My encounter with a filipino pro scammer

[blackcat22]

well actually all in the last week on a filipino dating site i'm registered with encountered both novice and pro scammer.


on the same week first had contact with a novice scammer

she is 18yr nursing student from zambales, within a few hrs of chatting she expressed her interest for me to visit her in her province sometimes in febuary 2010 which I accepted. on day 2 of chatting she wanted a laptop and asked to bring one for her in febuary, I declined this request and told her my first visit to her is really 'getting to know each other type of visit' and won't be bringing any luxery items such as laptops etc.. to her just yet(due to past experience) if everything will be fine on first visit and she accept me in person and I accept her and make second visit then she can have as many laptops in the world she wants.

Well, soon after bcoz of this she decided i'm a waste of space and stopped contact with me and moved on to the next man which I don't mind as I have successfully managed to weed out someone whose only interest in me is the laptop I will bring to her.


So now to the pro scammer:

on same week while on this dating site and instant message request popped up from a girl 26, apparently she liked my profile and will like to chat, she looks ok so I accepted and we moved over to yahoo messenger.

During our conversation, she sent me 4 other pics of her can't verify if the person in the pics is who I was chatting to as she made an excuse when I asked her to go on webcam.

So she claimed she already been to UK last year, she was invited by her ex-boyfriend to UK on visitor VISA and spent couple of months here, she then said she packed her bags and returned back to phils when she found out her bfriend she was with in UK was cheating on her with another woman. I sais I find this very hard to believe and I said I couldnt understand how a man can go through hassle of travelling to phils to date and filipino woman, get her VISA and bring her to England only to start cheating on her, this I find very hard to believe but she insisted that was what happened. She asked where I live, I said cambridge. Then I asked her where she lived when she was in England, she returned back with huntingdon and said very close to me. It immediately struck me how well she spelled huntingdon correctly even I struggle with correct spelling which make me think she might have quickly typed in google search something like "cities near cambridge" and just copied and pasted one of the result.

Ok, so to cut a long story short, she invited me over to phils and she will also like to visit UK again and would love to come back with me on my first visit to her but first we must arrange her visitors VISA in advance of my visit. So I said sure I'll help out, and aske what can I do to help. I already know what documents is needed to apply for visitors VISA but I asked her what she needs then she listed as below

invitation letter
bank statements -6 months
wage slips -6 months
zoom or western union transfer receipts *


I asked why zoom or western union tranfer receipts, she said it's needed to show I supported her already in phils and will continue to support her if she arrive in England. With this she is giving me hints to send money to her via zoom or western union so we can have the receipt as evidence in VISA application.

now, i'm 100% sure as soon as I send her money via zoom or western union to get the receipt she claim is needed for VISA she will dissappear without trace and grining all the way to the bank, or she might even stay in contact to see if she can milk me more


two reasons I think she is a pro scammer:

1) She cunningly avoided contacting me on the dating site with direct message which I can later use to track her profile and report to site admin for deletion. She used almost untraceable popup IM instead. scammers hate having to keep re-creating profiles after one profile is exposed as scam so her method ensures her profile never get reported to site admin so she can keep using the same profile for years

2) The cunning way she probably used google search to nearly convince me she already been to England and know this cities


what do you all think about her claim using zoom or western union receipts as part of evidence for visitor VISA application?

[aromulus]

what do you all think about her claim using zoom or western union receipts as part of evidence for visitor VISA application?

As proof of support...???

Quite good in fact.:)

[vbkelly]

well actually all in the last week on a filipino dating site i'm registered with encountered both novice and pro scammer.


on the same week first had contact with a novice scammer

she is 18yr nursing student from zambales, within a few hrs of chatting she expressed her interest for me to visit her in her province sometimes in febuary 2010 which I accepted. on day 2 of chatting she wanted a laptop and asked to bring one for her in febuary, I declined this request and told her my first visit to her is really 'getting to know each other type of visit' and won't be bringing any luxery items such as laptops etc.. to her just yet(due to past experience) if everything will be fine on first visit and she accept me in person and I accept her and make second visit then she can have as many laptops in the world she wants.

