Welcome to SCARS™ RomanceScamsNow™
A Website Of The Society Of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
A U.S. Charitable Tax-Exempt Nonprofit Corporation
SCARS Is The Official Scam Avoidance Education And Scam Victim’s Assistance & Support Division Of The Society Of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. [SCARS]
SCARS Is Independently Supported By Private Grants
Welcome To The World Of Romance Scams!
Actually, they are not about Romance, they are Socially Engineered Scams!
Romance Scams and Socially Engineered Scams Are Corrupting Almost All Social Media Platforms and Dating Websites Today. In Fact, On Some Social Media and Dating & Romance Websites Almost 90% Of All Profiles Are Now Scammers From African Or From Behind The Former Iron Curtain. Scammers Are Usually Easy To Spot, But Some Are Adapting, So Always Watch For The Tell-Tale Clues, And When In Doubt Don’t Respond – If She Or He Looks Too Good To Be True, They Probably Are!
Always Assume A Stranger Is A Scammer Until You Know For Sure!
The opinions expressed on this website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the publisher of this website, and are protected speech under the laws of the United States of America. If any fraudsters or scammers are offended by our statements, Good On Us, we win! This website is not intended for use by minors and does contain adult situations, articles about criminal conduct, and photography that may be frank in nature. Parental discretion is suggested.
Our Team Has Changed Over The Years.
We Leave This In Place Out Of Respect For Those Not With Us Anymore!
RSN Team:
Over The Years We Have Enjoyed The Hard Work Of Many Talented Staff Members
SCARS Officers:
Dr. Tim McGuinness, Chairman & Founder
Mr. L. Tshua
Ms. S. Zhang
SCARS Is Now Managed By:
Tom Borman
SCARS Managing Director
info@RomanceScamsNow.com
Cynthia Reyes
SCARS Compliance Officer
contact@AgainstScams.org
We would like to thank all of our past and present staff, and the incredible volunteers that have helped in an unbelievable number of ways!
Those that are no longer with us, we miss you!
Thank You All!
SCARS™ Romance Scams Now™
Is the Scam Avoidance Educational & Scam Victims Assistance & Support Division Of SCARS Since 2017
Previously Was An independent Member Organization of SCARS Since 2015
More About SCARS™ Romance Scams Now™
Affiliations:
SCARS™ Romance Scams Now™ is a Member Of or Affiliate Of The Following Groups or Organizations:
- U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Program Partner
- U.S. Dept. Of Justice Office of Victims of Crime Registered Victims’ Assistance Organization
- National Center for Victims of Crime®
- VictimConnect® Registered Crime Victims’ Assistance Organization
- NOVA – National Organization for Victims’ Assistance
- E.U. Octopus Cybercrime Initiative
- Europol Affiliate
- European Union Council of Europe Affiliate
- Ethics in Scam Reporting [founded in 2016] Member
- Content Compliance Council [founded in 2005] Founding Member
- Anti-Scam Alliance [founded in 2013] Founding Member
- Committee for Data Standards in Scam Reporting [founded 2016] Member
- Plus additional governmental agency affiliations around the world
SCARS is also one of the original two developers of the SCARS|CDN Cybercrime Data Network – an Anti-Scam Data Reporting Network. This website serves as one of the several hundred SCARS|CDN Entry-Points, as well as an End-Point in the SCARS|CDN Network.
Private Grants & Services Donated By:
- Walmart®
- McAfee®
- Target®
- HHGREGG®
- AdPort Creative™
- Lima Consulting™
- Global Commerce Partners™
- Safety Harbour Creative™
- Global Verification Authority™
- AdvertisingExperience®
- DroneCyclone®
- BNI®
- ePayables Solutions
- Others
Site Verifications:
- Alexa®
- United State Department of Homeland Security
- Global Verification Authority™
- Good Business Commission™
- McAfee®
- TrustSite®
SCARS Is Owned By:
SCARS RomanceScamsNow.com is owned and published by the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. [SCARS] Previously owned and published by PerfectReputations® as an independent unit. PerfectReputations® is a part of the WebFossil® Group of Companies. Originally published by McGuinnessPublishing™ in 2003. All SCARS Team members are employees or subcontractors of SCARS. Our domain name is listed as privately registered (for security purposes) through 1and1® which provides services and hosting for RSN & SCARS websites and web-based applications. The current registration was transferred to 1and1 in 2013.
