Online love lost to £11,000 fraudster

Sep 2 2008 by Noreen Coltman, The Journal

A PRIMARY schoolteacher’s dream of finding love through the internet cost her almost £11,000.

Yesterday single mum Debbie Staveley, 42, who said she felt “stupid and sick” to have fallen victim to an online conman, bravely spoke out in an attempt to warn other “vulnerable” women.

Just over a week ago Ms Staveley, from Sherburn Village, County Durham, was looking forward to meeting for the first time the man she knew as John Thomas, an architect with whom she was considering spending the rest of her life.

Her dream turned into a nightmare when he claimed to have had his car hijacked and his daughter kidnapped on the day she expected him to fly to England. By that time she had already paid £10,600 to her online “boyfriend”.

Ms Staveley, who is divorced with a 13-year-old daughter, thought she was being romanced by a man from Manchester. It turns out he was actually more likely to be a gangster based in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria.

The Durham woman met the conman through an online dating agency around five weeks ago.

Speaking in faltering tones yesterday, she said: “He told me he was an architect, half-British and half-Greek, and that he had a contract to work in Benin.

“He told me he was a widower with one daughter. We began communicating by online messages and our relationship gradually grew. We both had daughters so we talked about them.

“Then he told me his daughter had contracted malaria and he needed money to pay for hospital treatment. He said the hospital wouldn’t accept his cheques or credit cards.

“I paid a small amount at first, then gradually larger sums through Western Union via the Post Office. He asked for my bank account details and my address and postcode. When £5,000 appeared in my account I felt reassured, especially as at that time I had not paid out that much.

“He then told me he was ill himself and desperately needed money. I began getting cash advances on my credit cards, anything to raise some money.”

Ms Staveley said: “I admit to being naive, but the story of his daughter tugged at my heart strings.

“I had no reason to believe that the money he sent me was fraudulent, but now my bank has frozen my account. I can’t pay my bills or mortgage. Before I knew where I was I was sucked in.

“But I am not going to let some guy sitting in an internet cafe in Nigeria ruin my life. I feel sick and stupid, but I will recover.”

Ms Staveley said she approached a friend of hers, a serving police officer, after the man claimed his daughter had been kidnapped and he needed a further £4,000. Her friend told Det Insp Geoff Smith, head of Durham’s Economic Crime Unit, who said her horror story was a stark reminder that no one was safe from fraudsters.

DI Smith said: “Deborah has lost a lot of money, but learned a valuable lesson. A lot of things on the internet are not what they appear to be and people should think very carefully about revealing their personal details to strangers.

“The case is being investigated and we are liaising with all the relevant banks, but sadly the reality is that if the trails lead back to Lagos it can make the investigation difficult to complete.

“What we can do is to use this sad case as a grim warning to others to take special care and exercise extreme vigilance when you are dealing with people on internet dating and chat sites.”

Ms Staveley revealed: “I have since found out this man has tricked another woman in Brighton, but there will be lots of others.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better, it only makes me feel worse to know other women are going through the same pain as me.”

Have you been the victim of a scam and want to warn others? Click here to send us your stories