Woman Finds Hilarious Way To Deal With Internet Love Scammer

#1 A Facebook scammer was trying to earn some easy money but he messed with the wrong woman.

#2 The scammer, who goes by the name Stephen Masumbo, messaged the woman on Facebook and started flirting with her.

#3 Like many scammers, he started declaring his love to her.

#4 He asked for money so he could fly from Africa to come live with her in Britain.

#5 Unfortunately for him, the woman didn’t fall for it.

#6 In fact, not only did she not fall for it but she ended up scamming the scammer himself in a hilarious way!

#7 Not everyone using online dating sites is looking for love.

#8 Scammers create fake online profiles using photos of other people — even stolen pictures of real military personnel.

#9 They profess their love quickly.

And they tug at your heartstrings with made-up stories about how they need money — for emergencies, hospital bills, or travel.

#10 Why all of the tricks? They’re looking to steal your money.

#11 As if all that isn’t bad enough, romance scammers are now involving their victims in online bank fraud.

#12 Here’s how it works:

The scammers set up dating profiles to meet potential victims.

#13 After they form a “relationship,” they come up with reasons to ask their love interest to set up a new bank account.

#14 The scammer's transfer stolen money into the new account and then tell their victims to wire the money out of the country.

#15 Victims think they’re just helping out their soulmate, never realizing they’re aiding and abetting a crime.

#16 Here are some warning signs that an online love interest might be a fake. They ask you to:

chat off of the dating site immediately, using personal email, text, or phone

wire money using the Western Union or Money Gram

set up a new bank account

#17 Did you know you can do an image search of your love interest’s photo in your favorite search engine?

If you do an image search and the person’s photo appears under several different names, you’re probably dealing with a scammer.

#18 And if the person’s online profile disappears a few days after they meet you, that’s another tip-off.

Here’s the real deal: Don’t send money to someone you met online — for any reason. If your online sweetheart asks for money, you can expect it’s a scam.

#19 Unfortunately, online dating scams are all too common.

#20 There may be tens of thousands of victims, and only a small fraction report it to the FTC.

If this happens to you, please report it at ftc.gov/complaint — click on Scams and Rip-Offs, then select Romance Scams.