RSN Editorial: Who Is The Person In The Photo?

We are constantly asked by victims to identify the person in the photo that they fell in love with.

They want to save them, or tell them how they feel, or tell them their photo is being used by scammers.

It doesn’t matter who he or she is, his or her photo was stolen by scammers.

You have to understand that you do not have a relationship with a real person.

That face is fake.

We understand that you are fixated on that face, but the real person is a victim too, and does not want to hear from anyone.

The person in the photo already knows they are being used by scammers because they are constantly contacted by people claiming to be in love with them, or wanting them to know all about their scam experience.

They do not want to know you or hear from you, because they are also a victim.

Anyone that does not accept this, and tries to contact the person pictured is causing just as much harm as the scammer. The people who have been impersonated do not want to hear from other victims. Their lives have been ruined by the scammer as much as yours has.

They want to be left alone. Some of them are hounded by victims constantly telling them how much they love them. Some get multiple calls a day about this.

You don’t even know that person – you have just seen their photo.

While this sounds harsh and brutal, it is a reality of romance scams. You fall in love with a stolen photo from a real person and proceed to develop a fantasy about them.

In reality you were lied to by the person hiding behind the photo.

You have to accept this and move on. Focus only on yourself and your own recovery. Obsessing on the face in the photo is madness.

You need to get over the scam, you cannot help anyone else at this stage. You need to focus on your own recovery and forget that face – hard as that is.

Additionally, obsessing on the face (and the real person behind it) can be considered cyberstalking, which is a crime in itself, so don’t go there.

• Accept that you were scammed.
• Accept that there was no relationship.
• Accept that everything was a lie.
• Accept the pain and use it to recover.
• Accept that you will make it through this.
• Accept that it just takes time.

Just don’t make it worse by tracking down another poor soul and making their life miserable in the process.

RSN Team
Miami Florida USA