Love has nothing to do with romance scams because there is NO love! It’s all a lie. It’s just an insidious plan to break your heart and empty your wallet.
It’s all a lie, even if they may come across as loving and caring people who are very attentive to your emotional needs.
It’s all a lie when they quickly declare their love for you, they shower you with affection and compliments, and you have their ultimate attention. None of it is real. It’s all part of their grooming process.
There is no remorse on their part, either.
Scammers call their victims ‘clients’ because, to them, in their book of deceit, scamming is just business. So, they have no victims; they have clients.
I recently watched a video interview with a scammer. It was the chilling moment of truth when the scammer was confronted by the interviewer about his sextortion victims taking their lives. He casually told the cameras that he did not feel bad about those teenagers killing themselves.
In another video interview, a couple of Sakawa boys (the Ghanaian version of Yahoo boys) told the interviewer that, through scamming, they get back what’s owed to them. They are referring to colonising countries, such as Britain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, and to what they did to their countries.
These are professional criminals, and they use manipulative psychological techniques to hook you in, keep you in their cage as a prisoner, isolate you so you cannot get help and mould you into a puppet to serve their needs.
Their main objective is to get your money, and the harsh truth is that they do not care if they destroy you during the process.
At the end of the day, they are ruthless, heartless scam artists, and this is what they do for a living.
Once they get their deceiving tentacles attached to you, there is no solid argument or support from your loved ones that will save you. Most victim-survivors of romance scams reported that they felt like they were under a spell; they did many things that they would never do.
This is the reason why my anti-scam advocate friends and I are trying to warn people before any scammer gets to them. Because after all the damage is done, all we can provide is support to lessen the burden of being scammed.
So, please…
- Make your social media accounts private.
- Do not share your personal details (email, date of birth, home address or work location, phone number, etc.) with anyone online.
- Never, EVER, send private photos or videos to anyone.
- Do not accept friend requests coming from total strangers. Only let people in if you know them in real life.
- Be sceptical. Watch for the signs and red flags.
- Never send money to people you’ve met online, even if it’s just a gift card.
- Educate yourself on romance scams. Read our tips to safeguard yourself against romance scammers here:
Be aware of:
- Total strangers who approach you online, profess their love for you very quickly, and start love-bombing.
- People try to build a connection quite quickly. They often do this by showing vulnerability and engaging in risky behaviours from an emotional perspective.
- People with a job somewhere they can’t talk to you on the phone or do video talk — there is usually a nonsensical story about it, such as being in a secret mission in Yemen or Afghanistan.
- People who ask you to pay or buy something.
Most importantly, don’t let strangers into your life. Period.
