Posted on 09/22/2026 1:21:49 PM PDT by Red Badger
It’s hard to believe in this day and age that women are still falling for these Nigerian online romance scams.
But they are.
And they’re losing a lot of money.
Most of us hear “romance scam” and picture some absurdly obvious message from a Nigerian prince in Africa, who’s promising eternal love after three hours and asking for a Western Union wire transfer.
Who falls for that anymore?
Apparently, a lot of people.
Because six Nigerian nationals accused of belonging to an organized criminal network are now being extradited to the United States after reportedly targeting more than 100 American women and swindling them out of over $6 million bucks.
And we know what you’re thinking…
How are women still falling for this hooey? Well, loneliness and desperation will make a person do crazy things. But also, the scams have gotten better.
According to CNN, the six men were arrested in Cape Town back in 2021 and, 5 years later, are finally set to face wire fraud and money laundering charges in the US.
CNN:
Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of over $6 million through online romance scams will be extradited to the United States on Friday, South African police said.
The men, who were arrested in the South African city of Cape Town in 2021, are set to be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday and transported to the US to face wire fraud and money laundering charges.
They are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as the Black Axe, which Interpol describes as being part of criminal groups responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams.
According to South African police, the men are alleged to have targeted more than 100 women in the US, defrauding them of more than $6 million through online romance or love scams.
Researchers have actually looked at the type of lady most likely to get sucked into one of these fake relationships, and the answer probably isn’t what you thought.
These women aren’t always uneducated, clueless, or completely naive.
Actually, one study found almost the opposite.
Most are middle-aged, educated women.
PubMed Central:
The online dating romance scam is an Advance Fee Fraud, typically conducted by international criminal groups via online dating sites and social networking sites. This type of mass-marketing fraud (MMF) is the most frequently reported type of MMF in most Western countries. This study examined the psychological characteristics of romance scam victims by comparing romance scam victims with those who had never been scammed by MMFs. Romance scam victims tend to be middle-aged, well-educated women. Moreover, they tend to be more impulsive (scoring high on urgency and sensation seeking), less kind, more trustworthy, and have an addictive disposition. It is argued here that these findings might be useful for those developing prevention programs and awareness campaigns.
Being educated doesn’t necessarily protect you from being lonely and falling for somebody who throws attention your way.
But these Nigerian scammers are pulling a long con. No more “Nigerian Prince” BS. This time, they’re hunkering down and pretending they’re in this for a loving relationship. The money stuff doesn’t come until later.
It’s actually a pretty calculated process, but at the end of the day, it’s a business.
Internet fraud in Ghana: Immigration arrest 93 Nigerians in Ghana ova alleged internet fraud and oda crimes - BBC News Pidgin
A very big business… as you can see:
Breaking News 🚨: 32 Nigerian 🇳🇬 nationals arrested in Ghana 🇬🇭 for online fraud. A joint operation between the Cyber Crime Authority (CSA) and National Security resulted in the arrest of 32
Scammers create fake identities using stolen photos, build an online romance over time, and basically groom the victim until they believe she’s ready to start handing over money.
And when the scam finally falls apart, the victim doesn’t just lose cash. She loses the relationship she thought was real.
PubMed Central:
The romance scam (also referred to as the online dating romance scam or the sweethearts scam) is of particular concern given the numbers of victims reported worldwide.1–6 The online dating romance scam is an Advance Fee Fraud, typically conducted by international criminal groups via online dating sites and social networking sites.6 Criminals pretend to initiate a relationship with the intention to defraud their victims of large sums of money. Scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and social networking sites with stolen photographs (e.g., attractive models, army officers) and a made-up identity. They develop an online relationship with the victim off the site, “grooming” the victim (developing a hyperpersonal relationship with the victim) until they feel that the victim is ready to part with their money.7,8 This scam has been found to cause a “double hit”–a financial loss and the loss of a relationship. Whitty and Buchanan9 found that for some victims the loss of the relationship was more upsetting than their financial losses, with some victims describing their loss as the equivalent of experiencing a death of a loved one.
