Online Dating Scammers Using Stolen Images

(CBS)  Thieves are stealing faces to ply their trade. Well -- pictures of faces posted online, anyhow.

The crooks, based in Nigeria for the most part, use the swiped images in Internet scams. They try to bilk people looking for love, frequently breaking hearts along the way, adding hurt to monetary injury, reports Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen in part two of her three-part series, "Early on the Case: Stolen Identities."

Koeppen spoke with a man whose picture has become a favorite of online scammers. They claim his image is that of someone whose identity they create for online dating sites. When women looking for love contact the "person," they're eventually asked to send money to help him out. All too often, Koeppen reports, the victims do just that.

She also chatted with two women taken in by such fraud, and an expert on preventing it, then offered suggestions on caution flags that might alert you to such a scheme.

To see Koeppen's report,

click here

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[DeborahSJ]

I have had contact with 2 scammers in th past 2 days asking for money - Who do I report these people to besides the dating site - they are on yahoo messenger and one is on facebook( I sent messages to the women on his friends list before I blocked him )I went into a site (advertised here)to report scammers only to find they wanted money too !!

[boosterAU]

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[MendelPotok]

You have to be so careful online, the best policy is to meet someone <a href="http://www.onsitecellularrepair.com/">in person</a> before you commit to having anything further to do with them.

[sdsissy]

I was almost taken by one of these Nigerian scammers but woke up and knew something just didn't fell right. I did some checking online about scams and came across one site that talked about scammers out of Nigeria, I read it just in time to not be taken by this person. The only thing I wonder about is the real identity of the man in the pictures I was sent, the pictures this scammer says is him, I really wish there was a way to find out who the man in these pictures really is I would like to share my story with him.

[treefroggy]

If you would like to know more about Identity theft, stolen pictures or Romance Scams, please visit: www.romancescams.org

This website will leave you very educated in all these areas and more. Plus there is a group you can join to get additional help or advice.

Blessings,
Treefroggy

[birdlady2008]

I knew him on Tagged as ADAM SMITH, Yes, talked to him. But he never got to the point of asking me for money, I knew he was a scammer, I am a victim. I know what to look out for. I talked to him just a few weeks ago. His profile is still on Tagged, but I have reported him after seeing this story. THANK YOU CBS. I have been trying to warn men and women of these people. I have done alot of research on these scammers.

[vizmill]

I was contacted by someone using Robert Frosts picture on myspace. I thought he was a player and didn''t respond. Thank goodness! I recognized his picture on The Morning Show right away.

[scambuster2]

wow I see so many people who think they are just so smart and can''t be scammed, ha it can happen to anyone. so don''t be so fast to put down someone who was hurt, they go through enough shame with out you passing judgement on them too.

[kiki4short]

I google the name with the picture and it took me to a romance scam site where I found his email address under Robert Frost Picture. So I change my search and eventually contacted the real Robert Frost. After a few email back and forth with Robert I really realized that the man I was talking to was a scammer. Robert, from the little I know of him is a kind and patients man who life has truly been turned up side down behind all this. There is so much more damage to his life then the show showed. They asked him in this interview %u201CWhy did he think his photo was used so much%u201D. I believe I have an answer, in his photos he gives the impression of normalcy. His photos that are used are not the drop dead model type there the average Joe type, yes he looks good as good as the friend next door. The information I received was and is still so hard to swallow. You can always work and get your money back, but you can never imagine how hard it is to mend you heart after giving it so freely and completely. For you out there that criticize, may this never happen to you. I will tell you I was one of you, but now know that it%u2019s easier to criticize then to admit how far this put me in the darkest place I never thought I would find myself. This scammer has confessed all to me, and has now told me the truth but it does not make it any easer to deal with. I fight everyday to go on with my life and rebuild the wall around my heart.

[kiki4short]

I met my scammer in a chat room not a dating site. We talked for several months before I realized what he really was. So you all can see scammer are not just on dating sites, they are also in chat rooms. I was fairly new to chat rooms and have met a few great friends this way. I tried chatting in rooms to meet new people as we all do. I was not looking for love, just friendship then I met him. He listened to my every word and come back with the right response. He did not come on strong and gave me my time and space and he asked about my day to day life, and shared his (what I did not know at the time) made up world with a little of his real life (basic Information). We had normal conversations just as the ones you would have with a friend. Then our past relationships came into the conversation. Then what we thought we where feeling for each other. We shared pictures and this is when it all hit the fan. From the minute I seen him pictures I started having doubt. I google his name, and email address over several sites some I ever paid for and came up with nothing. Then I searched model pictures and after several hours and days I found the picture. Con''t below