigeria, who probably wasn’t even female. Instead of logging off, I decided to do some police work.
I promised to send her/him the money. She/he/it asked me to send it through Western Union and gave me a name and address. I logged off. I googled articles on scamming and con artists. They were trying to pull off a romance scam on me, where the scammer poses as an attractive woman and asks the victim for money, while promising to travel to the victim’s country for romance or sex. Many men had fallen victim to this scam. Either they’re naive and stupid or they must be really lonely. Another vulnerable group are people in missionary related non-profits. If they hear a tear jerking story they’ll send money right away, believing they are acting as good christians.
I enter the phrase “Jaimey Daniel scam” in google. I find a website about scammers which talks about these tricks and describes their methods and conversations which sound eerily similar to my case. The “girls” are vague about their interests, they commit odd spelling and grammar mistakes. They’re also over-eager to meet you. Jaimey’s info appears; she/he has tried to pull this scam several times in the past 2 years. Jaimey had created fake profiles on several dating websites. Her pictures along with those of several other scammers had been taken from the website of a modeling agency in Hawaii (that would explain the exotic looks). I went to the agency’s website and there was the real person who is actually called Jaime Y. Con artists in Africa and Europe were using the model’s pictures. The agency had posted a notice stating that they were aware of, but had no connection to these scammers. Oddly enough, I felt bad for these models. That’s a first.
I called Yahoo’s customer service along with Match.com to report this scammer that way they can block and/or terminate their accounts. The representatives heard my story but from their tones I could tell they could give a rat’s ass about it. I found out financial crimes were handled by the U.S. Secret Service. After 20 minutes on the phone and no answer, I gave up. Shit, unless the scammers steal over a million dollars, nobody gives a fuck! I logged back on to Yahoo messenger and of course, “Jaimey” was there waiting. When she asked me how much money I had sent I responded that I had sent zero dollars and cents. I also said that I knew she/he was a scammer and had reported it to Yahoo and Match.com. I insulted the mother fucker several times too. They were taking me for an idiot. I told her/him to stop using the real Jaime’s pictures, to stop being a dick and get a real job. After my tirade they answer back saying they’re not a scammer, that they’re the real Jaimey and they’re in grave danger. Like I give a fuck. Anyway, guys out there, screw the internet, it’s better to stick to the bar when meeting women beacause if it’s too good to be true, it ain’t true.
