A peek in to the chain of command of a fraudulent operation and how to spot the warning signs– By Josh
“Josh, I need to pick something up from the shop before it closes. I want you to come along with me to keep me company. Let’s go.”
I looked at her inquisitively. When I opened my mouth I impersonated the voice of Dobby the Elf, a character from Harry Potter franchise that becomes liberated.
“Josh has no master. Josh is a free elf!” I joked.
She couldn’t contain her laughter. She never laughed like that before.
“Please. Stop. I can’t breathe,” she pacified.
“Just come with me.” She continued, whilst holding her breath so no more laughter comes out. “Okay. It’s a good thing I don’t have anything planned isn’t it!” I replied.
Later that evening, when I was free, I came back to our flat, I laid down on the bed, and crashed my head on the pillow to close my eyes for a while. Later that night I entered a pub where I saw two men staring at me intensely.
I ignored them as I walked over to the bar to order my drink, one of them asked if we could go outside for a chat. They both ushered me to a quiet alleyway. One of them took out a knife. I ran away.
When I thought I had escaped, I walked around the corner, where I was met by a crowd of about 50 men, all carrying knives, staring at me. I ran for my life. They chased me down.
Then I woke up sweating and screaming as my girlfriend put her arms around me.
“You are safe, its okay, darling.” She assured. Through a series of shocking discoveries, my conscious reality would later become a parallel representation of that very dream.
The excessive laughter was likely not amusement at my Dobby impression, but amusement at my easily dismissed attempt to assert a boundary. She recognised the resistance and instantly invalidated it, confirming her perceived power over me.
The gang chasing me in my dreams was my subconscious mind trying to tell me something. I was being isolated and targeted by not only her, but by other people behind the scenes.
This blog post acts as a glossary of all these different members of a romance fraud operation. Here you have a chance to peek in the HR office of a criminal enterprise.
If you ever feel like you are being targeted, call the police immediately. Unfortunately, however, the nature of romance fraud, and how well protected their schemes, makes it incredibly difficult for the police to investigate. This is why I have given you a practical guide on how to shield yourself from each member of the operation.
As you place yourself in to this locus of insidious authority, see this chain of command as a practical guide where you can spot the warning signs I missed.
Meet the team behind the fraud:
The Information Broker
Job description: To scour public social media profiles, particularly dating apps. It is their job to don every detail like a detective. They cross-reference information from a targets different social media profiles; to look for emotional vulnerability, recent divorces, deaths of loved ones, expressed loneliness, or a strong desire for a serious relationship.
Warning signs: Anonymous views of your profiles; receiving anonymous messages; receiving spam, or receiving alerts that your passwords may have been compromised.
How to shield yourself from an information broker: The most obvious method to keep information brokers at bay is to not put any information that can be used to a scammers advantage. A more pragmatic method is to manage your privacy settings and to be mindful of anything a scammer can capitalise on.
However, always be mindful of what you post. Any updates mentioning a readiness for true love after a difficult period, or, an intention for seeking a genuine connection, become currency for the information broker. Even mentions of stable careers, homeownership, or even seemingly innocuous details like travel photos, or anything else suggesting disposable income, can draw their eye.
The Script Writer
Job description: The primary job of a script writer is to create a false persona. Now that the open- source intelligence of the target has been meticulously gathered by the information broker, it is the script writers job to use that information in order to make the target of the fraud feel unique, heard, and valued.
Warning Signs: Profiles that seem too good to be true, coincidences, mirrored interests.
What to do if you feel targeted by a script writer: The main weakness for the script writer is to find the right balance between building a unique and intimate bond with the target without making it seem too good to be true.
If you come across coincidences, or things that don’t quite add up, or if their stories seem a little false or fabricated, you should challenge their authenticity. If they are quick to change the subject, or seem fatigued, they lose their power to manipulate you.
The Impersonator
Job Description: The face of the fraud. If the fraud is operated in an in-person capacity, the impersonator is the main actor that will appeal to the targets wants and needs. They will build the fabricated relationship. Depending on the type of operation, the impersonator will likely be the one to reap the most gains from the scam.
