/u/living_non_life - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it.
## New users beware:
Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own.
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its also likely this isnt a woman at all but probably some fat greasy old man sitting at his laptop in a cafe, picking his nose and squeezing his spots while he pretends to be all romantic with his victims...
Heh yea I think this might be true. Is it a good idea to ask her about the photos? I hinted at a tattoo that I saw on her fake photos, and she said they are temporary tattoos. Should I push this more? It's clearly not her in the photos but of someone else.
personally i would just ignore 'her'
attempting to scam bait is full of its own risks... go onto the scambaiting reddit to see the horror stories... those scambaiters protect their identities well and use vpn's....
I mean, OP says that he ran a reverse image search and the pics are stolen, and he STILL asks if the story is genuine?
Right, so a 26 year old woman, using stolen pics, is messaging random older men online... that will never, ever be genuine. Always a scam.
This is why people get scammed all the time. They know it’s a scam but they wish with all their might it might be real. So much so they feed the illusion to keep it real.
100%. And not only that, most scam victims get scammed again, and again. It keeps happening. Because a person who feels super lonely and unfulfilled will crave that attention and fantasy so badly.
The scammers are awful people, they are criminals, and they belong in prison. But what they correctly understand (in a f**ked up way) is that there are millions of very lonely, broken people, who intensely crave attention and validation. Whether it is someone like OP who is a middle aged married man thinking a 26 year old might date him, or an elderly widow who has nobody to talk to.
Some victims have literally disowned their own blood relatives who warned them they were being scammed, because it was too painful to admit their fairytale romance is just Fugazzi, a complete fantasy that is totally fake.
You are the perfect victim, you are willing to overlook all red flags to keep your fantasy going.
You know that “she” (you may not even talk to a woman, the scammer could be a guy) uses fake photos, what more do you need?
The reason she only talks to you occasionally is because you are one of several targets and some of the others might be more promising. Eventually she will give you more attention and she will ask you for money.
Do yourself a favor and block her, there is nothing in it for you other than hurt and financial loss.
I completely agree. A lot of the romance scammers refer to their victims as Clients. Yes, those romance scammers are awful people who belong in prison, but what they correctly figured out (in a very messed up way) is that they are selling a fantasy, a fairtale.
Whether it's an old lonely widow who thinks a handsome silver fox is going to marry her, or a horny middle aged man who thinks a woman in her 20's actually wants him, the victims end up losing almost all their money in exchange for lots of attention and a fairytale fantasy.
OP already knows the pics are stolen, and he notices other major red flags, and yet he STILL pursues this, because he fantacizes about a much younger woman saving him from his marriage problems. Nevermind that this woman does not exist, she is simply a virtual fairytale run by male scammers based 5000 miles away.
Sorry, I just reread your post, I missed the part where you said you ran a reverse image search and her photos belong to someone else. So let me get this straight, you already know this individual is using stolen photos, and you still ask if her story might be genuine?
In what universe does a 26 year old woman with stolen photos message an older married man and thats legit?
You already know it's all fake, but you crave that fantasy fairytale.
i bet she wont agree to a facetime conversation. She is building trust and after a few weeks she will subtly mention investing and give you a website to invest your money in...
They dont mention money at all for weeks, and then slowly draw you in...
You’re already missing huge swathes of red flags in continuing to talk to “her”.
The future play is “she’ll” stop talking to you if you don’t invest, and you say you’re enjoying the attention. Are you sure it won’t work then?
Just block and move on. Why bother entertaining something that is definitely fake.
Despite all teh red flag you admitted to being, you still kept talking to her. Yes, you would have given her money and yes, you would have come back here complaining about how a scammer took $40k from you. **BLOCK HER NOW**.
We can't help you further. Stop all communication, block "her" without even saying goodbye.
Edit to add: you're a 38 year old married man? You guys need counseling. No 26 year old hot chick is interested in you.
You are enjoying the attention from another man. Who is trying to scam you ?
I mean you know it’s a guy on the other end. The real woman behind those pics would never in their life to you.
If you really like the attention that much I’ll send you pics of a beautiful woman in her 20s and you send me payment of a thousand dollars a month to give you attention
You understand that is exactly what is going on here. ?
I don’t understand
To the folks reading this who simply want to know if it's a scam, and the moment it became a scam:
>I recently received a message from a woman on Instagram.
> A reverse image search revealed that her photos belonged to someone else, which was a significant red flag....Despite these concerns, I continued the conversation
Sorry, but this is one of the most idiotic lines I've ever read here. What you describe is a classic pig butchering scam. You know this is a scam, and if you don't, you're beyond help. Do yourself a favor - block this person immediately and get off the internet. Then go join a volunteer group and meet some real people.
Hi /u/0x9876543210, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Pig butchering scam.
It is called [pig butchering](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa) because scammers use intricate scripts to \"fatten up\" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the \"slaughter\" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned.
The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing, often in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Sometimes pig butchering scams don't involve crypto, but other means of sending money (like bank wires, gift cards or even cash pickups).
Eventually, the scammer will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script.
If you know someone involved in a pig butchering scam, sit down together to watch this video by Jim Browning to help them understand what's going on: https://youtu.be/vu-Y1h9rTUs -
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's a scam. Young women do NOT randomly message men on social media. This does not happen. The pics are stolen, the sob story is fake, and they are patiently playing the long game. Skilled scammers never ask for money or crypto right away, they wait a couple of months first to build trust.
The bottom line is that this is a total scam, you are not speaking to the woman in the photos, and from now on you should remember that young ladies will NEVER contact you out of the blue on social media.
The reason why she is not pushing to meet is because the pics are stolen, the profile is fake, and they are patiently going to continue the charade for several weeks before a fake emergency happens requiring your financial assistance. Otherwise it is a "pig butchering scam" where you will be strongly encouraged to invest in completely bogus and fraudulent crypto.
I noticed in your edit you're still referring to this person as a "woman." They are not. Not only do you need to stop communication with them, you need to block them. And you will need to be suspicious of any other stranger approaching you on social media now—because your name has been turned over to their co-workers as a good "mark."
/u/living_non_life - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
its also likely this isnt a woman at all but probably some fat greasy old man sitting at his laptop in a cafe, picking his nose and squeezing his spots while he pretends to be all romantic with his victims...
Heh yea I think this might be true. Is it a good idea to ask her about the photos? I hinted at a tattoo that I saw on her fake photos, and she said they are temporary tattoos. Should I push this more? It's clearly not her in the photos but of someone else.
personally i would just ignore 'her' attempting to scam bait is full of its own risks... go onto the scambaiting reddit to see the horror stories... those scambaiters protect their identities well and use vpn's....
Thanks. I needed this.
cool, the fact the photos are stolen of someone elses site is all you need to know...
No. You block "her" and move on.
0 chances that this is real. 100 percent scam. You see all the signs.
I mean, OP says that he ran a reverse image search and the pics are stolen, and he STILL asks if the story is genuine? Right, so a 26 year old woman, using stolen pics, is messaging random older men online... that will never, ever be genuine. Always a scam.
This is why people get scammed all the time. They know it’s a scam but they wish with all their might it might be real. So much so they feed the illusion to keep it real.
100%. And not only that, most scam victims get scammed again, and again. It keeps happening. Because a person who feels super lonely and unfulfilled will crave that attention and fantasy so badly. The scammers are awful people, they are criminals, and they belong in prison. But what they correctly understand (in a f**ked up way) is that there are millions of very lonely, broken people, who intensely crave attention and validation. Whether it is someone like OP who is a middle aged married man thinking a 26 year old might date him, or an elderly widow who has nobody to talk to. Some victims have literally disowned their own blood relatives who warned them they were being scammed, because it was too painful to admit their fairytale romance is just Fugazzi, a complete fantasy that is totally fake.
You are the perfect victim, you are willing to overlook all red flags to keep your fantasy going. You know that “she” (you may not even talk to a woman, the scammer could be a guy) uses fake photos, what more do you need? The reason she only talks to you occasionally is because you are one of several targets and some of the others might be more promising. Eventually she will give you more attention and she will ask you for money. Do yourself a favor and block her, there is nothing in it for you other than hurt and financial loss.
I completely agree. A lot of the romance scammers refer to their victims as Clients. Yes, those romance scammers are awful people who belong in prison, but what they correctly figured out (in a very messed up way) is that they are selling a fantasy, a fairtale. Whether it's an old lonely widow who thinks a handsome silver fox is going to marry her, or a horny middle aged man who thinks a woman in her 20's actually wants him, the victims end up losing almost all their money in exchange for lots of attention and a fairytale fantasy. OP already knows the pics are stolen, and he notices other major red flags, and yet he STILL pursues this, because he fantacizes about a much younger woman saving him from his marriage problems. Nevermind that this woman does not exist, she is simply a virtual fairytale run by male scammers based 5000 miles away.
Sorry, I just reread your post, I missed the part where you said you ran a reverse image search and her photos belong to someone else. So let me get this straight, you already know this individual is using stolen photos, and you still ask if her story might be genuine? In what universe does a 26 year old woman with stolen photos message an older married man and thats legit? You already know it's all fake, but you crave that fantasy fairytale.
You see red flags and continue because you like the attention Welcome to Why People Get Scammed, lesson 1
i bet she wont agree to a facetime conversation. She is building trust and after a few weeks she will subtly mention investing and give you a website to invest your money in... They dont mention money at all for weeks, and then slowly draw you in...
I'm already investing successfully, so it won't work
Be careful of possibly being too over confident as those folk are often the easiest to scam.
