Romance Scam Victim - HELP URGENT!!!

SCAMMER: THOMAS CARMAN
I seriously need some advice QUICK!! I have been scammed for around $20k (embarrassingly) and I am not a stupid woman but I suppose vulnerable to finding love. The scammer, Thomas Carman, is presumably from the UK and this is my story in a nutshell: We met on a dating site and shortly after he went to Aberdeen, Scotland to bid on a job. He claimed to be a project manager/petroleum chemical engineer. The job was in Sri Lanka and he won the bid and went to the oil platform directly from Aberdeen. Shortly after arriving he claims to have lost internet service which is the only way to pay for equipment, staff, etc. He only needed to get through the first phase which included buying a new pneumonic drill. The job would pay him $5 million minus costs - obviously a healthy profit. So I helped as he would pay me back in 2 weeks. Then he needed more for expedited shipping. We couldn't get the full amount needed so ExxonMobil took him into custody at the airport pending a hearing and then trial. He was ordered to pay $500k or whatever that works out to in British pounds. He claimed to sell his houses, car, and other possessions through a friend, but of course he needed another $5000 and then he would come to live with me - for sure!!! He went to the airport and ExxonMobil stopped him from boarding the plane as his fine didnt clear their bank yet. This left $1500 short on plane fare because he was a "no-show" for the flight. I tried to send a MoneyGram and they actually stopped me and woke me up to what was happening - a scam! I told Thomas what MoneyGram claimed and he was so distraught he stopped the call. Next I knew a doctor from a hospital I cant find on the internet is telling me he walked into traffic and got hit by a car and is in intensive care. The dr also emailed me the hospital website, so these people have done some work to verify their story. Thomas' friend and sister contacted me via phone and text from the hospital stating he was beaten up but would be okay, except they needed help with the hospital bill. Oh yeah, my first payment was made by wire transfer to his friends account, which was reversed for some reason. After that I made cash deposits into his friends wife's account at wells Fargo. Can Wells Fargo help me? And what do I do to make these people crazy for putting me through all this? I want to keep them on the hook working with me if that's all I can do. I am on disability with rheumatoid arthritis and have an autistic son, which is why I just wanted something for me, but that's just sick to mess with a single mom like this!! I want some payback!! I have emails, pics and phone numbers if that helps anything. Can anyone give me some advice/help/tips?
Thanks in advance for just being here!!

The following is contact info for Thomas Carman, his friend, Kelvin Asemota and sister, Sharon Duncahn (Im sure these are all fake names but that's all I have right now). I feel totally ganged up on!!

Thomas Carman
ph: +447442371331
emails: [email protected]
[email protected]

His best friend is: Kelvin Asemota
ph: 703-831-3738
UK: +2348162491935
email: [email protected]

Thomas' "sister" Sharon Duncahn
UK ph: +447721967934
email: [email protected]

Anybody who can help me get rid of or make them miserable, please help!!
I have pics of Thomas as well. Thanks in advance for your support!!

I'm sorry that you were scammed.

First of all you need to stop talking to all of the characters of the scammers in the scam. Drop them completely and do not say a word. Do not confront them. Do not answer any calls, emails, or chats. Block their numbers.
He has your real life details, so do not confront him. Do not mess with him yourself. These scammers have many victims, and your silence to him will help protect other victims, so they can see your posted details here.
Do not attempt to close their email addresses, free FB or social dating site profiles.

Post money request emails and headers for each character, and opening first emails if you still have them.
Post copies of documents, pictures he sent to you. Give the banking details of the scammer to a moderator if you did any bank-bank transfers. Don't count on any arrests, but your details can help save other victims.

Post as many details as you have on each "fake character" as you can.

Junebug, I am sorry this happened to you. But the advice is good-cut all ties with these thieves. Block them on line and on your phone. Do not respond if they call your landline. If you can close your email account, do it.

Can you identify the dating site where you met and maybe post an email with full headers?

Sorry to read of your situation, welcome to SW...

Yes I agree please have no more contact, also be aware of emails telling you that "they " can get your money back for you.

It is another attempt to extract cash from you.

We met on bbwcupid.com. I have contacted the site about this scam already and looked to see if he was still on the website and I did not find him at all.

This is the first direct email from Thomas Carman (scammer):

From: Single Father <[email protected]>

To:

Subject: more about thomas

Date: Thu 1/31/13 8:05 PM

hi,

I was born in New zealand and moved to the USA when i was 35years. My name is thomas, I am a petro chemical engineer and a single parent at the same time hoping to meet someone who is trying to keep things real as well, got to be sincere, honest, caring and loving. I think that one of my best qualities is my sense of humor. It really gives me a lot of satisfaction when I am able to bring a smile, or a chuckle to someone from something that I said or did. I really enjoy brightening up a persons day if I get the opportunity. Now don't get me wrong, I think that life has plenty of serious moments, but it is good to keep things in perspective, and a sense of humor is important. I would do my very best to keep you entertained . Life would not be dull with me around that is for sure.