Well, soon after bcoz of this she decided i'm a waste of space and stopped contact with me and moved on to the next man which I don't mind as I have successfully managed to weed out someone whose only interest in me is the laptop I will bring to her.


So now to the pro scammer:

on same week while on this dating site and instant message request popped up from a girl 26, apparently she liked my profile and will like to chat, she looks ok so I accepted and we moved over to yahoo messenger.

During our conversation, she sent me 4 other pics of her can't verify if the person in the pics is who I was chatting to as she made an excuse when I asked her to go on webcam.

So she claimed she already been to UK last year, she was invited by her ex-boyfriend to UK on visitor VISA and spent couple of months here, she then said she packed her bags and returned back to phils when she found out her bfriend she was with in UK was cheating on her with another woman. I sais I find this very hard to believe and I said I couldnt understand how a man can go through hassle of travelling to phils to date and filipino woman, get her VISA and bring her to England only to start cheating on her, this I find very hard to believe but she insisted that was what happened. She asked where I live, I said cambridge. Then I asked her where she lived when she was in England, she returned back with huntingdon and said very close to me. It immediately struck me how well she spelled huntingdon correctly even I struggle with correct spelling which make me think she might have quickly typed in google search something like "cities near cambridge" and just copied and pasted one of the result.

Ok, so to cut a long story short, she invited me over to phils and she will also like to visit UK again and would love to come back with me on my first visit to her but first we must arrange her visitors VISA in advance of my visit. So I said sure I'll help out, and aske what can I do to help. I already know what documents is needed to apply for visitors VISA but I asked her what she needs then she listed as below

invitation letter
bank statements -6 months
wage slips -6 months
zoom or western union transfer receipts *


I asked why zoom or western union tranfer receipts, she said it's needed to show I supported her already in phils and will continue to support her if she arrive in England. With this she is giving me hints to send money to her via zoom or western union so we can have the receipt as evidence in VISA application.

now, i'm 100% sure as soon as I send her money via zoom or western union to get the receipt she claim is needed for VISA she will dissappear without trace and grining all the way to the bank, or she might even stay in contact to see if she can milk me more


two reasons I think she is a pro scammer:

1) She cunningly avoided contacting me on the dating site with direct message which I can later use to track her profile and report to site admin for deletion. She used almost untraceable popup IM instead. scammers hate having to keep re-creating profiles after one profile is exposed as scam so her method ensures her profile never get reported to site admin so she can keep using the same profile for years

2) The cunning way she probably used google search to nearly convince me she already been to England and know this cities


what do you all think about her claim using zoom or western union receipts as part of evidence for visitor VISA application?

that's the real scammer bro don't send any penny to them coz they are smell fishy to me.

[South-east boy]

Would what she was proposing work for a visa? As basically she would be applying for it before you would have even met each other as she said about coming back with you after you have gone over there to meet. Would that not flag up to them that she is saying yes, she will come before she's even met you and seen how you get on?

[aromulus]

It seems to me that they are both looking for the extra gullible "Kano", the one that doesn't ask questions, and believes in fairy stories, and maybe that Elvis is still alive....

Keep on looking.:xxgrinning--00xx3:
And good luck.:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Doc Alan]

It will be interesting to know what others think. You are right, of course, to be cynical and seek advice here. However, the student nurse probably has school fees (4000 pesos or over £50/month), semester fees (15000 pesos or £200 twice yearly), books, subsistence, internet access (6000 pesos or £60/month) for the four years leading to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing ; if her family can't support her she will not afford her own laptop. The "pro scammer" knows what documents she needs because she has already been to the UK, and as Aromulus says, Zoom or Western Union receipts are quite good proof of support.
My main concern is the speed of both these encounters. "Festinare lente" is Latin for "Make haste slowly" ! Get to know the filipinas on Yahoo messenger by all means; you can always delete / block them if they are unsuitable.

