Outcast Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 The only safe assumption anyone can make is that they are a lousy judge of character. IMHO it's always a mistake to think you can figure people out. The smartest people have been conned because they thought they could tell who's a good person and who not. Really, the only way to find that out is when someone proves himself to you over time - just as you must prove yourself to people.
riobikini Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 Outcast, I have to agree...-but cons and scammers do rely, though, on people's everyday trust factor. You don't necessarily, try to judge every person you meet from a mind-set of grave suspicion...you simply are moving right along in life, -and then...!! Plus, -everyone is not an 'artist' at deceit, these people are awesome at what they do. The 'bad' only happens everyday in the life of those who make the art of scamming their living, -not true with the rest, who are doggedly working to make an honest living. -Rio
Mary3 Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 Rio I hope you don't mind my 2 cents here but I am flabbergasted that these crooks exists but sadly they do Serial Muse, -a few more of the details, as you wish...many of the complicated details are left out because this is still a board for posting short versions (if possible), and some parts of this can't be disclosed, just yet, for obvious reasons and is still ongoing.I respect you immensely and I hope you dont mind me hating this guy for doing this to you and adding my 2 cents to an unbeleiveble pr*** he was for doing this to you In his online profile, Mr. Crooked Romeo said he was in his late forties, a real estate agent, and owned his own business, as well as stating some very, very appealing personal details about himself (he did an awful lot of bragging, saying over and over that he was a romantic in every way). Dead giveaway when someone wastes precious time going into great detail about what they have, what they own , what kind of cars they drive, brag brag...just simply boring but he was trying to impress you He posted photos of his cars, including a silver Corvette, two BMWs, an expensive home in an exclusive area, Yup and what if he would have posted himself in the ghetto behind a trash dumpster with grafitti tagged all over it and his HD bike, as well as himself standing in front of some of them.I am going to assume that you put your income on your profile and a possible job desription ? Well, he was certainly not in his forties (mid fifties, -and looked every bit of it), so far there's nothing to date showing he ever had a real estate license, and the new business had just been formed ( he said 4-3 mos. old) with one man, living in Florida, as his partner.He's going to be whatever you want him to be to impress you. Thats why only 2% of men I have dated were like you described. I hardly believe anything on there . I want to meet them and deem what is truth and what is not It was a car sales promotions business which supposedly took him to several surrounding south-eastern states, with an occasional trip elsewhere. He said he was thinking about locating an office nearby and asked me which local banks were best to deal with.First alert . Banks. He specifically wanted to know how I rated my own personal bank and (I thought) seemed to be focusing his questions on their services, -not my own business banking relationship. But I was wrong.He wanted to know much much more He was cleverly obtaining information as to how well established I was with my banks in not only the business relationship I had with them, -but who I knew and how well I knew those who worked there.He was determing your relationship with the bank and if they trusted you. Later on, sticking with his plan, he chose to open an account at the bank where I had the best personal relationship with the employees.How weirdly conveinant. Anytime you have met someone new and they are talking banks and money , it just would seem strange to me. I would be on high alert. By now, you have some idea that this was going to be a check scam. You are correct. But this man also had several connected plans in the works, simultaneously, to obtain as much $$ from me, in other ways, too, in the shortest possible amount of time.Darn right he did. THats a Full Time job and he found his mark in you He was very good at using whatever I said casually to open a conversation that brought his plans, somehow, into play. For instance: I was looking to buy a new car ( coincidence with chagrin attached) when he came into the picture.He thought Oh she can afford a BMW or whatever , she must have money. What if you said you were looking for a used 2002 Kia ? Since he was in the 'car business', and "knew it well", he kindly offered to "look around" for the type of car I had in mind. Meanwhile, he reminded me, that he would also "assist me" in selling my old car (2001 Lincoln LS) as soon as I bought a new one.Thats a scarey thought that you would let this man assist you with anything financial He called me one day, sounding really excited about a BMW 5 series...had all the details...he'd been out of town...saw the model...thought I'd "just love it". Long story short: I was about to lose my car. And did.Sigh,.... But that didn't happen right away, -meanwhile, he was, as he began to state (I was surprised) that he was "falling in love". (Sure.)Falling in Love with the idea of sucking you dry financially.l He actually came across as a bit vulnerable, and sweet when he made those statements.Kind of like a puppy ? I wasn't in love with anybody...I hadn't known him long enough, nor was I (still) all that attracted to him...I was only in friendship mode. It kind of made me feel bad. I now, realize, that my feeling inadequate in response to his stated feelings was also, exactly what he wanted. He was a great psychologist in that he knew people's natural response to alot of actions, statements, and behavior. That's what made him such a successful scammer.And as we speak he is scamming someone out there Hopefully with your financial resources you can hire someone to track him down The third way he was planning to bilk me was in scamming me out of my house, and as much personal property and real estate he could suck into the deal. He