SCARS™ Romance Scams Now™ is funded by two methods: 1) grant funding per month which covers about 90% of the IT, website, and team costs. Additionally, we obtain a very small amount of revenue from ads (these are primarily for SEO value) but provide about 5% to 10% of our costs. In addition, we receive donated time and services from other groups and organizations, and external companies. Neither SCARS nor its parent company derive ANY profit from the operation of SCARS™ RomanceScamsNow™. The Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated is a Tax-Exempt Nonprofit Non-Governmental Organization [NGO] incorporated in the State of Delaware.
A Brief History of SCARS & RSN:
- 1981 – Dr. McGuinness first use of the Internet (then known as ARPANET) while a Research Scientist at Atari Inc.
- 1982 – Dr. McGuinness invents online advertising and online product reviews, and co-invents internet software download and the ecommerce shopping cart while at ROMOX Inc. (he was a founding shareholder) – these were never patented but based upon the patent applied for ROMOX Video Game Distribution System/Network
- 1982 – Experimented with a Crime Reporting BBS system run from the ROMOX offices in Cupertino California
- 1983 – Collaborated with Japanese National Police on use of personal computers in law enforcement
- 1984 – Dr. McGuinness presents the first white-paper/presentation on the subject of Online Ethics and Safety at COMDEX Chicago
- 1983 – Collaborated with U.K. Scotland Yard on use of Teletext in law enforcement and crime reporting
- 1986 – Presented paper about online safety at West Coast Computer Faire, San Francisco California
- 1987 – Presented use of improved computer-based crime data collecting to police departments around the United States as an officer of BLOC Development Corporation (the founding name of TigerDirect) based upon the company’s FormTool software
- 1988 – Presented papers on the use of computer data gathering techniques for law enforcement at the American Forms Management Association annual meeting
- 1988 – Trained U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on customized computer-based data gathering techniques
- 1990 – Co-authored one of the first Anti-Viral software products while at BLOC Development called “PopDrop”
- 1991 – Began observing scams through an AOL Group/Forum/Chat Room about Scams on AOL – converted to Romance Scams about 1993 – founded by Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. (PC Industry Pioneer – Research Engineer at original Atari Inc. and co-founder of TigerDirect)
- 1995 – Added anti-scam information under Webmasters page on TigerDirect.com (Dr. McGuinness was a co-founder, officer, and webmaster for TigerDirect)
- 1995 – Dr. McGuinness created the first online dating website called Date.com – was owned by TigerDirect and discontinued
- 1996 – TigerDirect (Dr. McGuinness) was a contributor to the language of the U.S. Communications Decency Act Section 230 – to allow for User Generated Content Online (with vast unforeseen consequences)
- 1996 – Began reporting scammers to U.S. Federal Agencies
- 1997 – Began tracking and reporting on “ICQ” scammers worldwide
- 1997 – TigerDirect (Dr. McGuinness) was a contributor to the language of the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy & Protection Act (COPPA)
- 1998 – Spun out to separate website under McGuinnessOnline.com [now defunct]
- 1998 – Began reporting to European Police Agencies
- 2000 – Created Separate Scams Related Website (first use of brand)
- 2001 – Dr. McGuinness helped Netherlands authorities break up terrorist scam group in Holland – triggering a more urgent recognition of global scamming problem
- 2003 – Launched First Generation of RomanceScamsNow.com
- 2005 – Dr. McGuinness developed a process for scam & nudity screening for MySpace – services available for Dating sites screening also but rejected by Dating Industry
- 2005 – Launched Content Compliance Council – standards body for Social Media & Dating Website Industry
- 2006 – Began large scale harvesting of scammers on dating websites
- 2006 – Dr. McGuinness’ company offers scammer detection and clean-out service commercially to dating websites – ultimately rejected by industry
- 2007 – Launched Second Generation RomanceScamsNow.com
- 2012 – Website massively attacked by African & Russian hackers and shut down during hacker war against our website because of exposure of scammers & frauds
- 2013 – New RSN website launched RomanceScamsNow.com
- 2013 – Expanded Social Media pages / accounts begun
- 2014 – Romance Scams Now named Expert Witness in $1.5 Billion Dollar lawsuit against Match.com (case was ultimately dropped)
- 2014 – RSN has social media pages, groups, or profiles on: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, MySpace, Instagram, Pintrest, Google+, LinkedIn, Skype, DeviantArt, VK
- 2014 – Works with the parent company to create a Scam Data Clearinghouse “GOFCH” with the idea of distributing data to dating websites and social media services and government entities.