[pacificelectric]

If all the suckers from the Western World gave in to this type of request for a laptop, assuredly the Phils would have the highest rate of computer per inhabitant in the whole world. "My sister wants to sell the only computer we have to buy grocery, how can we communicate then??" (that's what I was told long ago by a scammer...)

Well, snail mail works, after all! just two weeks from the Gaisano Mall PO
to my place here in France! :icon_lol:

Seriously don't waste your time, there are enough honest and true Pinays around!

[Arthur Little]

... she can have as *many laptops in the world she wants.

CAN she, indeed? :Erm: ... Seeing as you seem to have *SO MANY laptops at your disposal, d'you think I might have one, please? :icon_lol:

[joebloggs]

. I already know what documents is needed to apply for visitors VISA but I asked her what she needs then she listed as below

invitation letter
bank statements -6 months
wage slips -6 months
zoom or western union transfer receipts *


I asked why zoom or western union tranfer receipts, she said it's needed to show I supported her already in phils and will continue to support her if she arrive in England. With this she is giving me hints to send money to her via zoom or western union so we can have the receipt as evidence in VISA application.

now, i'm 100% sure as soon as I send her money via zoom or western union to get the receipt she claim is needed for VISA she will dissappear without trace and grining all the way to the bank, or she might even stay in contact to see if she can milk me more


surely you can ask her where she visited when she was in Huntingdon ?

as for zoom or western union if your supporting her visit visa app, you need to show what money you have in your bank in the UK, not what money you've given to her or your supporting her :doh your not applying for a fiancée or spouse visa :D

why do you need to show you have supported her in the phils ?? :NoNo: you need to show you have enough finances in your bank to support her while shes here in the UK , so she will not need recourse to puiblic funds :doh

[Sim11UK]

CAN she, indeed? :Erm: ... Seeing as you seem to have *SO MANY laptops at your disposal, d'you think I might have one, please? :icon_lol:

Arthur you're turning into a scammer :yikes:

[filipina_owl]

Beware of these scammers. I have heard a lot of stories from my friends saying that they know someone who's a gay that looks like a real woman looking for men to victimized on dating websites and chat rooms. You wouldn't recognize that they're gay because when you see them on webcam, they're really look like a girl, long hair, pretty face and with cleavage. Once they ask for money to send in western union, then you have it. So better be careful and be extra patient and dont fall for someone whom you dont exactly know the background. Just be cautious.

[Sim11UK]

Maybe she has been to Huntingdon, maybe she hasn't, who knows?

But don't get involved.
The golden rule is never give anything to someone you haven't met, just only your time, if you think the signs are good.

Make sure they use a cam, as it really could be anybody. :NoNo:
Don't entertain them, if they wont.

The only request a genuine woman will make, is "When are you coming to visit me".

[triple5]

Spend enough time on dating sites and its only a matter of time before you'll come across scammers. You'll find most of them operate in the wee small hours (PI time), when the lonely western gents are more likely to be surfing. Get online early morning when the good girls are coming online after work or college.

Anybody mentioning anything to do with money within the first few weeks delete them from your list and move on.

[bornatbirth]

Anybody mentioning anything to do with money within the first few weeks delete them from your list and move on.

shouldnt that be the first 5 mins,if they take a few weeks asking for money then i wouldnt suggest there pro scammers :icon_lol:

[triple5]

shouldnt that be the first 5 mins,if they take a few weeks asking for money then i wouldnt suggest there pro scammers :icon_lol:

:icon_lol: yep you're right mate. i got scammed after almost a year of chatting + one visit, so you never can tell. They should have an acadamy awards category for some of these ladies :D

[bornatbirth]

:icon_lol: yep you're right mate. i got scammed after almost a year of chatting + one visit, so you never can tell. They should have an acadamy awards category for some of these ladies :D

maybe it took that long to open your wallet :icon_lol: but then again some girls chat to so many guys at once,im surprised they remember everybody :Erm:

[triple5]

maybe it took that long to open your wallet :icon_lol:

That was pretty quick for me tbh :D And it was only coz it was an emergency - her father's, cousin's, niece's, uncle's carabou was sick :icon_lol:

[South-east boy]

When you're a full member on a dating site, it gets a little tiresome of all the ones trying to chat to you, especially when they don't really know how to make conversation or say much on their profile. I was a bit more selective in who I was looking for in that I wanted someone who had a job, had qualifications, wasn't too young, made an effort with their profile & what they said + seemed friendly, caring, honest and made an effort when sending me messages. So many just want the easy way of chatting on web-cam and don't like to put in too much effort.

[Steve.r]

It is a shame that there are so many scammers, but there are scammers all over the world, even here in the Uk.
I have not needed to use dating sites as I met my Mahal in Singapore while at a convention, but in the 7 months that we were apart and only communicating by phone and internet/webcam she never asked me for a penny.A few of you might know, I have just returned from the Philippines after my first visit to her home, and again she asked me for nothing, just my love. Of course I treated my Mahal and her family to a few days out and some lovely food, but it felt right and I wanted to.
Take time to find the 'beautiful, genuine' ladies on your dating site, they will be there, just be cautious.
Your story echos with another friend of mine, who is being plagued by a lady who keeps telling him that her grandmother needs medical care and she needs money. Now it could well be true.....but I told him to move on. I think you just need to be hard, you will know when it is right, you'll feel it.

Steve

[triple5]

I was a bit more selective in who I was looking for in that I wanted someone who had a job, had qualifications, wasn't too young, made an effort with their profile & what they said + seemed friendly, caring, honest and made an effort when sending me messages.

Did you find that needle in the haystack? From the little time I spent on such sites those type of girls are few and far between.

[South-east boy]

:icon_lol: yep you're right mate. i got scammed after almost a year of chatting + one visit, so you never can tell. They should have an acadamy awards category for some of these ladies :D

Sorry to hear what happened after you spent all that time and money while knowing her, especially with flying to see her. Looking back where there any signs that she might not have been genuine that you missed or dismissed at the time?

[triple5]

Sorry to hear what happened after you spent all that time and money while knowing her, especially with flying to see her. Looking back where there any signs that she might not have been genuine that you missed or dismissed at the time?

Cheers, but it was all worth it. through her brother-in-law I met somebody very special, and yeh there were plenty of signs there. I'd like to think it was my destiny, that my subconscious was inadvertently leading me to somebody better, but it's probably more a case of me just being a naive fool :icon_lol:

[South-east boy]

Did you find that needle in the haystack? From the little time I spent on such sites those type of girls are few and far between.

I think so, but have yet to meet her, but want to as soon as I can-just that the current economy has affected my pay quite a bit, so is making it a lot harder for me to get out there. It did take me about 7 months on & off the sites to find her though. I used to get so many messages from girls that just said 'Hi!' and like I said don't really have any info on their profile about themselves. I think that more genuine people will put in the time for you if they like you rather than someone that can send a 100 messages to 100 guys just saying 'Hi!'

[South-east boy]

Cheers, but it was all worth it. through her brother-in-law I met somebody very special, and yeh there were plenty of signs there. I'd like to think it was my destiny, that my subconscious was inadvertently leading me to somebody better, but it's probably more a case of me just being a naive fool :icon_lol:

That's good that through a wrong one, that you found the right one, Funny how things work out! If it works out with Suzie and me, then I guess it will have been a little similar as well.

