TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Preying upon the vulnerable who want to find companionship.
A little extra cash can go a long way for some people, creating desperation. So, when you’re bringing in thousands, there’s added motivation.
“Chris” lives in Nigeria and calls himself a reformed scammer. He says he started romance scamming in 2016 when he was in college.
“I had no money. I wanted to live an expensive life like some people in school, so that was how I decided to start scamming,” says Chris.
And he quickly became good at it, making women across the globe believe they could trust him and were even in a romantic relationship with him.
“I made a fake profiles on the social medias and dating apps, so I’d wake up everyday and I’d go to my messages, check my messages, send my replies and texts and I start talking to them. I talk to people every day.”
Chris built enough trust with the women to have them send him money, a lot of it.
He says he scammed victims out of $70,000 between 2016 and 2021.
“I would not say they are gullible, but I would say they are vulnerable because most of them are in conditional situations that they too have little option… Most of them don’t have a partner or maybe in an abusive relationship. You know, everyone has their reasons. But these people are desperate for love… They want someone to love them, they want someone to take care of them.”
But things changed in 2021 when Chris says he scammed a woman out of $30,000.
“Afterwards she became sick, she became depressed, she was seeing doctors, and she wouldn’t see her grandkids because of me because her kids knew she was sending me money and now she’s in a lot of debt so I made her life so miserable.
His conscience got to him.
“She realized that I am a scammer and lied to her and she wanted to know who I actually am. She wanted to see my real face. I was so scared and worried but I felt a duty because she became depressed so I got so guilty so I showed my face on video call. I apologized to her. She forgive me.”
Chris says that was the last time he scammed anyone. He now advocates for victims in these types of scams, especially knowing first-hand the toll it can take.
“Most of these victims, some of them commit suicide. The ones who survive go into debt for life, some people go to jail, and it’s really bad.”
Chris has taken the last few years to re-evaluate, and is glad he made the decision to stop hurting others.
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