Warning signs: Love bombing, clingy personality, constant communication, always available to talk, will dismiss poor behaviours, invalidate your feelings, act jealous, will usher you away from mainstream dating platforms to lesser known apps, a request to co-commit in illegal activities.
What to do if you feel targeted by an impersonator: Educating yourself on psychological abuse is important. If ever in doubt, never take things at face value; trust can be built on pretence and lies. Malignant narcissists are highly-skilled at projecting genuine empathy and compassion.
The grey rock technique is a strategy for dealing with toxic behaviour from people in your life. The grey rock method includes acting uninterested or disengaging with a toxic person to avoid feeding into their tendencies. It is a well-known as an effective deterrent of psychological abuse.
The grey rock method, if used effectively, will demoralise the abuser, even if they don’t show it, which can eventually lead them to give up their pursuit to control you.
The Validator
Job Description: To give the impersonator credibility; to vouch for them, and to smooth over any
inconsistencies. They will act as a best friend, a relative, or a colleague for the impersonator.
Warning signs: Mirroring the impersonator, receiving overwhelming compliments, not being told about them before, sudden unexpected encounters.
What to do if you feel targeted by a validator: The biggest risk the validator carries with them is that they are often used as strategic unwitting participants, or as innocent bystanders by the impersonator. This means they will not be aware of the full story.
Whether or not they are aware their agency , it can be very easy for you to catch them out by cross- referencing information the impersonator has given you. The validators are most likely the biggest source of veracity in a fraud operation. The impersonator will only use the validator for a minimal amount of time, once they are gone, they remain gone. Use that little time to catch them out.
The Back-up Impersonator
Job description: The back-up will step-in for the primary impersonator when they have lost control of their target. They will be ready to become the new face of the operation. They will re-build a connection when the target is vulnerable from the emotional loss of leaving their “partner”.
Warning signs: (Same as the primary impersonator)
What to do if you feel targeted by a back-up impersonator: (Same as the primary impersonator) The Money Mule
Job description: The money mules are the logistical operators of the stream of monetary income. They will be tech-savvy, and are often experts at phishing. They will target the victims bank accounts and will receive information on their spending habits. If the target has been coerced in to performing illegal activities with the impersonator, they will launder the money within their wider network to remove a paper trail, and perhaps generate more profit for the separate criminal operations.
Warning signs: Requests for money, illogical transactions, lack of justification for money, follow-up requests, mentions to invest in cryptocurrency, extreme urgency.
What to do if you feel targeted by a money mule: Change passwords, increase cyber-security, contact your bank, monitor your credit report with credit agencies to check identity theft, never click any links or open suspicious emails.
The Enforcer
Job description: A fraudulent operation is like a well-oiled machine. The enforcer guards the machine from being destroyed. The enforcer is the security, the contingent, and the insurance.
They are mostly reactive, but can go on the offense by carrying out an extinction burst. This is a common response when a previously rewarded action no longer produces the expected outcome, leading the enforcer to act as an active player in the team in an attempt to regain the reward.
The enforcer will likely have met the victim, usually by being acquainted by the back-up impersonator. They are skilled at intimidation, carrying out threats. It is their job to blackmail and extort the victim as a last resort. If the enforcer does not carry out their job on the target successfully, the target will eventually be discarded.
Warning signs: Blackmail, intimidation, threats, direct confrontation.
What to do if you feel targeted by an enforcer: Don’t accept their demands. Even if they are
targeting you anonymously, call the authorities if the threat to your livelihood is costly.
The gang that chased me in my dreams were symbolic of the many faces of deception I was being met with in my waking reality. Now you have met the team, you have equipped yourself with the practical knowledge on how to shield yourself if you ever feel you are also a target.
If you enjoyed this blog, please consider buying my e-book, where I tell my full story. Invisible Influence is a memoir of dark psychology and criminal conspiracy which is set to be published in December 2025.
Thoughts? Leave a Reply…