njredhead

I think this forum is invaluable, but I would like to put out a warning to all....My sister, who lives in Southern Spain, was recently the victim of a conman who is straight out of the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It is hard to believe that sociopaths of this nature actually exist, and worse- that they have preyed on a family member. It is easy to think that you would never be caught in this way, that you are clever enough and would be able to spot such a conman very easily, but this criminal knows how to weave a plausible tale. I am not going to put his name here as it may be against the rules. However I do want any of you reading this to think twice before falling for a man who sounds too good to be true...He may say he is South African, or German. However he does not have a Swiss Bank Account or work for Ferrari, or have a big house in South Africa, or go scuba diving ( as depicted on his facebook page) - and he belongs behind bars.
Just thankful that my sister is free from this evil, albeit somewhat poorer.

scot47

Can you post a bit more ? How did he con her ?We cannot simply beware of all South Africans and Germans !

njredhead

This man pretended to be a wealthy successful businessman, about to purchase a large expensive house in Spain. He told many many lies about his life, his work for Ferrari, how his father had just died and left him with a house in Italy, and his desire to settle down with my sister. It sounds incredible to fall for all this , but a sociopath can be very clever and charming and she isn't the first to fall for a scoundrel.
He was able to con a local car salesman into letting him have the keys to a range rover while he "test drove" it around for weeks. He claimed to pay for all kinds of things - that were never paid for and had to be repossessed. And all this time he swore that his money was tied up in tax issues that would soon be settled, or that he had a swiss bank account that he wasn't able to access.
The reason for writing this is to make others aware of the kind of monsters posing as charmers who are ready to prey on the gullible ( and not so gullible). However sometimes it is difficult to make the person involved see the truth and not the mirage.
I cannot write his name as it may be contrary to the rules here.

quiltman

Sorry to be a bit thick , but was this via an online dating site or did she physically meet him somewhere. If online then just name the site and others will just have to be careful!

Longlegpete

Sorry to hear about the problems your sister has had, i also appreciate this is a forum about life in Spain, however this is not a Spanish problem , it's world wide, i was listening to a radio programme on the BBC a few months ago with regards to people being scammed in all sorts of ways, it's amazing to hear tails of people transferring in some cases more than €39,000 to people they had never met but thought they knew!

Truth is we all need to be on our guard reguarless of where we may be, it takes years and years to get to know someone, we just shouldn't forget that no matter how vulnerable we may be at certain times

Albir_Tom

Sorry to hear this but spain is absolutley full of people like this anyway.

i had a bloke telling me he parked roman abramovich's yacht before.

leave me out.

Horlics

He might have conned you too mate. I'm not sure you actually know his name.

I do see these stories and wonder how people can be taken in but the fact that so many are shows that these are very convincing conmen.

I feel sorry for your sister, no doubt it's shaken her up badly as well as cost her money.

tebo53

I really cannot understand how people can be conned like that these days Over many years there have been numerous programmes on TV, loads of warnings and stories in newspapers and magazines over and over again. If people are gullible enough to be taken in its their own fault and their own problem.

I for one cannot be sympathetic .

Keith1963

I take it he was given a sound thrashing before being marched to the closest cashpoint ?