Scammer using Charles Moore name from Coffee Meets Bagel

We chatted for 2 months before I realized I was talking to a scammer. He supposedly was from Orlando (though his profile said he went to school in Miami), but works in the same city as me, Boston, MA. But then he supposedly was sent to Abu Dhabi for work for a week which ended up being a month and counting.

He fits the typical profile of a scammer for the most part: works in engineering, tragic family deaths (his parents had both died), abroad for work, months pass and unable to meet, professes love without even meeting, said he was half American and half Australian but when we talked on the phone his accent was definitely neither (not sure what it was), when trying to Skype the connection dies quick so I only see him for a second, etc. A couple of things that were not 'typical' for a scammer: his written English was very good and we were both on our 30's (typically it's a younger scammer going after an older victim).

He was quite attentive and quite patient. I had no idea until our 'failed' Skype and then accent on the phone. Please be aware that Skype allows you to use a video as your chosen 'camera' so they can use a video and make you think you're seeing them on camera. Therefore they'll always say there were connection problems, or audio problems so they can use a video without audio. If you're not having an actual conversation that it's clear it's live, don't trust it.

I never waited around to see how he would ask me for money. At first I wondered if it was a lonely person just catfishing me, but as soon as he told me there was an accident on the work site, he had been in the hospital but was ok but his worker was critical and he had lost his work permit, I knew he was a scammer.

He knew I was suspicious by then and needed an actual Skype conversation to trust he was who he said he was - then that same week, this supposed accident happened. And also his phone supposedly died so he couldn't send me more photos cause he was using a temp phone, yet he was still texting me from the same number. I had enough proof then so I just stopped responding and reported him. Not sure CMB did anything about it though, so I decided to post about it.

Hopefully this helps others. It really sucks to be strung along thinking you have a connection with someone and it ends up being a criminal. It's like this person you were connecting with suddenly died - and then you find yourself freaked out wondering who on earth this person actually is. In reality this person really doesn't care about you or any of this. He would tell me anything to reassure me he was this Charlie Moore who cared for me and was soon to come back. He even claimed to be Christian. Thankfully, I realized fairly quick something was very wrong.

I have no idea who the person in the photos he used really is (still find myself wondering..). Early on I did a reverse image search and found nothing, which actually made me think perhaps he was real since I didn't find a post like this nor a facebook or linked in page that would tell me he's a different person.

I'm sure the scammer will soon change the name and contact info he uses, so definitely be careful if you find a profile with photos of this person. Make sure you meet first. And don't send photos until you do. He texted me photos and eventually I felt I trusted enough to send him some of me too. He even sent me a short video of when he supposedly left for Abu Dhabi (he didn't talk in it). Don't trust that.

Just like this scammer now has photos of me and probably a short Skype video of me from our 'failed' Skype call, this guy must have been someone that was scammed and thought he was sending photos and videos to someone he thought he was clicking with. As I think about it, the only time he really encouraged me to send him a photo was when I was at the airport. I can see how those come in handy.

He was using thecharlesmoore.84@gmail.com as his email, (407)906-3175 (orlando) as his phone and thecharlesmoore.84_1 as his Skype account.

Bottom line, don't fully trust anyone you haven't met in person yet and you should never ever give money to someone you haven't met and built trust with.

Good luck out there!