- 2015 – RSN passes 4,000,000 visitors (in 3 years) and highest trafficked U.S. anti-scam website
- 2015 – Develops link between Romance Scams and Addiction
- 2015 – Launches marketing program “Campaign Against Online Fraud” to educate consumers of risks
- 2015 – Works with other NGOs to help launch SCARS – the Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams (named changed in late 2018)
- 2016 – RSN releases the only Scam Victim Recovery Program – it is offered free to all here
- 2016 – RSN offers 10 separate scam related support groups on Facebook supporting hundreds of scam victims
- 2016 – Launches Boyati Miskun Foundation to help prevent scam victim suicides
- 2016 – RSN added Minds.com to it’s social media coverage
- 2016 – RSN is a founding member with 10 other Anti-scam Groups from 13 counties on the Ethics in Scam Reporting Project
- 2016 – With other Scam Data Clearinghouses in Europe & Asia forms the Committee for Data Standards in Scam Reporting [CODS] to finalize the SCARS Anti-Scam Data Reporting Network and take live
- 2016 – RSN becomes formal Member Organization of the Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams along with dozens of other professional anti-scam groups, professionals, individuals, and members of the U.S. Government
- 2016 – RSN transfers to SCARS the Boyati Miskun Foundation and the Campaign Against Online Fraud
- 2017 – Acquired by the Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams [SCARS] to be their official Scam Avoidance Educational and Scam Victims’ Assistance & Support Division – becomes SCARS
- 2017 – Closed Las Vegas Nevada office, shifting to Miami offices
- 2018 – SCARS opens SCARS|China
- 2018 – SCARS adds new Board Members Mr. L. Tshua from Singapore and Ms. S. Zhang from China
- 2018 – SCARS filed for re-registration to become a full tax-exempt nonprofit corporation
- 2019 – SCARS re-registration completed with incorporation now in the State of Delaware as a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
- 2019 – SCARS is now a charitable nonprofit corporation registered in the state of Delaware U.S.A.
- 2019 – SCARS goes to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to meet with tech industry titans for dialog about scams and scammers – met with great success
- 2019 – SCARS awarded special recognition by the Consumer Electronics Show for outstanding work as a nonprofit in raising public awareness about online dangers
- 2019 – U.S. Government shutdown delays SCARS’ final 501(C)(3) status
- 2019 – Jackie Corbett, Debby Mongomery, Elina Juusola Ph.D., and others, nominated to SCARS Board of Directors to be finalized on February 15
- 2019 – SCARS formally establishes new Advisory Board with Board Members to be finalized during the annual Board of Director’s Meeting on February 15
Legal Stuff:
The contents of this website and extended social media pages is a scholarly work for non-profit educational purposes in the subjects of geography and social studies. Presented FREE to students, teachers & educators, and the public in the interest of developing awareness of the subject and in helping to preserve our common global heritage. Some content is original, some public domain, some provided by visitors, some content used under “Fair Use” provision of section 107 U.S. Copyright Law. Some content from third-parties. All third-party copyrights acknowledged. Sources credited where possible or known. If we have not correctly credited a source – please let us know. All original works are copyright by the published of this website and related social media pages – all right reserved worldwide.
Scammer Grammar™, Act Against Scams™, Say No To Scams™, Boyati Miskun Foundation™, SCARS™, Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams™, Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams™, SCARS™, RSN™, Romance Scams Now™, SCARS|CDN™, SCARS Cybercrime Data Network™, SCARS|China™, SCARS|UK™, SCARS|Worldwide™, SCARS|Global™, SCARS|GOFCH™, in any form, are all trademarks of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated. PerfectReputations®, McGuinnessPublishing™, WebFossil®, and MentalWard® are registered trademarks of their respective holders. This website and unique content is Copyright © 2009-2019 the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated. All Rights Reserved Worldwide and WebWide. Images of private individuals are presented because they were believed to have been used in criminal activities, and we ARE NOT stating or implying that the persons depicted are involved in any way other than being victims themselves unless otherwise indicated.
Stuff our lawyers say we have to say: You use this website as is, and we make no warranties about its function, behavior, content, or accuracy. You use this website at your own risk. By using this website, you agree to hold harmless the publisher, their staff and principals, the design guys, the content peeps, the hosting company, and Bob the Water Delivery Guy. In short, if you don’t like it or it doesn’t work the way you think it should go away – we’ll miss you though! For more legal information please view our Privacy Policy and our Terms & Conditions. Your use of this website also means you agree to allow the use of Cookies.
Important Pages:
Contact The RSN Team
- Email: info@RomanceScamsNow.com
- Address: 9737 NW 41st Street, Suite 530, Doral Florida 33178 USA
- Phone: NOT DISPLAYED – However, if you are in crisis? Do you need to talk to someone now? Call 1-800-273-8255
Unsolicited email, regular mail, or phone communications without authorization may be a violation of applicable law. Spam emails received will be considered scams and added to our Scammer Email Database.