SCARS|RSN™ Scammer Urban Legends – Chapter 1 – The Lone Scammer

Online Scamming Has Changed A Lot Over The Decades That It Has Existed

Originally published December 2017, Updated October 2018

Online scamming started with the old Compuserve and America Online, and then other services of that type before the web really got started. It came into play in chat rooms and messaging on these services.

As The Web Came Into Its Own, And Dating Websites Came About Starting In 1995 – Scammers Switched Their Tactics

Of course, at that time, the number of scammers was less than 200 in Africa, and about the same number in Russia/Ukraine.

As the years went by, the number and professionalism of scammers increased, but they were still predominantly individuals that worked in “Collectives” that gave them access to computers and the Internet (mostly through Internet Cafes). These were the precursors to the Gangs.

Fast forward to about 2010 – scamming is now dominated by Gangs and their associates. They used Internet Cafes and Safe Houses that they owned with Internet Access. The Gangs are making serious money, and have developed management hierarchies.

The Gangs take a percentage of the earnings of individual scammers, and scammers are grouping together to better cover victims 24/7 – this is the transformation period from Lone Scammers into Teams under the Gang umbrellas.

By late 2013 we see a new structure emerging. This is the period of corporate organizations with hundreds and thousands of scammers working for them. Instead of the scammer paying a Gang for “Services”, the corporation now collects all money and the scammers are paid a commission (just like salespeople).

Of course, the older structures still remain – it is a country by country thing. Nigeria evolves into the corporate model, while Ghana remains behind in more of the Gang model. Ivory Coast and elsewhere still are dominated by individuals and small independent teams.

The spread of scams starts to go viral at that time and is spreading fast.

Fast forward to 2017. Over one million people became victims of romance scammers in 2016. Billions of dollars are flowing into the West African countries, and they have become very corporate like, with office buildings, major telecommunication connections, training, and vast resources. They even OWN some of the Western Union franchises. Their connection with the local police is even tighter.

The corporate scammers, small, medium, and large have huge amounts of cash, so they set up couriers to carry cash from Nigeria to dozens of countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Southern Philippines, and throughout Africa where the regulations permit. They even set up a major base in Thailand and Viet Nam.

Lone Scammers do still exist, as well as hard-core criminal gangs, but with over 100,000 scammers in operation in Africa, these are now the minority and largely located in: Ivory Coast, Benin, Senegal, The Guineas, The Congos, Togo, Burkina Faso, Angola, and others. Having been driven out by the larger groups.

How did the Africans adapt to the corporate model so easily and quickly? It was thanks to your cell phone company, and your electric company, and everyone else that set up telemarketing call centers throughout the world. In the 2000’s the Contact Center business was thriving, and new centers were being set up, connected, and personnel trained all around the world, including Africa. But by 2013 that industry was collapsing, and the call center businesses were looking for ways to survive. Many turned to scams – such as India going for the IRS/Tax scams, Jamaica with Lotto scams, and Africa with Romance Scams and BEC scams.

So the next time you think you were interacting with, or in a relationship with an individual scammer just remember – in over 90% of the cases YOU WERE NOT! You were being worked by a TEAM.

Please let us know what you think?

SCARS|RSN™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.

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Tell us about your experiences with Romance Scammers in our Scams Discussion Forum on Facebook »

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FAQ: How Do You Properly Report Scammers?

It is essential that law enforcement knows about scams & scammers, even though there is nothing (in most cases) that they can do.

Always report scams involving money lost or where you received money to:

Local Police – ask them to take an “informational” police report – say you need it for your insurance
Your National Police or FBI (www.IC3.gov)
The SCARS|CDN™ Cybercriminal Data Network – Worldwide Reporting Network HERE or on www.Anyscam.com

This helps your government understand the problem, and allows law enforcement to add scammers on watch lists worldwide.

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Visit our NEW Main SCARS|RSN Facebook page for much more information about scams and online crime: www.facebook.com/RSN.Main.News.And.Inromation.Home.Page

To learn more about SCARS visit www.AgainstScams.org

Please be sure to report all scammers HERE or on www.Anyscam.com

All original content is Copyright © 1991 – 2018 SCARS All Rights Reserved Worldwide & Webwide – RSN/Romance Scams Now & SCARS/Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams are all trademarks of Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated (formerly the Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams)

Legal Notices:

SCARS|RSN, RSN, Romance Scams Now, SCARS|GLOBAL, SCARS, Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams, Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams, SCARS|ANYSCAM, Project Anyscam, Anyscam, SCARS|GOFCH, GOFCH, SCARS|CHINA, SCARS|CDN, SCARS Cybercriminal Data Network, Cobalt Alert, Scam Victims Support Group, are all trademarks of Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated.

Contact the law firm for the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated by email at [email protected]

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Romance Scams Avoidance Education & Scam Victims' Assistance & Support Organization at SCARS|RSN™ Romance Scams Now™ is a division of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams™ [SCARS]

SCARS|RSN™ RomanceScamsNow.com™ is the official knowledge and victims' support publication of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams™ Incorporated [SCARS]™ It is edited and published by the SCARS|RSN Team, a division of SCARS. SCARS is the world's leading anti-scam charitable nonprofit nongovernmental organization, based in Miami Florida U.S.A. Its founder has been involved in combating online fraud since 1991. SCARS™ - the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. is a charitable nonprofit nongovernmental organization (NGO) dedicated to advocating victim's causes and changing government and law enforcement attitudes toward online fraud for good! Please join us in becoming a member of SCARS - it's free! Add your voice so that the world will listen at last - just go to www.AgainstScams.org. The SCARS|RSN website and all of our publications (including social media) are maintained by our own staff employees and volunteers to provide you the most up to date information about scams & scammers from around the world. We show you how to avoid them or recover from them. SCARS is the only registered online crime victims' assistance & support organization in the world. Be sure to report scammers here. Also, visit our main Facebook page for more information about romance scams.