By the time the money starts draining from her account, she doesn’t think she’s sending cash to some stranger online… she really thinks this is her boyfriend. Yes, it still sounds wild, but again, desperation and loneliness can do strange things to a person.
A lot of times these “money emergencies” are for some unexpected medical problem or some crisis that’s keeping him from finally getting on that plane and showing up at her front door.
Whatever the story is, the emotional groundwork has already been laid.
And the next part of this scheme is shame for the woman, because every dollar she sends makes admitting the truth that much harder, because she’d have to admit she was conned.
And that’s the other reason these operations are so successful.
And those six African scammers heading to the US are just one piece of a way bigger industry.
There was a recent Interpol operation aimed at West African organized crime groups involved in these romance scams.
Dozens of people were arrested, hundreds of suspects were identified, and authorities in South Africa raided locations connected to romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.
But this isn’t just about romance scams. These guys run so many different schemes it’s hard to keep up. One thing’s for sure, though: they’re crafty. In fact, those emails and DMs loaded with bad grammar and spelling mistakes? Turns out, a lot of that is intentional.
Intelligent Fly:
Imagine being trusted with several million dollars by someone who apparently doesn’t know what a dictionary is.
It all starts when an email arrives promising a life-changing fortune, and somehow you, a complete stranger, have been selected to help move this cash. The entire explanation is a mess. By the time you reach the request for your personal details, you’re wondering how anyone this bad at writing an email expects to get anywhere near your bank account.
Now, you’re probably sitting there picturing some hopeless criminal hammering away at a keyboard, losing a fight with autocorrect, right? But what if making you roll your eyes and delete is the whole point? Work with me here, folks… what if your instant disgust at the “dumbness” of it all saves the scammer an entire afternoon of pointless work?
Well, if this piques your interest, I’ve got an interesting story to share.
This clip I found takes that spam-folder mystery and looks at it from the scammer’s side. Turns out, while you’re laughing at his spelling, he’s perfectly happy to have one less pain in the ass asking questions.
So, the cruddy grammar almost works like a filter. If you notice it, you’re probably going to ask too many questions, and scammers don’t have time for that nonsense.
The point is, these aren’t just random guys sitting around sending cheesy love notes and hoping Grandma wires them a few bucks… this is an organized crime ring, and they’re making millions, using all kinds of tricks.
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Six? Did they finally nail that prince?
They got a Royal Flush!..............
I was going to ask if there were six princes in that family? LOL
Once here I am sure they will try to file for sanctuary/asylum/immigration visas.
“””Who falls for that anymore?””””
I thought the Nigerian fraudsters had moved on to more lucrative fools—namely, the US Government welfare bureaucrats and politicians.
A cruise missile would have sent a faster and bigger message.
I’m sure the Nigerians aren’t sending the ones who actually participated in the scam. They’re sending the fall guys.
Wow. Good.
Mud sharks are easy marks.
“It’s hard to believe in this day and age that women are still falling for these Nigerian online romance scams.”
No it’s not! Have you seen all the other shit women are doing/ believing/voting for these days?
I know of someone - not personally but relatives know her - heR husband died and at some point later she sold her house and sent out a million $. Now she’s working some little job to survive in her old age.
UNBELIEVABLE!
We should do like China did with scammers in Burma / Myamur: have them extradited and execute them.
𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑑𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠—𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑈𝑆 𝐺𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠.
Perhaps our government is bringing them here so Congress can take notes?
Intelligent men are easy targets too...
That guy OWES me.
Same demographic that supports baby-murderers like Lindsay Clancy ...
These are the same old leftist women protecting illegal alien criminals!
“Romance scam victims are middle-aged, well-educated women. Moreover, they tend to be more impulsive (scoring high on urgency and sensation seeking), less kind...have an addictive personality “
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.