[bornatbirth]

I think so, but have yet to meet her, but want to as soon as I can-just that the current economy has affected my pay quite a bit, so is making it a lot harder for me to get out there. It did take me about 7 months on & off the sites to find her though. I used to get so many messages from girls that just said 'Hi!' and like I said don't really have any info on their profile about themselves. I think that more genuine people will put in the time for you if they like you rather than someone that can send a 100 messages to 100 guys just saying 'Hi!'

maybe they get bored filling in a good profile only to be diappointed by the contact they have made :Erm:

i have to admit trawling the internet to find someone took a few years but i was only casually looking and you do get many contacting you,it can become a drag :ARsurrender:

thats why you need to be fussy :D

[Tawi2]

The thing is just because a lady asks a guy for money doesnt necessarily(did I spell that right?Its always one of those words that flummox me:Erm:)mean she is a scammer,hard times makes people do things totally out of character,you have to have been there and experienced it to appreciate it,here in the UK if we take a fall we mostly land on a thick shag-pile carpet,over there its a cold bare-packed earth floor,your never going to starve to death or die from lack of medical care in the UK,in pinas its sometimes a distinct possibility your going to go to bed with an empty stomach.
As for women,truthfully,if you meet your woman online your limiting yourself.I have in 20 years probably had relationships of one form or another and of varying durations with quite a number of pinays,havent met a single one online,met them in differing social environments,if your going why fix up several to meet:Erm:A lot of these ladies are also playing the game because of sex-hunters,loads of guys get onto dating sites and arrange to meet 6-7-8-15 or whatever number of women in their months vacation with the intention of bedding as many as possible,swings and roundabouts,pinays here get bad rep for scamming for cash,western guys there get equally bad rep as palikeros :ARsurrender:Swim with the sharks expect to get bitten,and some of those "Pinay" dating sites sound like a carcharadon feeding frenzy:cwm24:

[Tawi2]

Better add I have an Armani jacket hanging in the passage,and was offered a free flight to Pinas,both gifts,they arent all after your cash,some pinays could buy and sell you and me twice over,they just dont visit online dating sites thats all :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[bornatbirth]

does it really matter why they ask for money :Erm: or guys want sex.

you dont see many posting here that a filipina keeps giving the guys money for there trip to see them :D

[Tawi2]

As you yourself said BAB................."You need to be fussy" :) I never accepted the flight but the offer was genuine:)

[South-east boy]

The thing is just because a lady asks a guy for money doesnt necessarily(did I spell that right?Its always one of those words that flummox me:Erm:)mean she is a scammer,hard times makes people do things totally out of character,you have to have been there and experienced it to appreciate it,here in the UK if we take a fall we mostly land on a thick shag-pile carpet,over there its a cold bare-packed earth floor,your never going to starve to death or die from lack of medical care in the UK,in pinas its sometimes a distinct possibility your going to go to bed with an empty stomach.
As for women,truthfully,if you meet your woman online your limiting yourself.I have in 20 years probably had relationships of one form or another and of varying durations with quite a number of pinays,havent met a single one online,met them in differing social environments,if your going why fix up several to meet:Erm:A lot of these ladies are also playing the game because of sex-hunters,loads of guys get onto dating sites and arrange to meet 6-7-8-15 or whatever number of women in their months vacation with the intention of bedding as many as possible,swings and roundabouts,pinays here get bad rep for scamming for cash,western guys there get equally bad rep as palikeros :ARsurrender:


That word always gets me too! :icon_lol:

I guess it wouldn't be so bad if when they did ask for money, that you knew that it was genuine, it's just that we know a lot of them are not and they make things harder for the genuine ones. Things would be easier if everyone told the truth! :icon_lol: Did anyone see that film recently at the cinema?!

Most girls that I've gone out with or had dates with have been from dating sites. It's not really the way that I would have liked to have met them, but it's not easy for me to meet possible partners. I don't work with many people and the ones that I do are older and married etc, most friends are coupled up or work shift work, so I don't have many single friends to go out with socialising when there might be a possibility of meeting someone. I'm also fairly quiet/shy so not so great at meeting & chatting to girls that I don't know!

