Salem Woman Loses Money in MySpace.com Internet Romance Scam

Salem Police Department Fraud Tip-of-the-Week

Myspace.com

(Salem) - Last week, a woman in Salem became the most recent victim of an internet romance scam.

Salem Police Detective Paul Henninger says the suspect contacted the victim through the victim's personal web site with "MySpace.com."

He said the suspect represented himself as a blond hair, blue eyed model from the United States who was visiting his sick mother in Lagos, Nigeria.

After developing an Internet romance with the victim, the suspect asked her to cash a money order and wire him some money, so he could get back to the U.S.

The suspect sent her 31 counterfeit money orders, totaling $29,950.00, addressed to 10 other persons throughout the United States. The suspect asked her to re-mail the money orders addressed to the others.

After a tip from a concerned relative, Henninger said he was able to intercept the money orders before they were sent to the other 10 victims.

The Salem victim suffered a loss over $1,000.00. Henninger says if you use these types of internet socialization, BEWARE!

Don't post personal information on the Internet, such as your age, address or birthday. The predators can use the information to profile you, or assume your identity.

When you create a personal Web site, Henninger says you are posting that information for anyone to see, use or abuse. You may be inviting a criminal to your home. Scammers create their own personal websites to attract victims. In this case the suspect also had a "MySpace" site of his own.

NEVER cash checks for a stranger, even if they say they "LOVE YOU."

Scammers like to use counterfeit cashier checks, US Treasury checks, travelers checks or money orders. If you receive such a check, do not deposit it or cash it. Instead, contact your local Police Department.

Scammers commonly ask victims to re-ship checks or merchandise. The purpose of this is to further insulate the suspect and to make it appear the item was originally mailed or shipped from the United States.

If you re-ship checks or merchandise, you may get arrested. If you allow your child to create a personal Web site, frequently monitor the Web site for content and postings by others. Remember, sexual and financial predators use personal web sites to identify and cultivate their victims.