Online Internet Scams
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Term Paper
Internet Fraud
CJUS 363
February 17th, 2021
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It is not so difficult to understand that there are evil people in this world that want to steal
everything you have. Now, it has become like taking candy from a baby. In order to comprehend
their methods, you have to take a closer look at how these scammers play with your mind and
emotions in order to get you to do what they want you to do. We have to understand what makes
some people more susceptible than others. It is so easy that these scammers are growing with
ease to communicate with others that seem like it is a legitimate person (Williams, Beardmore &
Joinson 2017).
Their methods of persuasion are amazing and they would take everything you own, they
do not care about you their only objective is to get as much as they can from you before you
realize what is going on and some do not realize until they have nothing left to offer and then
when the scammers see that they cannot get anything else from you they disappear and then they
move on to their next victim. Their maxim is to be as sweet as honey if they are trying to make
you fall in love with them that their words are like from a steamy romance novel, and they are
very good at it because all they could think about is by using these sweet words, they are going
to obtain all your savings and leave you high and dry while they are living in the lap of luxury
with your hard-earned money
In our society we are increasingly using the internet for every aspect of our lives, we have
shopping, banking, and dating all done with some clicks on the keyboard. The thing is that these
people are behind a computer and we cannot see who the person behind the computer who is
typing to us. All we know is what they want us to know and see. There are people scamming all
over the world that is why it is so hard to get these scammers because they could be on the other
side of the world, so this problem is not only an American problem but a problem all around the
world (Sharri, A.H., Kamaluddin, Wan & Mohd 2019).
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The number of scams online is too many to count. It seems like there is a new scam
every day. The reason they have so many scams is that there are so many different people that
have different views and vulnerabilities and what will work for one person might not work for
the other, so they are constantly trying new things to upgrade tier strategies by these different
types of fraud. They are fishing so they could pick the prime person to get what they ultimately
want, every penny they have. Without a care in the world because they do not care who they hurt
in the process (Norris, Brookes & Dowell, 2019). These people who were scammed get into
serious trouble with their banking institutions because of these scammers the banks could think
you are committing the scam. These elaborate schemes are so simple, and well planned and they
really do not have a lot to them, but people fall for them every day. I would think that it is
complex, to get people to part with their money, but it really is easier than you think.
Some scammers try to make you scared to get what they want from you. They could call
you and tell you that they have your family member at the jailhouse and that to get him or her out
of jail you must pay the bail money for them to be released from jail and that all you have to do
is get your credit card ad pay over the phone and the problem is solved
Another way is that they tell you that you are going to be arrested because you are behind
in your payments for your taxes and that if you do not pay x amount of dollars, they are going to
put a warrant out for your arrest, and they are coming out to get you and take you to jail. They
scare the victim so much that if they have the means to cover what the scammer is asking for,
they will give them everything they want so that they do not get in trouble with the law. There
are measures that the scammers do to get people, hook line and sinker.
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There is an increased number of people over the age of 60 who are opting into online
dating. It is increasing daily especially now with the pandemic we are in. The sad thing is that
many of the victims are elderly people who are easily fooled by these scammers who prey on
them to get their nest egg saving that they must get their own greed satisfied. Another downfall
is that this does not only affect the person they are stealing from it seriously affect many families
because now that their mother father or significant other has gotten scammed now, but they also
must pick up the pieces because now they do not have money and they have a burden to pay their
bills because they do not have money anymore. Some have had to take their parents to live in
their home and take care of them financially because their bank account is at zero. Not to
mention the emotional roller coaster that that person and their families must face and encounter
when they realize what has happened. People feel so ashamed that they were duped into
believing their lies and how they could have handed their money over so easily. There is a
phycological impact that these scams can have on an individual. This will show the double
whammy that occurs when this type of scam is executed (Whitty & Buchanan 2016).
There are a variety of scams that these internet scammers use to scam you out of your
money, but I believe that the cruelest is the scams that make you fall in love and then they come
out and rip your heart out along with emptying your bank account. To me, that is the worst scam
ever. I do not know how they could live with themselves. To begin their romance scam and
create a web of lies and illusions to get people caught up in their web by creating a persona and
web page by uploading a picture of very attractive people either gay, straight, male, or female.
This is only the first step because after this is when they start preparing the victim to do all the
things they want and then the final step is getting the funds from the victim (Whitty, 2015).
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These romance schemes are blooming because it is so much easier to go online into one
of these dating sites than it is to go out to a bar or a dancing club in order to meet people. There
used to be a stigma when it came to meeting people online but now people really embrace it and
see it as a normal thing, but it comes with its downfalls. I am not saying you cannot meet a creep
when you are out and about meeting people face to face, but it is easier for a scammer to do their
work online behind a computer screen. Because of the ease to set up a profile and meet hundreds
of people, they would otherwise not encounter face to face people are opting in with online
dating and this has a lot of hidden dangers so, for this reason, people have more opportunity to
run into an online scammer.