I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, I have a good disposition. I am rather easy going, rarely get frustrated or upset. I am an empathetic person, and a very good listener; which I feel is important. Always looking for ways to improve the quality of life for my significant other and myself. I also consider myself to be a religious person, and feel that having good moral values is important. I am ambitious, motivated, and determined. You are the right person for me, let's take the chance to get along, leave the rest to me.. I will do all that i can to make things work out..

I am a down to earth person and appreciate the simple things in life.My friends would say I am a strong and successful man. I am an open, caring, sensitive and loving person. Very affectionate, with the right person.i also like to cook. Enjoy working out at the gym several times a week. like to have a good laugh & meaningful conversations, and just enjoying life.

Love Romantic candlelight dinners and love to give out the unexpected bunch of flowers to her. I am financially stable with a great job and wonderful people around me.I have worked and traveled extensively through Europe,Australia and Middle East and i own my business.i have been happy with my life so far and want to see it grow fruitful in many more years with a partner with same values.

Am willing to give and risk everything for the right person. Willing to work on her happiness everyday. Will be affectionate, honest, nice & kind to her always. Her hobbies she likes, then I would love to do them with you. I will even dance for you, though I will suck majorly at it....Lol, Yes, I know "majorly" is not a word. If she's social, then I want to be social with her. Or if she enjoys the quiet time then I am happy to be quiet with her.

All that is needed is the chemistry. I also ask that she affectionate, kind and giving. That's it!

Hope you did not get bored reading my email.



Talk you to soon.

thomas

That e-mail is full of scam talk. No one could possibly have all those "wonderful" and "too good to be true" attributes. In addition, look at the many grammatical errors of not capitalizing at times when it is called for, sentences ending abruptly with the thought not completed, and many others. If he was born in New Zealand and grew up there, his English would be far better. The same if he moved to the United States at 35 years of age. Definitely the same if he was really any kind of an engineer, which I believe requires a graduate degree. If he wrote like this to any company, he would never be hired. So, the key is to put what is written or said to you in the proper context and background the person claims to have. This letter does not fit the claimed background.

I believe you are way too vulnerable to continue contact with him or, rather, who he really is. That is not meant to disparage you or be critical of you. Somebody would have said the same thing to me 4 or 5 months ago. In fact, somebody here and at scamwarners.com did say that to me.

I also meant to tell you if he sent you any photos of himself, then Google search the photos. A good key to it being a scam is if his photo(s) are found on many different dating, modeling, or porn sites oftentimes with different names; also, the photos may show up on other anti-scam sites. That can mean the photo has been stolen by the scammer to use to falsely represent himself.

Wow!! Thanks for making me look like an idiot! And I thought things couldn't get any worse. I look for help and support and this is what I get? Maybe this is the wrong site to be on for support. Obviously looking back now I can see my mistakes. If you've ever emailed very many people then you would know that they dont always have proper grammar. I dont care if you were in the same position or not, your comments are cruel and hurtful! Don't help anyone else!!!

I do understand that you are upset, but please refrain from calling other members cruel and hurtful when they are trying to help.

We see an incredibly diverse group of people here at scamwarners. They come from all different countries and backgrounds. On a regular basis, victims join here and report their scammer, only to be pulled back into the scam when the scammer, who still sees a chance to get money from that victim, creates a new set of lies. We have also dealt with victims who decided to continue contact with their scammer, either to waste the scammer's time or get more information, only to end up even more hurt.

Because we never know who will be at risk for being pulled back in, and because many victims who come here are still active on dating sites and may be more vulnerable to a new approach (often scammers will just approach the victim again under a new identity) it is common to highlight things to look for, both as reinforcement that he is a scammer, and as a way to be proactive. That's all Junren was trying to do, nothing more. It's a sad reality that the only way to stay safe on dating and social networking sites is to not accept what you are told at face value. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

As far as the English is concerned, it is a red flag to watch for, in addition to looking for inconsistencies and/or typical claims in the profile itself. In addition to language not aligning with level of education, there is typically a difference between the poor grammar of a native English speaker, and the mistakes made by someone whose first language is not English. With experience, it often becomes much easier to tell which type you are dealing with and to identify a scammer by initial approach, before you waste a lot of your time and energy.

Junebug2013 has sent me these photo's of the scammer and she has asked me to post them here.
Mod note: These pictures are being used by the scammer and are not of the actual scammer himself. - CW
^^^
ETA Sorry I should have made that point more clearly





This one appears here

http://biznik.com/articles/are-you-ready-to-be-helped

Photos are stolen from Rick Itzkowich, who runs an internet marketing business.

This man contacted me couple of months ago but he told me that he worked in Irak And as i did not accept send money to him, i blocked him And we stopped the conversation

[quote="junebug2013"]The following is contact info for Thomas Carman, his friend, Kelvin Asemota and sister, Sharon Duncahn (Im sure these are all fake names but that's all I have right now). I feel totally ganged up on!!

Thomas Carman
ph: +447442371331
emails: [email protected]
[email protected]

His best friend is: Kelvin Asemota
ph: 703-831-3738
UK: +2348162491935
email: [email protected]

Thomas' "sister" Sharon Duncahn
UK ph: +447721967934
email: shardun
I would like help you send me Your private mail .