Single women often look for a way to exchange at least a few nice words with someone. They’re not looking for great romances – most of them, at least. Some have husbands, families and partners, and talking to someone you met online is not forbidden. However, it is worth being careful. After I received a message from one of the readers – 68-year-old Barbara * from Krotoszyn, I decided that it was worth looking into the case and started my “little investigation”.
Fraudsters prey on women. It starts with a friend request on Facebook
A few years ago there was a lot of talk about scams via e-mail. It turned out that we were beneficiaries of estates, an unknown family member wanted to find us, or someone had to sell diamonds and we would get a share of the profit if we transferred $1,000. Although we can still find such e-mails in our spam inbox, most of us are aware that it is a scam, i.e. a scam that uses various communication channels, including the Internet.
Now the thieves have moved to Facebook. They prowl where we should be seemingly safe, after all, this is a space for our friends, you need to add yourself to the group of friends to be able to (theoretically) talk to someone.
My grandchildren set up an account for me. They wanted to talk to me and send pictures. Out of boredom, I started joining some groups where you could find nice pictures, wishes of a good day. People were posting photos, it was nice, everyone wished merry Christmas or good luck. I thought it was a group for seniors, a friendly place
says Barbara. It turned out differently. Under one of the comments, Barbara got a reply from a certain Klaus. The man wrote that he really likes what he shares, regrets that they are not friends and would like to get to know her better. Barbara did not reply to the first message. A few days later, he commented again on something she liked on Facebook. This time she agreed to add him as a friend.
The conversation with Klaus is the same with each of the women – first you ask to go to another portal, and then extort money Facebook / Own source
He had a very nice face, he was handsome. I know I sound like a teenager now, but I wasn’t aware that was a bad thing
the woman admits. They began to write to each other – it turned out that Klaus is an orthopedic doctor, has a son, Perry, and is a widower. It later emerged that he was stationed in the Gaza Strip in Palestine and could not communicate via Facebook.
Although there was a big age difference between them – Klaus claimed he was 55 and the woman was 68 – Barbara says she became involved in the relationship as a teenager. She felt lonely and the man was very nice. They wrote to each other every day, he asked about her life and family, she asked about him. In the end, he decided that using social media was not safe for him because he was controlled in a war zone. He asked to switch to WhatsApp.
Klaus’ declarations of love sounded like a dream come true to Barbara Facebook / Source: own
I didn’t know what it was, but I asked my neighbor’s daughter for help. She explained how it works, how to add friends, she added something. So…I gave him my number. He wrote in a new place, said how much he loved me that he wanted to come to Poland
– he confesses. The woman did not think about the fact that Klaus, allegedly German, speaks Polish fluently. He was pious and often wrote to her in verse, assuring her of his warm feelings. The age difference was not supposed to be a problem, the man was looking for someone who would take care of him and his son, he even talked about getting married. At the same time, Klaus asked what the woman’s relatives do, where she lives, whether she would be ready to be associated with him permanently. They confessed their feelings, emphasized how beautiful she was, until one day he disappeared.
He called back after three days and I was dying of anxiety. Finally, he wrote that his 12-year-old son, who was studying in England, had an accident and he was unable to leave the war zone. Help and financial support were needed. The money had to be sent to the indicated account.
Today, Barbara knocks on the head and says that she was naive. The amount, as for the pensioner, was large, almost five thousand zlotys, because Klaus asked for 1,000 pounds. Although the woman did not know how to do it, she went to the bank with the account number. She deposited the amount in the window and the warning light did not come on, even when the woman behind the window asked if she was sure she wanted to send it because “it’s a foreign account”.
Fraudsters do not disguise themselves – they can write one comment after another Facebook / Own source
After the money was gone from her account, Klaus spoke once, thanking her for her help. Then he disappeared. He blocked her and the whole conversation disappeared from the messenger. That’s why he wanted to switch to WhatsApp to easily cover his tracks. When asked if she had reported the matter to the police, she confessed that she was too ashamed and now had to pay for her mistakes.