People are lonely and they want to find their significant other. That is the dream of most
people to find their soul mate and these romance scammers know this and they talk to you in a
way that you might have never experienced and then they send you beautiful pictures and love
letters that are pages long with promises that they are going to bring you the sun moon and stars,
and then they make you feel like you are a king or queen with feelings of euphoria and people
literally lose their minds. They believe that love will conquer all and all the fairy tales and they
are willing to give the scammer everything they want because they have fallen in love. This
gives us an idea of how a scammer convinces you to give them everything you have monetarily,
and they use your emotions to get into your heart and your mind (Whitty, 2013).
I have known people who went through these experiences, and it is not a pretty sight to
see. Especially when you suspect that it is a scam and the person who is being scams does not
see what is going on and they tell you are wrong and that they love them and they told them so,
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etc. and no matter what you tell them they do not want to accept that the person who is telling
them that they are the best thing since sliced bread. They have a way of pulling the wool over
your eyes that these people will do anything for them. To them, it is a game of chance on who
they could catch and lure into their web of lies by using people’s emotions for their own greed
and benefit. The end game is to get what they want out of you.
There are a couple of sites such as Badoo, Tinder, and Plenty of fish. All these sites offer
different things, but they are many sites that are free, and this makes it even more enticing for
people to join. Some sites offer local people and other offers to meet people all over the world
and they even have a dating site to meet a sugar daddy or mama. With an infinite number of
websites comes an infinite number of opportunities for scammers to get their hooks into you.
This is another pitfall because there are sites that spam as well, and they try to pitch for
you to try different products and services that would make your online experience superior by
just adding a service and then they want to send you a referral code and what this does is gives
money to the spammer to receive payment for referring so everyone gets their cut. Everyone is
trying to get their grubby little hands on your money. These scams have blended, and people are
out of their money left and right it is so much that it reaches the 3-digit millions. The only other
industry is the drug trade that has such a profitable business and that is why people opt into such
illegal professions because the profit margin is so high that there is no other way, they would
ever make so much money any other way. This is like the drug trade the great and ease of
getting people's money make everyone greedy and they do not want to stop (Murhpy, 2016).
It is unbelievable that these criminals do not need violence they just use a computer and
words, no violence, guns, or physical harm, they use a much more sinister and dangerous method
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is by saying sweet nothings, intimidation, or fear. Furthermore, in many cases, many of the
victims wanted to give their money to that person because they believed what they said or that
they loved them wholeheartedly and they did not mind giving that person until they had no more
to give and the scammer could no longer get anything more out of the victim, and they moved on
to their next online love interest. This is a blow because when you say those magic words” I do
not have any more money.”
Then they disappeared and you cannot get in contact with them anymore and you realize
this person was scamming me then a lot of people get depressed, and they want to hide from
their families and the world because the scam that they feel is overwhelming, and if someone had
told them that they were being scammed and they did not listen then the shame increases because
you feel like a fool for not listening. There have been people that have had nervous breakdowns
because of these scams but there is nothing you can do to fix it and get your money back because
these scammers are long gone with your hard-earned money. That is why these scammers love
it when you are a willing participant and they do not have to do much in order to get all they can
from you and the victim doesn’t realize that they are being victimized until it is too late. This is a
scar that people live with internally because they do not only feel betrayed but foolish for
believing all the lies that they believed and fell for (Sorell & Whitty 2019).
Families must pick up the pieces when their family members have been scammed. I met
a girl whose name is Mindy and she told me the story of her dad whose name is Edward James,
and he was scammed out of 160,000 of his saving all because he believed that he had a lost long
uncle who died and that he left his inheritance to him, but he had to send money to get the funds.
I am not sure of all that they said to him to convince him to send money, but he kept sending
until he had no more. They took advantage of a 75year old man and let his bank account is zero.
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The sad thing is that Mindy did not know what was going on until she realized that her dad could
not pay his bills and there were bill collectors everywhere asking him for payment and he was
not paying because he did not have the money to pay.
When she realized that he did not have any money in the bank, her dad told her the story
that he was waiting for a man named Kingsley that had promised to help him get his inheritance
from his uncle. Their family was devastated, and her father lost everything including his home.
It was the worst thing for her and her family. Mindy had to take care of her dad because he was
left without anything. The damage that is caused by these scam artists does not only hurt the
person who was scammed but the immediate family members suffer as well because they have to
pick up the pieces of the mess that was made by the scammers (Kopp, Layton, Sillitoe, & Gondal
2015).
My dad also had an encounter with a scammer. She was from South Africa and my dad
did not have any thoughts of being unfaithful to my mom and he did not even get into a dating
site, but he received a message from this girl, and she keeps sending him messages and
convinced him that he was the best and I saw the messages that she sent, and she sent him
messages saying that he was the king of her life and she never met anyone like him.
She continued telling him that he was the one and the only man in her life and she called
him constantly and he faces time her many times and she would literally have face time sex with
him and sent many raunchy pictures daily. She sweet-talked my dad for many months until she
had her claws deep into him and she was sure that she would get anything she wanted from him
and she did. She began telling him that she wanted to come to America to be with my dad but
that she did not have papers to get out of the country.