[blackcat22]

last year I went to phils to meet a girl for first time and packed my bags full of laptops, dresses shoes etc.. totalling £800 in gifts but after meeting her in person and handing over the giifts couple of days later she begin to show some terrible personality and behaviour which never manifest during long distance webchat/phone chat etc..

This one is not a scammer, she cried her eyes out when I broke off the relationship. After spending a few days with her I knew this is not the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, but I've already spend £800 on this woman. How I wished I had waited till at least second visit before spending so much on luxury gifts.

Now I promised myself on first visit I only take small souvenir gifts, nothing too expensive

This is the reason why I declined the student nurse request to bring laptop for her on my first visit.

[blackcat22]

last year I went to phils to meet a girl for first time and packed my bags full of laptops, dresses shoes etc.. totalling £800 in gifts but after meeting her in person and handing over the giifts couple of days later she begin to show some terrible personality and behaviour which never manifest during long distance webchat/phone chat etc..

This one is not a scammer, she cried her eyes out when I broke off the relationship. After spending a few days with her I knew this is not the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, but I've already spend £800 on this woman. How I wished I had waited till at least second visit before spending so much on luxury gifts.

Now I promised myself on first visit I only take small souvenir gifts, nothing too expensive

This is the reason why I declined the student nurse request to bring laptop for her on my first visit.

[landa]

...and handing over the giifts couple of days later she begin to show some terrible personality and behaviour which never manifest during long distance webchat/phone chat etc..

i just wonder.. what kind of bad behaviour/personality did she show?

[SteveTalaga]

...now, i'm 100% sure as soon as I send her money via zoom or western union to get the receipt she claim is needed for VISA she will dissappear without trace and grining all the way to the bank, or she might even stay in contact to see if she can milk me more...Definately the latter - Why would he/she disappear once they have got your confidence and convinced you to send the first money over :doh. It costs them nothing to keep milking you and by disappearing they are just cutting off a revenue stream.

Much better to stop all discussions about a visa until you have actually met each other face to face and really tested if you are that serious about each other. Same goes for any funding request until you actually have a relationship between you. I'm sure there will be all sorts of stories about sick relatives etc etc but if you want to help, there are many registered charities and good causes in The Philippines where you have a better chance of getting your hard-earned readies to a deserving cause rather than to a scammer.

Don't mean to sound too negative but I do know a few Brits that have been duped by the small minority who are scammers. Good to see you spotted it early!

[SteveTalaga]

The thing is just because a lady asks a guy for money doesnt necessarily (did I spell that right?Its always one of those words that flummox me)....I always remember at school my English teacher telling us that "It is necessary to eat water cress". As in neCeSSary and CreSS - 1 C and 2 S's.

[Tawi2]

Ta for that :xxgrinning--00xx3:that little ditty makes it easier to remember,wish I had paid attention at school back in the day :)

[hannah sheila]

dont focus on one site only... like dating site.. some people are not real... maybe that site is not yours... like meee i have alot of site and have a dating site too, but i look my man in hi5.. he found me there.. and ask mee if i am interested to meet him, and then i said yes then he plan to visit philippines then we meet in airport... then we use yahoo messenger when he go back in england.. then until then we stil together and planning to get married... juz try look other site and look the profile if she is good backround... and try to know her better..

[blackcat22]

have dropped them both and made a run for it ha

thanks all

[blackcat22]

i just wonder.. what kind of bad behaviour/personality did she show?

like yelling when she is talking to people and had to control her "stop yelling when you talk to people"

well, also sniffing thru my baggage behind my back, not to steal anything but to check if I have document from other women I guess. I have no problem with that but when a lady does that on first meeting how far will she go once you're properly dating and living together?


she did have some good points but the bad ones outweighed the good one for me I guess.