Using their own faces

Some criminals are covert and some are overt. Displaying exactly the same behaviours, some of them will use their own face to commit the fraud.

The pattern of behaviour remains the same, sometimes starting out with a request to be friends and then moving onto a romantic connection. The same manipulation takes place, grooming the victim. When the victim is receptive, they will use guilt tactics to declare how poor they are. There are some common themes that go with this scenario.

  1. They have a sick family member, often their mum, sometimes a sibling who they will say they are responsible for. They will provide scans or x rays of the condition and letters from the doctor. Much like setting the scene and providing proof in other types of romance fraud, just because they are using their own face, doesn’t mean the deceit changes when the ask for money arrives.
  2. Similar to above, they claim that their father or both parents have died and that they are now solely responsible for the siblings. They will tell you there is no food or schooling which also needs to be paid for and that there is no work.
  3. They will sometimes talk about new opportunities that have been offered but they don’t have capital to invest.
  4. They may ask for birthday presents, because it’s normal to send presents to friends.
  5. They may explain that work voluntarily for an orphanage and wonder if you might donate.
  6.  The ask, as in other scenarios may be for phones or laptops so they can keep in touch with you.
  7. The biggest ask is likely to be for a visa to come and visit you so that you can get to know each other better so that you can get married. They may invite you out to their home country first to meet the family and that family will be in on the fraud. Sadly, there are huge risks here and it has been known for people who leave for these meetings, do not come home.

These same excuses are often used in follow up scams after the fraudster has been caught out and they come back, owning up to the fraud and asking for a second chance. You can read more about these here.