began introducing comments of real estate investing into our conversations and even organized a trip to look at property he said he was interested in buying, himself, in Charleston, SC.The only thing he could buy is money he generated from women he stole from Now, he already knew that Charleston was one of my favorite week-end get-aways, because he'd pulled that out of me easily in benign, casual conversations over several weeks.He was an expert at extracting information He knew them all, and one by one, we ended up at each of those locations by coincidental 'chance' in connection with some bit of business he had there, etc. etc. He knew how to entertain me, delight me, with those little 'surprise' week-end trips. Part of the plan. Funny tho...I always wound up spending my money on him on these little trips he arranged...Right there that would have came to a dead stop. .whatever money he spent, looking back, was simply to prime what I spent. He was good. I was completely stupid.I think the fact that you were able to afford the trips changes the story if infact you were struggling waitress and he was a real sucessfull enteprenuer who paid for trips for you to both buy a home together. He knew you were financially stable and had no problem crying *lost wallet during dinner tabs and trips Short version of the check scam: he wanted to set up an account at a bank I banked at...he didn't "have the time" necessary to handle some of the arrangements. He dropped off a sizable check to me to use as opening account money....my bank, because they knew me so well, 'overlooked' a few rules, allowed me to set up his account for him.Funny how big checks and banks came into the picture so soon. He calls me the same day the account is set up, same day the check goes in...and says to me "If you will -I'm out of town- write a check for XXXXX.XX amount of dollars and mail it to so-and-so for me, -it's a bill that has to be paid immediately (location: Florida)...thanks, -you're a sweetheart"Wow okay let me write a check for $29.382.00 because he needs to pay a bill " I was floored. I said, "Look, this account was just opened, give it time for the money to show up."Warning right there He reminded me of the number of days the check would have to travel via snail mail to arrive on location in Florida and said he didn't think there would be a problem. Then he changed the subject and drifted off into other more pleasant -and distracting- conversation.Thats weird how this man was suddenly helpless and could not do anything for himself and needed you to write checks and handle finances . I guess he broke his hand.. It was stupid, -but I wrote the check out of the brand new account and mailed it for him, -even signing off on his name, as he had asked. The next day, the bank calls when he is out of town asking when he's coming in to complete the paperwork on the account...he "can't" make it (out of town excuse)...bank gets anxious....bank calls me and wants to close the account....Wow he cant make it and is now disabled in another way I immediately call Mr Romeo, he plays down the urgency of the problem and pretends to think for a moment or two, then he makes a bright suggestion: Why don't I cover the amount for him, until he returns from his trip? he says he'll "take care of the reimbursement" when he gets back.Sure write a check to cover him Because I had dealt with that particular bank for so many years, had business accounts there, knew the children of employees and watched them grow up, I felt I had no choice but to save my personal relationships with them, -so I covered the whole amount from one of my accounts. Temporarily, I thought. Simultaneous with this happening, Mr. Romeo had found a car for me....and was persistent in trying to get me to let him sell my Lincoln, -which was worth enough to fool with, by the retrospective look of things. I had not yet received the title nor transfer of ownership for the new car...(it was, -er, tied up and kept getting pushed back for some odd reason). Of course, he was 'handling' the whole deal. Shoot me ***now***. He was persistent enough to finally convince me to allow him to sell my old car without the settling of the new one. I won't even go into detail, here, -because it's too complicated, too sleek, and too obvious. Unless you're in the middle of something with someone who is such a fabulous career criminal as this guy, that is. Most of what he was trying to accomplish was apparently set to culminate in execution within three months time. That's the entire time I knew him. The clincher to his whole set-up never happened. I caught on...too late to retain some things, but, at least, I did catch on. Part of the reason I kept denying the obvious truth about what he was doing, was that he was so damned nice....believable. He didn't wind up getting my house and other property he had designs on..Thank God.that's because of a particular unexpected mistake he made...and it all blew up in his face. He took what he had bilked out of me and ran back to his home state, and has been avoiding contact ever since....except....to text me every so often to say, "I really, really enjoyed being with you....I think I am still in love with you". WTF???!!!!!Oh Please how many others is he telling this ? He got plenty out of me...much more than I have told you about,Yikes. This sickens me that this no good sonofa____ did this to you ! here, -the thing is, that I am very aware of, -is that I wasn't the only woman he was doing this to. He was working several women at a time. And, -like any working man works a full-time job with overtime, this man was working the internet dating sites, keeping the email exchanges hot.This is a high paying lucrative job this man has. He wont give it up til he goes to Prison Hope this gives you some of the details to watch for...and prevents this from happening to someone else.
Mary3 Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 You know it makes me want to put up a fake pic and an income of over $ 250,000 and see how many men will try to take me. Right now I have a sexy cute pic up and an income of $ 35.000 and just get hits for sex and players mostly looking for a good time. Still looking for Mr. Right ! All kidding aside I want to try this as an experiment and see how many scammers respond.
