Multiple Faces Detected
April 5th, 2023
Online romance scams have become an all-too-common occurrence in recent years, preying on vulnerable individuals searching for love and companionship. Sharon T., a retiree with a tragic history of love and loss, is just one of the many victims who have fallen prey to these deceitful schemes. After losing her husband to Parkinson’s disease and enduring a lack of affection in her previous marriage, Sharon turned to online dating in hopes of finding someone to share her life with. Unfortunately, she has been scammed not once, but eight times. In this blog post, we’ll explore Sharon’s heartbreaking story, shed light on the tactics scammers use to deceive their victims, and provide tips on how to avoid falling victim to these scams.
Transcription of Sharon’s Story
What Happened?
Sharon’s first encounter with a romance scammer was a man named Roberto, who claimed to have a business in Dubai and needed money for taxes. He convinced her to send him money, promising to pay her back once he returned to the United States. Of course, he never did, and Sharon was left with a loss of several thousand dollars.
The second scam involved a man named Michael, who claimed to be in need of money for supplies. Again, Sharon fell for the scam and sent him money, only to be left empty-handed once more. The third scam was an inheritance scam, where she sent money to a man who claimed he needed funds to start the probate process for his father-in-law’s will.
As if three scams weren’t enough, Sharon fell for another one with a man from the dating site Our Time, who claimed he needed money to buy an iPhone. The fourth scammer, David Thompson, claimed to be a businessman and offered to help Sharon with her car payments. He even made two payments on her behalf, but they were returned. Then, he asked for her bank account information and bought $5,000 worth of iPhones, which were shipped to Nigeria.
The sixth scammer, Stone Brittany, convinced Sharon to invest in bitcoin, promising her a large return on her investment. And the seventh scam, with a man named Liam Noah, remains a mystery, as Sharon did not provide any details about the incident.
After enduring eight heart-wrenching scams, Sharon is still looking for love online. Unfortunately, her ninth and tenth interests are also suspected to be scammers. Van Milly, a military doctor, claims to want to get married to Sharon and come home to her. Meanwhile, Tyler is a Marine who has lost his wife, and his kids are grown. He wants to meet and be with Sharon after his service in the military.
Sharon’s story is a tragic example of the devastating impact online romance scams can have on vulnerable individuals. These scammers prey on people’s emotions, using manipulation tactics to gain their trust and ultimately steal their money. It’s important to be vigilant and cautious when interacting with people online, especially on dating sites, and to never send money to someone you’ve never met in person.
Miscellaneous Story Points
To identify the real identities of the men used in the photos by the scammers, reverse image search was performed. The search revealed that Tyler Normer’s real identity is Mike Toussaint, a retired Chief Petty Officer for the Navy from Cibolo, TX. On the other hand, the real person in Van Milly’s photo is Dr. Kerem Bikmaz, a Brain and Nerve Surgeon residing in Istanbul. Further financial investigation showed that Sharon had sent money to two wallet addresses, which were most likely exchanged to an account from Binance.
