The Scammer who loved Me - Mary Winter;Sharene Oldham

Have you ever been in love with someone you've never met? Every day, people around the world fall in love online. It might be a kind comment that leads to feelings of pleasure. For many, it is too easy to start a conversation that becomes a steady stream of attention and pursuit. The scammer who "loves" you will worm their way into your heart and your bank account, all the while telling you how kind, attractive, and perfect you are. This guide describes the processes used to groom and successfully take money from intended victims. We will describe the methods that entrap people by manipulating emotional responses to keep the scam connection alive. We will discuss the tell-tale signs of romance scams and how to avoid them. We will also discuss the factors that make Americans particularly susceptible to these scams. Finally, we will outline resources for scam victims and how to recover from them. Online romance scams are emerging as the most profitable scam in the world because of the emotional grooming that entraps and holds people in a "romance trance". Learning to identify love scams before they happen is a specific kind of digital literacy needed by kind-hearted people across the world who naturally would want to help a "loved one". Read a personal account of the comings and goings of romance scammers and their methods to retain "clients" even after money is captured. Gain online confidence and increase enjoyment of your digital life.