Nigerian dating scam

by Anonymous

I met a man on an internet dating site who introduced himself to me as Aspen Mckay, caucasian, 40 yrs. old from 35 1st Street, Bezuidenhout Valley, Johannesburg, South Africa 2094 and he conned me out of my life savings.

He said he's an American (born in Tallahasee, Florida) who moved to South Africa with his daughter Georgia when his wife died from childbirth so his mother named Christiana (Kristy) Mckay (who is South African) could help him take care of the child.

He used the email address a.philmckay@yahoo.com. He asked me to send the first money wire via Western Union addressed to Aspen Mckay to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The next money wire he asked me to address to a certain Kayode Philip of 12 Old Plank Road, Vicotira Island, Lagos, Nigeria, Africa 23401 also via Western Union.

Through the 6 months that we were communicating with each other (almost everyday), he gave me sob stories such as a big business deal of his gone bad, he was in serious trouble because of this and stood to lose everything they own, his daughter was hospitalized for Malaria and Typhoid, then he was hospitalized because of a terrible car accident and then he was hospitalized again for high blood pressure until his so-called "Mum" emailed me a couple of days ago to tell me that he died.

I was devastated and today, my friend who was skeptical about this guy's whole story suggested I check out these scam sites and I realized, I had been a victim of a scam. I believe he's a Nigerian dating scammer because the mobile phone number he gave me was (234)8139436268.

I checked and (234) is the country code for Nigeria, not Johannesburg. Plus, he had asked me to send the last money wire to Lagos, Nigeria where he claimed the hospital head office where he and his daughter had been confined is located. I also checked on the internet if there is really a St. Claire Hospital in Johannesburg and of course, as it turns out, the hospital doesn't exist, at least not in Johannesburg.

I am a highly-educated woman with a Bachelor's Degree who is not easily fooled. However, I believe these scammers succeed in what they do because they are very good in their craft, they send you photos that do not look like they were taken by a professional (this guy even sent me photos from childhood, to his teenage years, to his early adult years to the most recent ones and they were very consistent to make me believe that he is one and the same person), they give you a home address and their mobile phone number (of course, the address is not their real address), they keep in constant communication with you, they remember every little detail about you, they win you over by sending you flowers, they are very skilled in interpersonal communication so they are eventually able to win your trust and more importantly, they capitalize on the compassion of decent people.

Then, they go in for the kill and leave you broke and heart-broken.