Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Romance Scams: When “Love” is a Crime
Valentine’s Day is almost here and that makes my snarky little heart want to talk about the kind of love that doesn’t fill your soul - it drains your bank account. Have you heard of romance scams? It’s when love is a crime.
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another compelling true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. Today, we’re going to investigate some cases to learn the warning signs that you or maybe someone you know has an online Romeo who is really a vampire trying to suck them dry.
The first Romeo scammer we’re going to look at is actually a Juliette. Just last week, a Utah court sentenced thirty-nine year old Nelly Idowu to six years in prison using fake profiles to bilk her victims out of over six million dollars. Her favorite victims? Lonely women over sixty-five. What should we do when we come across a scammer in our own lives?
Romans 5:8 NLT
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
This was not at all the Biblical direction I was planning to go this week. I was looking for some condemnation for the wicked. But as I was doing some research for the episode I came across a blogpost by Kevin Halloran. He was writing about scammers lurking on FaceBook Marketplace and other sites. Once he was onto them he used to tell these people that he knew they were scammers then he’d report them to FaceBook. Good plan, right?
After doing this for a while, he actually came up with a better plan. He still tells them he knows they are trying to scam him, but he asks them to pause and consider the consequences of their actions. He cites Scripture and shares the Gospel.
He still reports them, and he should! Are you thinking, “But what about grace?” Well, let’s talk about that. I believe that too often as believers we give out too much cheap grace. We believe everyone who says they are sorry. Believe me - they aren’t all sorry. Sometimes people just know what we want to hear. Even if they are truly repentant - not just sorry but actively pursuing a new way of behaving - their actions should still have consequences.
A great example of that from Scripture is found in the 20th chapter of Numbers. Moses is leading the people of Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land. They’re all grumbling about not having water and to make a long story short God tells Moses how to fix it but Moses gets mad at the people and does it his own way, and then tries to take the credit.
I’m going to guess that Moses was sorry afterward. He seems like that kind of guy, doesn’t he? But his actions caused him to lose out on getting to enter the Promised Land. All of the ‘I’m sorries” in the world could not change the outcome. God did grant him a measure of mercy though by taking Moses up to Mount Nebo to allow him a glimpse of the land he wouldn’t set his feet upon. Moses’ relationship with God wasn’t broken by his disobedience, but a price did have to be paid.
Visit my website to access more episodes and subscribe to my newsletter. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my church safety consulting or investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com.
National Elder Fraud Hotline: 833-FRAUD-11 (833 372 8311)
Report online fraud to the Federal Trade Commission
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches.