Women Scammed out of $33,000 in Oil Rig Romance Scam

A woman named Barb meets a romance scammer in one of the places you would least expect it. Barb was looking for someone to get to spend some time with on the popular dating app for Christian singles called Christian Mingle. And one day, she met a man named Martain. He seemed like a nice gentleman, and the way that he spoke to her made her fall for him immediately.

Not too long after the two met, they would spend hours messaging each other back and forth exchanging warm comments about their affection for one another. And soon, the two planned what Barb was expecting to be a meet-up where they could finally see each other in person.

right before the two were supposed to meet, Martain contacted Barb and told her that the job he had applied for had accepted him, and he would be flying out of the country to start immediately. Barb knew what that meant, they would not be meeting after all.

They continued their relationship online. Martain was working on an oil rig, and not too long after they he shipped out, he contacted her with a time-sensitive emergency. The barrels on the oil rig didn’t have lids, and it was a serious hazard. if they didn’t fix it, they could run into serious issues. He needed Barb to send him $25,000 to be able to secure the barrels or there could be a major disaster.

Barb was confused, but he claimed to need her help, and if she couldn’t help him, people could get hurt. Barb told him that as much as she’d like to help, she didn’t have $25,000 extra dollars to send him. But luckily, two days later Martin said that he was able to work out a deal with the company, where he could get the safety equipment he needed for only $5,000. Once Barb sent him the $5,000, there was another problem, he had gotten the wrong equipment and he needed the rest of the money in order to secure the barrels.

Since She didn’t have the money, she needed to take a series of loans in order to cover the cost of the equitment. She know that this would put a heavy financial burdon on her, so she made Martin sign a contract saying that he would pay her back, and then she took out six loans to get the $25,000. While she was waiting for the money to hit her bank account, one night, Martin sent her a destribing video. It showed men working on an oil rig, when suddenly, and explosion happened. One man was thrown back, and engolfed in the smoke. Martin told her that he had died. And it was because she couldn’t send the money they needed in time.

Barb felt sick. She couldn’t believe that because she couldn’t get the loan to process in time, a man was dead. But Martain wasn’t finished. He wanted her to spend even more money now because apparently, they needed even more equipment. This whole time, Barb couldn’t even talk to him on a phone call because he claimed that his reception was too bad. Because she was still shocked and confused after believing the explosion incident, she sent the money he asked for.

It wasn’t until Matrain asked for another $54,000 that Barb couldn’t take it anymore. She said she felt sick and could no longer go along anymore. She needed answers. So she turned to Social Catfish.

When looking into this case, we first examined the images that Martain sent her. Because of the uneven color and rigid outlines in the photos, it was obvious upon first glance, that these images were photoshopped.

At the end of the scam, Barb lost more than $33,000 and is still coping with the emotional pain of finding out her relationship was a lie.

If you think that you might be involved in a romance scam, enter an image of the person in the search bar below.