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She convinced my dad to send her money so that she could get her papers in order so that
she could come here and marry my dad and be with him forever. There was always one more
thing she needed, and she needed her rent paid in her house in Africa because she lost her job
along with the rest of her expenses. It was unbelievable what she got away with and what my
dad let her take advantage of him, and he did not realize what was happening. When I found out
he had already sent a lot of money and I tried to tell him that this girl is scamming him, but he
did not want to listen.
My parents almost divorced because of it and it was a nightmare what was happening in
my family. I cannot believe how someone can destroy an entire family and have no remorse
about it. Even when he finally realized that the girl was scamming him, and he tried to stop
talking to her she kept insisting trying to convince my dad that he was the only one for her and
she wanted to be with him. I explained to my dad that she was scamming him to get his money
and she was just lying to him and I showed him proof until he finally opened his eyes and
realized what I was telling him was the truth. It was not easy but thank God he opened his eyes
and saw the light.
My mom forgave my dad, but it was a long and tedious process to get any normalcy in
the family, my mom was hurt and felt betrayed even though he never physically had anything to
do with her he had an internet love affair that hurt my mother deeply and she was not happy
about all the money he sent to that African girl either. It did not help that the African girl kept
calling emailing etc. that my mom had to change the phone number and email plus various social
media accounts because this girl was relentless and did not want to give up all the money she
was getting from my dad.
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These scammers really take a toll on people's lives and we must be very careful who we
let into our lives because even though it was on the internet it causes severe damage that not all
families could sustain. My family is lucky that they believe in God and God is our Lord and
Savior. My dad asked God for forgiveness and he reconciled with Jesus Christ to cleanse him
from all his sin. My mom prayed a lot and was able to move past the infidelity and now they are
back on track.
The devil is a liar, and he uses the internet as his personal playground. We must always
be on guard with our hearts and mind and not let anyone into our lives without prayer and
guidance from the Lord. We need to ask God for wisdom every day and that He guide us so that
we could be able to discern any evil that wants to destroy us whether it is financially,
emotionally, or physically. God is the only one who could protect us so we must pray about
everything because if we open even a pinhole the enemy will get in and destroy everything he
can. Online scams and romance dating scams are the tips of the iceberg of the different scams
that use psychology to deceive these individuals from stealing everything they can from people
(Whitty & Young 2017;2016).
In conclusion, Online dating is dangerous if you do it without taking the necessary
precautions to guard you in a way you can search safely and have a beautiful experience instead
of a life-altering experience that you will not be able to forget for the rest of your life. It is
imperative for you to be able to pick up the cues and keywords that these scammers use in order
to trick you. If you know what to look for then you could have a safer experience and you will
not let these scammers take advantage of you. We must combat their psychology and emotional
blackmail and not be so quick to let them take what belongs to you. They know how to tug at
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your heartstrings by using their cheap phycology, but we must be smarter than them and look for
all the clues that they leave behind to be one step ahead of them.
Remember to look for grammatical errors because many scammers come from other
countries and English is not their first language so when they write on the keyboard they make
many mistakes. Always do a google search of the person so you know who this person is and if
he has any shady things in his record and background. By doing this you can get a heads up and
know what you are getting into and not be taken by surprise. Make an in public, face-to-face
meeting so that you could get to know who the person is. You must remember the golden rule “if
it seems too good to be true it usually is.”
This is not a victimless crime and we could see how many people get hurt from one
scammer's greed to get your money. Law enforcement really needs to crack down on individuals
who do these things to people. There should be some sturdy consequences to people who do
these types of crimes that destroy the livelihood of these people. These are only a few but
countless people are being scammed every day and they are not reported because the victims feel
like it is their fault or they feel ashamed or that no one would believe them. It is a difficult spot
to be in but there has to be a better way of dealing with these cybercriminals.
I know the police have their jobs cut out for them because this is one of the most difficult
crimes to prove and it is like the floodgates have opened and all hell has broken loose on the
internet and there are so many criminals it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. These
people are tricking anyone and everyone they can. What makes it a nightmare is that this is a
global problem because like in my dads’ case the girl was from Africa and in my friend Mindy's
case her dad's scammer was from Nigeria and once money goes to another country it is literally
gone and it makes even harder to find the people who are doing the crimes because of laws that
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cross international waters. Since the crimes are committed outside the United States law
enforcement has another hurdle to cross. I hope that there will be a solution to help stop these
scammers in their tracks.
Reference
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Whitty, M. T. (2013). THE SCAMMERS PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES MODEL:
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Criminology, 53(4), 665-684, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azt009
Whitty, M. T., & Buchanan (2016). The online dating romance scam: The psychological impact
on victims – both financial and non-financial. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 16(2), 176-194.
https://doi.org/ 10.1177/1748895815603773
Whitty, M. T. (2015). Anatomy of an online dating romance scam. Security Journal, 28(4), 443-
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Norris, G., Brookes, A., & Dowell, D. (2019). The psychology of internet fraud victimization: A
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Sorell, T., & Whitty, M. (2019). Online romance scams and victimhood. Security Journal,
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Sharri, A.H., Kamaluddin, M. R., Wan Fariza & Mohd, M. (2019). Online-dating romance scam
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