John / Johnson Leigh, love scammer

(This scammer is also known to call himself Mark West, Mark Coker and Robert Evans. He may be using other names as well.)

"John Leigh" or "Johnson Leigh" is frequently found on match.com and possibly other dating sites. He uses the same scamming script as "Mark West" and "Mark Coker". It's likely the same scammer.

"John" or "Johnson" claims to be a widower, usually with two kids. He'll pretend to fall in love very quickly, which is one of the telltale signs of a scammer.
A few weeks into the script, "John" will inform you about an urgent trip to Nigeria or another African country. A few days later he will be stuck in a situation where he needs money fast. "Mark West" and "Mark Coker" usually stay at a hotel that can't accept credit cards (see Mark West script mentioned above). The usual amount the scammer asks for is $2650.

Known IP addresses: 41.155.43.78 and 41.155.92.9 - Nigeria

"John" sometimes gives the phone number +1-703-542-1731, which is a VoIP number provided by XO Communications. VoIP calls are routed via the internet; the owner of that number can be anywhere in the world.

Additionally, he has sent the following picture to at least one person:

More images he might use are here.

It feels good to be in contact with you. My name is Johnson. Half Dutch and half British. I do not know exactly where to start from but I am very delighted at the chance/prospect of communicating with you. It's hard to meet people these days. I hardly do bars or clubs and meeting people has just been so hard but I'm grateful for this chance that I have.

I never done this ever before, but in all honesty how else can I meet people if I don't do this. I am extremely new to this, so you will have to be patient with me while I learn how to date through the internet and eventually making it a reality. I am very easy going, full of purpose with a great sense of humor. I am down to earth and the only reason why I'm here is because I truly wanna settle down with a woman who is honest and a woman who attaches great importance to happiness and family values.

I lost my wife in 2006 and it's been very very difficult but am glad now that I'm out of my shells and it's time to live again. I am currently residing here and I plan to stay here for the rest of my life. Americans are very friendly and open. I have absolutely enjoyed living here and this is my new home. I left Amsterdam simply because I wanted to start life all over again.

My subscription will run out soon but I honestly do not wanna lose contact with you so I would advise that you email me using my personal email address which is: southernspice30/at/yahoo/dot/com (southernspice30 at yahoo dot com). Who knows we might end of making this work and we can be happy together forever.

Love always
Johnson.

Thank you for taking out your precious time to send me an email, it really did feel good to hear from you. I am glad that we have connected, I was really scared that I will lose contact with you simply because my subscription was running out and I didn't plan on renewing it. I feel I need to move on no matter what had happened in the past. I am new to this online dating thing and it sometimes makes me feel nervous I feel it is because I have been in my shells in the past years of my life after the death of my wife. Lately I realized that I must move on with my life as I have grieved enough that was why i joined match.com.

I have two children from my late wife and they mean the world to me and they live with their granny as in Italy as there would be no one to give them that much needed motherly love. I look forward to having them live with me some time in a very near future when I have a one big and happy family. My relocation was as a result of my inablity to continue taking the pains of my late wife’s death. Everywhere I go I see things that reminds me of her. So I decided that the best thing for me to do was to start life all over again and give love a chance.

I am an engineer by training and an energy consultant by calling, my job involves the management of projects in the oil and gas industry. I am involved in the design, construction and commissioning of oil and gas facilities. I am also involved in the some consultancy works for sellers and prospective
buyers of crude oil, it’s basically a negotiators' job. I enjoy my job because it gives me some kind of fulfilment that I manage as essential commodity. My job sometimes also takes me round the globe as the demand for energy cuts across borders, I am also self employed. I used to enjoy my frequent trips when I just lost my wife but lately I have come to realize that there is more to life than just work as I have toiled hard all my life and look forward to spending the rest of my life with the love of my life

Call me on 703.542.1731 will add you to my IM so we can also IM each other when we have some time.I like to meet a woman who's loving, caring and affectionate. I like the sunrise and its set, I like it when it's chilly, warm a few. Well, I prefer going toNew Zealand because of the great adventure and pleasure in there, the land of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I love listening to slow rock, R and Bs, Jazz, Gospel and sometimes pop. I can’t wait to know you more, tell me your likes and dislikes. Tell me about your kids, can we talk on the phone and what is the best time to call?. Waiting earnestly to hear from you. I really do not know what else to tell you as I am new to this but would be willing to answer any questions that would make us better acqainted. I would stop here as I need to get to work.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Hugs.
Johnson.

(Note the similarities of this e-mail and the first e-mail from the Mark West scam script.)

These pictures have been forwarded to me by somebody he tried to scam:

This is another set of pictures used by the same scammer.