Art_Critic Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 You know it makes me want to put up a fake pic and an income of over $ 250,000 and see how many men will try to take me. On my online profile I used to mark the amount I make and finally removed it because of the type of women that were hitting on me .. They weren't just gold diggers but women with high spending lifestyles that I wanted nothing to do with.. Putting how much money you make just attracts the wrong people.. and besides who believes it when a guy says that they make 250k on their profile ?
MadDog Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 and besides who believes it when a guy says that they make 250k on their profile ? Just put a scan of an ATM receipt in your gallery.
Mary3 Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 Do you think I should do it AC ? Its the one site where I dont get alot of mail lol !
Art_Critic Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 Do you think I should do it AC ? Its the one site where I dont get alot of mail lol ! When I'm cruising looking for women on m a t c h I do have a tendacy to find women that earn above 100k..or even Self employed business owners.. but a business owner is more of a match for me.. so maybe they will hit on you more.. but if you don't make the money then they will find out quickly
Mary3 Posted April 7, 2006 Posted April 7, 2006 Well you see my intention is to see how many men will respond higher to a woman with high income as opposed to my previous pic of me showing off my cute tight jeans lol. This particular site I dont go to much but other sites I get alot of Hits. So I just changed it and put $ 150,000 income. If asked I will be honest and say I dont make that but this is an experiment, LOL ! ( I could care less because I have zero faith in Online and its just for fun now ) Read on below : My real goal is to see how many sharks there are looking for chicks making over $ 150,000. I honestly dont look on sites for men with high incomes. They look for me. If after talking on the phone and they have alot of qualities and dont spend ALL their time talking about what they own then ,yes. Recently I went out with a doctor I have known for 3 years. He picked me up in a Porsche. We went to a great dinner. He was handsome and romantic. I looked at him and wondered what it would be like to have him as a bf,. But he lives in Cali and I dont do LDR Lets see what happens...
amerikajin Posted April 8, 2006 Posted April 8, 2006 Online dating is a great way to meet people, but that's it. I would not have a long-distance relationship with someone I've met online, because you'll never get a chance to know who they really are. The online dating scene, in my view, has a higher percentage of people who lack social skills which are part and parcel of the dating process. This can manifest itself in the form of people who are just plain geeky, or people who ultimately turn out to be rotten. If someone does their homework and takes time to know the person, as they would in real life, then online dating should work without any problems.
Mary3 Posted April 8, 2006 Posted April 8, 2006 I felt so bad about the fake ad experiment that I deleted it when someone just sent me interest today. Its in *hiding* so to speak until I change it back. That felt weird to not tell the truth ..although I think people do pad their incomes sometimes...
riobikini Posted April 8, 2006 Posted April 8, 2006 Guys, here's another 'kicker': he belonged to (and was active in) one of the most well-known churches in the area, (one that is highly respected and renowned in the US), his dad (deceased now) was, indeed, a respected local minister in his area, and he had, in fact, after some investigating (afterwards, of course) been married to an extremely wealthy woman from a historically-established first family of the area...from whom he extracted much money from their divorce...she gave over twenty million to her son in a trust fund...guess who wound up getting custody of the kid in the divorce? ...the kid gets the money when he turns 23...he'll be turning 23 this year.....but due to his posh lifestyle, Mr. Crooked Romeo quickly spent all he got out of the divorce, and became involved in other less-decent ways of making money (he was used to the lifestyle) and he became a scam artist, a bookie, a fence...and probably lots of other things (I) and investigators have yet to discover. -Rio
riobikini Posted April 8, 2006 Posted April 8, 2006 -Plus, -we learned that he stuck his elderly dad in a nursing home where he wound up dying only a few months later...but only after he had sucked out every financial asset the man had worked hard for all his life. -Rio
Author jerbear Posted April 8, 2006 Author Posted April 8, 2006 To bad I can't get to him for white collar crimes.... yet.... especially crossing state lines would bring in the Feds.
Mary3 Posted April 9, 2006 Posted April 9, 2006 -Plus, -we learned that he stuck his elderly dad in a nursing home where he wound up dying only a few months later...but only after he had sucked out every financial asset the man had worked hard for all his life. -Rio Its bast**rds like this who deserve to rot in He**. He keeps doing this to people . Where is the karma ?
riobikini Posted April 9, 2006 Posted April 9, 2006 Re: Jerbear: "...crossing state lines would bring in the Feds. " Can;t say more, -but "Ditto!" And I'm sure it's interesting to them about his New Jersey ties...regards to his bookie biz... , (smile)... Re: Mary3: " It's bast**rds like this who deserve to rot in He**. He keeps doing this to people . Where is the karma ? " Proof, I think, that there is no 'karma', Mary. -Rio
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