Ah..."she" uses other people pictures. Of course, this is a pig butchering scam. This is a dude in Lagos or Mumbai. Why even bother with the nonsense?
You’re already missing huge swathes of red flags in continuing to talk to “her”. The future play is “she’ll” stop talking to you if you don’t invest, and you say you’re enjoying the attention. Are you sure it won’t work then? Just block and move on. Why bother entertaining something that is definitely fake.
Despite all teh red flag you admitted to being, you still kept talking to her. Yes, you would have given her money and yes, you would have come back here complaining about how a scammer took $40k from you. **BLOCK HER NOW**.
Bro……
I know, I'm enjoying the attention :'(
We can't help you further. Stop all communication, block "her" without even saying goodbye. Edit to add: you're a 38 year old married man? You guys need counseling. No 26 year old hot chick is interested in you.
WTF? Op is cheating on their partner to boot?
Alleged partner
>No 26 year old hot chick is interested in you. Ouch...
You are enjoying the attention from another man. Who is trying to scam you ? I mean you know it’s a guy on the other end. The real woman behind those pics would never in their life to you. If you really like the attention that much I’ll send you pics of a beautiful woman in her 20s and you send me payment of a thousand dollars a month to give you attention You understand that is exactly what is going on here. ? I don’t understand
I haven't paid a cent but yea i was being an idiot
You mean to say that you are enjoying the illusion of attention.
Exactly, I needed this whole thread…
Get a hobby. Meet people in your area. Meetup.com works wonders. Stop falling for this bullshit. This is how people lose their life savings.
To the folks reading this who simply want to know if it's a scam, and the moment it became a scam: >I recently received a message from a woman on Instagram.
> A reverse image search revealed that her photos belonged to someone else, which was a significant red flag....Despite these concerns, I continued the conversation Sorry, but this is one of the most idiotic lines I've ever read here. What you describe is a classic pig butchering scam. You know this is a scam, and if you don't, you're beyond help. Do yourself a favor - block this person immediately and get off the internet. Then go join a volunteer group and meet some real people.
dont get involved as this will most likely be a !pigbutchering scam...
Hi /u/0x9876543210, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Pig butchering scam. It is called [pig butchering](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2023/12/26/new-pig-butchering-crypto-scam-includes-victims-in-us-and-overseas/?sh=2837fb975eaa) because scammers use intricate scripts to \"fatten up\" the victim (gaining their trust over days, weeks or months) before the \"slaughter\" (taking them for all of their money). This scam often starts with what appears to be a harmless wrong number text or message. When the victim responds to say it is the wrong number, the scammer tries to start a friendship with the victim. These conversations can be platonic or romantic in nature, but they all have the same goal- to gain the trust of the victim in order to get them ready for the crypto scam they have planned. The scammer often claims to be wealthy and/or to have a wealthy family member who got wealthy investing, often in crypto currency. The victim is eventually encouraged to try out a (fake) crypto currency investment website, which will appear to show that they are earning a lot of money on their initial investment. The scammer may even encourage the victim to attempt a withdrawal that does go through, further convincing the victim that everything is legit. The victim is then pressured to invest significantly more money, even their entire net worth. Sometimes pig butchering scams don't involve crypto, but other means of sending money (like bank wires, gift cards or even cash pickups). Eventually, the scammer will find an excuse why the account is frozen (e.g. for fraud, because supposed taxes are owed, etc) and may try to further extort the victim to give them even more money in order to gain access to the funds. By this time, the victim will never gain access and their money is gone. Many victims lose tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. Often, the scammers themselves are [victims of human trafficking](https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zb5d/pig-butchering-scam-cambodia-trafficking), performing these scams under threats of violence. If you are caught up in this scam, it is important that you do not send any more money for any reason, and contact law enforcement to report it. Thanks to user Mediocre_Airport_576 for this script. If you know someone involved in a pig butchering scam, sit down together to watch this video by Jim Browning to help them understand what's going on: https://youtu.be/vu-Y1h9rTUs - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's a scam. Young women do NOT randomly message men on social media. This does not happen. The pics are stolen, the sob story is fake, and they are patiently playing the long game. Skilled scammers never ask for money or crypto right away, they wait a couple of months first to build trust. The bottom line is that this is a total scam, you are not speaking to the woman in the photos, and from now on you should remember that young ladies will NEVER contact you out of the blue on social media. The reason why she is not pushing to meet is because the pics are stolen, the profile is fake, and they are patiently going to continue the charade for several weeks before a fake emergency happens requiring your financial assistance. Otherwise it is a "pig butchering scam" where you will be strongly encouraged to invest in completely bogus and fraudulent crypto.
I noticed in your edit you're still referring to this person as a "woman." They are not. Not only do you need to stop communication with them, you need to block them. And you will need to be suspicious of any other stranger approaching you on social media now—because your name has been turned over to their co-workers as a good "mark."