By Rose Simpson
I was going through my late friend Jennette’s paperwork, as part of my role as her estate executor, when I found a small folder that contained mail receipts. They were all addressed to a man in Africa named George Prince Gaskin, the lawyer for a man Jennette became involved with over Facebook.
It had all been a scam, of course, played upon a vulnerable and lonely widow who
fell for an online con artist claiming he was an American soldier named Richard Birdsong.
Birdsong told her that he was stationed in Afghanistan and he had a teenage son. Unbeknownst to everyone but Jennette, they had fallen in love and Jennette was waiting for him to move to Canada so the three of them could be together.
In another folder, I saw a passport application with a photo of Jennette. It didn’t look like her at all. She had swapped her trademark robin’s-egg-blue eye shadow for heavy black mascara and eyeliner. She was all dressed in black instead of her usual wardrobe staples in blue and yellow.
Who was this person, I wondered.
I realized she had taken out a passport as part of her plans to travel to the U.S. in search of her lover. The plans had never been fulfilled, thank goodness.
I was aware that she had been scammed before I found these receipts. About a year before she died, she called to ask if I had a printer. She said she needed to mail something to the U.K. to another lawyer who would confirm to a bank that she was the benefactor on a life insurance policy for Richard Birdsong. I immediately confronted her and she admitted that she had been sending money to him, through this lawyer.
She told me she had also wired money because the young son had fallen into misadventure in Africa and he needed $5,000.
Since I had set up her Facebook account and knew the password, I told her I was going to look into the matter and uncovered the scam.
I immediately blocked him on her site, reported the incident to the RCMP and got her to agree not to have further contact with Birdsong.
So I was shocked when I opened up her computer after her death and realized she had set up another account and continued to carry on her online affair. She had also been texting him on her Smartphone.
The receipts showed Jennette had wired $24,136.96 to someone the RCMP said was in Ghana. No wonder there was no money in her accounts when she died.
How to Spot a Romance Scam
Everyone knows someone who has met, maybe even married, someone whom they met online. Facebook and Instagram are the ideal vehicles for people to get to know someone outside their circles. But romance scams can also be hazardous to the health, heart and bank accounts.
What is a Romance Scam?
According to the RCMP, a romance scam occurs when a person creates a false identity and pretends to have romantic feelings for a victim to gain their trust and affection. The goal is to obtain access to their money.
Step One: Fraudsters research potential victims online by reviewing their social media posts. They develop a tailored strategy for each victim that will improve their chances of success.
Step Two: After developing an online relationship and gaining the victim’s trust, the fraudster will fake a scenario wherein they need quick money for a crisis or an investment opportunity.
Step Three: The scammer requests money, cryptocurrency, gifts or investments. They might also send money to the victim to build further trust or ask the victim to be a “money mule” or a courier for an illegal transaction. Eventually, the victim becomes aware of the scam, but not until they have been swindled out of their savings or cash. By that time it’s too late.
Common Lies and Stories
These are common lies scammers use:
- Working on an oil rig
- Being in the military
- Working as a doctor with an international organization
Scammers will ask victims to pay for:
- Plane tickets and other travel expenses
- Surgery or other medical expenses
- Customs fees to review an item of value
- Gambling debts
- Visas and other official documents
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports romance scams cost 945 victims more than $50 million in 2023. That financial loss is topped only by the one from investment scams. In fact, that total is apt to be lower than the true economic impact, because many victims of romance scams never report the crime due to shame, denial and fear of ridicule.
If You are a Victim:
- Stop all communications with the person
- Call your local police
- Contact your bank and place a stop payment on all cheques and money transfers.
- File a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1 888 495-8501 or contact the RCMP at rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