Klaus is not the only one. There are dozens like him
After talking to Barbara, I decided I needed to see for myself what these online romances were all about. The lack of verification of Facebook accounts means that even I can become someone else overnight. I added myself to the group that Barbara was talking about, and I started contributing. It took literally a few hours to find more “nice gentlemen”. They hook in exactly the same way:
- one of the cheaters writes that he wants to be our friend, but will not send an invitation without permission;
- another informs that he is fascinated by our photos and wants to get to know us better,
- Klaus tells us that he likes what we write,
- yet another sends us requests, but we do not respond, and he suffers,
- and the next attracts attention with thousands of emojis and talk about blessing.
Among them, there is also a woman who claims to be a widow, unable to have children, suffering from cancer and wanting to transfer some of her wealth to someone because she is dying. Some, such as Magdalena, will recognize a fraudster and write that she “went to the wrong address”, but there are also those who will be fooled.
Women’s profiles are also involved in Facebook scams. Scamsters offer inheritance money Source: Facebook
I spoke to women whose comments were written off by scammer accounts. Most of them were not aware that there was actually someone on the other side who wanted to hurt them. A few decided to tell more about love conquests.
The general, who speaks perfect Polish, writes in such a way that he can steal a lonely heart. He was also looking for love on the Internet at one time. He introduced himself as a 68-year-old soldier stationed in the Middle East and about to retire. The age difference between him and Krystyna, whom he had chosen as a target, was not great, but the woman was intrigued by the fact that she spoke Polish very well. He replied that he was using a translator but was from North Carolina in the United States. Now he was supposed to be stationed somewhere in Syria.
He didn’t want to believe I was 71. I convinced myself that I was telling the truth, that I wasn’t lying. After a week, I sent him a photo of my ID card
Christina admitted. James was to have a son, Richard, who was also fascinated by the woman. Contact with him ended as suddenly as it had begun. Two months later, Krystyna received a call from a popular payday loan with a repayment order.
Someone took credit for my details… only he saw my ID and had records, I doubt it’s my kids.
One of the women wrote to me asking to remain anonymous. She let herself be tricked into writing with him, thinking it would be something special. She was warned in time by her children, whom she confided in her new acquaintance. At first she was furious that they did not understand her feelings and love, only then she realized that she almost fell victim to a cheater.
How do they react when someone writes openly that they are hustlers? They begin to delete their comments from their profiles, pretending to women in love that “hackers broke into their account”.
We often don’t know how to verify scammers
How can you check if the person who writes to us really exists? The easiest way is to simply type her name into a Google or Facebook search engine. In the case of James W. Lukeman, one of the first results is a website where, since 2021, there has been a conversation about the general’s scam accounts. It turns out that this figure is genuine – there is indeed such a military man, and his photos are real. This leads to identity theft and impersonation, which is punishable by law. Hundreds of James profiles can be found on Facebook. Is any genuine? I don’t think so.
People all over the world are being deceived by General James Screenshot: https://www.quora.com/Is-General-James-W-Lukeman-being-used-in-a-scam
It’s much harder to verify Klaus – he’s less popular, and there are several profiles of people with the same name on Facebook. One of them, although he comes from Berlin and lives in Gaza, speaks Serbian very well. What’s more … he warns others that someone “enters his profile and asks for money from women.” I tried to contact him, but unfortunately he does not reply to my messages. Klaus, on the other hand, who talked to Barbara and accosted other women, is very eager to contact anyone, including me, using exactly the same tricks as with my interlocutor.
I tried to contact the real Klaus, the man is aware that someone is impersonating him Source: Facebook
There are also a dozen or so Williams and Waynes – each of them works in the US Army and currently lives in Saudi Arabia. They have the same photos and information. They write to women in Polish, often phishing data, but after some time also entering their accounts.
William S. uses the same method as other scammers Screenshot: Facebook / Own source
So what can be done? How to protect yourself against identity and money theft? Keep common sense. It would be easy to say that women should not accept invitations from strangers. However, loneliness makes them look for entertainment or a warm word also on the Internet. Therefore, if you are already in such an unusual relationship, talk to a friend about a new acquaintance or someone close to you. As he advises, verify who you have on the other side, do not send any money, do not share photos of your family or apartment. Do not show your ID card, passport, social security number or home address.
If you are a victim of online fraud – you have the right to file a police report. You don’t have to worry about being thought careless. Cybercrime happens, but it’s important not to let the scammers win. On the other side of the phone or computer there are people ready to rob you in cold blood.
*Due to the protection of personal data, names and data have been changed for the purposes of this article.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
