Vapor: A True Story of How I Fell Victim to Catfishing

V

A

P

O

R

A TRUE STORY OF HOW I FELL VICTIM TO CATFISHING

DEBRA DANIELSEN

A POST HILL PRESS BOOK

ISBN: 978-1-68261-534-8

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-68261-535-5

VAPOR

A True Story of How I Fell Victim to Catfishing

© 2018 by Debra Danielsen

All Rights Reserved

Cover art by Christian Bentulan

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Post Hill Press

New York • Nashville

posthillpress.com

Published in the United States of America

DEDICATION

People, places, and property come and go in life. If you are fortunate, your family stands behind you. Family are the people who believe in you no matter what, who speak the truth to you, and who celebrate you and have your back. Those are the people I dedicate this book to. My father, Goodmond Danielsen, Jr., and my mother, Carmella Danielsen, who stood beside me through this ordeal and gave me confidence to move forward. My daughter, Farrah Abraham, and granddaughter, Sophia Abraham, who showed me unconditional love, gave me hugs, and spoke kind words to me. Of course, my fiancé, Dr. David Merz, has brought new perspective concerning the growth pains I have gone through in life and how this experience has polished me to be even brighter.

Thank you all for believing in me. I am forever grateful for the healing each one of you has blessed me with.

All my love,

Debra

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

DEBRA’S FAMILY PHOTOS

REFERENCES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT DEBRA DANIELSEN

VAPOR

Cybercrimes are easier than ever to pull off. No global police force exists to go after these criminals, so cybercrimes are increasing exponentially year after year. The FBI estimates that over twelve million cybercrimes and scams occurred in the United States in 2013 alone.

Scammers are sophisticated, professional, and intelligent. They target potential victims carefully, and these victims include homemakers, celebrities, professional athletes…anyone with assets! Successful scams result in CEOs stepping down and people being driven to commit suicide. If you are on the internet in any way—a dating site, email, shopping, social media, or through a business—this book is a must-read to protect your assets.

Vapor is a true story about how I was conned out of $250,000 through a Match.com scammer supposedly named James Richardson. Vapor includes industry expert recommendations for both individuals and businesses on how they can protect their assets from cyber scammers. Read this so your assets don’t get vaporized! You are a target.

James Richardson’s Match.com profile photo and the first photo he sent of himself to me.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Vapor is compelling. You can see it, but you can never take hold of it. It lacks substance and therefore cannot be permanent. This book is called Vapor because it is about James Richardson, who is someone I can never take hold of.

This story is about James Richardson and our relationship—both professional and personal. Both James Richardson and our relationship turned out to be vapor. James Richardson is a phantasm in my life. He is an ideal person created by an intelligent, articulate, and professional scammer to catfish his way into my life (and perhaps yours) for the sole purpose of perpetrating an international business crime. As you read this book, James is walking around free and happy with over $200,000 of my money. He is a professional business man who is part of an international crime organization that operates its business just outside of the jurisdictional reach of the United States government. James freely comes into and goes from the United States. The problem is that he uses changing identities and photos to carry out his catfishing and business scams. The money he collects is then used in real business ventures in the United States or other countries. The extensive use of cybertechnology enables James to be vapor.

James Richardson at a soccer game in Europe with people he described as clients. Notice the two people who appear in this photo with James Richardson are two of the same guys in the vacation photo taken in Europe around a large fountain. His story didn’t match these photos.

I hope that sharing my story will help other victims to boldly share their own stories. If you are a victim yourself, be bold and report the scam. I know how tempting it is to hide behind shame and embarrassment, but we have the power to stop these scammers from preying on others. If we share information about our scam experiences and post photographs and other documents used by scammers to a centrally located site, perhaps we can provide federal, state, and local governments with new insights that could lead to the arrest and conviction of more scammers. The information may be just what someone needs to see to avoid a scam situation, or report one that they are currently experiencing.

The first step in fixing a problem is coming to a clear understanding of the nature of the problem. I believed James Richardson to be permanent and trustworthy, but he was only a temporary illusion, constructed to deceive me. I define my experience with this scammer as vapor.

Vapour US, vapor

n.

4. Rare, something fanciful that lacks substance or permanence the vapours (Archaic) a depressed mental condition believed originally to be the result of vaporous exhalations from the stomach vb

1. (Physics / General Physics) to evaporate or cause to evaporate; vaporize

2. (intr) to make vain empty boasts; brag

[from Latin vapor]

Source: The Free Dictionary by Farlex. www.thefreedictionary.com/vapour, Dec. 25, 2013.

1Va·por

n.

: a substance that is in the form of a gas or that consists of very small drops or particles mixed with the air

: diffused matter (as smoke or fog) suspended floating in the air and impairing its transparency

3

a : something unsubstantial or transitory : phantasm

b : a foolish or fanciful idea

4

b : a depressed or hysterical nervous condition

Source: Merriam-Webster®, m-w.com, Dec. 25, 2013. www.merriam-webster.com

The Bible is another great source for understanding how vapor is relevant to our lives and how we should consider it daily. There are many references to vapor throughout the Bible. I have included four references below that pertain to my story.

Psalms 39:5

Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.

James 4:14

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Proverbs 21:6-7

6 Getting treasures by a lying tongue

Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek

death.

7 The violence of the wicked will destroy

them.

Because they refuse to do justice.

Hosea 6:4

"‘What should I do with you?’ asks the Lord.

‘For your love vanishes like the morning mist

and disappears like dew in the sunlight."’

FOREWORD

No one believes they will be scammed. You don’t fall for those emails and phone calls about unclaimed money in some mysterious account with your name on it. And you don’t fit the category of being unemployed, elderly, lonely, or naive. You don’t have any identifiable weakness where someone could use psychological warfare to get you to do something you would never do ordinarily. Stop and think again. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies cannot keep up with the rapidly increasing number of reported scams occurring in the United States that involve relationships and businesses. In 2013 alone, the FBI, CIA, and Secret Service estimated that over twelve million scams occurred in our country. There has been such an explosion of business and relationship scams occurring that these law enforcement agencies do not have the staff to investigate them unless they involve $10 million or more.

The majority of these scams are happening in cyberspace–through smart phones, computers, and other internet-connected devices. The worldwide web has ignited new career opportunities for scammers on a grand scale. These scammers are professionals. Many of them have been educated in the United States, hold college degrees, speak fluent English, and are earning in excess of $300,000 a year from people like you and me.

If you are a United States citizen or are living in the United States, count yourself among the most blessed people on the planet. You may say, I am not rich or I don’t have a fancy car, a big house, or a fabulous wardrobe. But scammers are looking for people just like you and me. Their targeted clients are regular people who work hard every day – people who sympathize with their plight and who will lend a temporary helping hand to a person caught up in a difficult situation. Still think you are not vulnerable? Believe you have the wisdom, strength, and understanding to be strong and avoid a con? Okay. I admire you. But everyone has a weakness. It is fairly simple for a highly educated, professionally trained scammer to develop a customized business opportunity that will fit your particular weakness perfectly. My advice is to be diligent at all times.

If this book blesses even a small number of people and gives them the insight, strength, and courage to say No! and walk away from a disastrous situation, then I am thrilled. Scammers know the law and how to work just outside the reach of law enforcement agencies, both in the United States and in foreign countries. These scammers prey on innocent, unsuspecting individuals, gaining their trust and then misusing that trust to inflict emotional, financial, and mental harm. My purpose is to expose these dark tactics.

James sent this to me on August 15, 2013.

It is a photo of him with his buddies on vacation in Europe.

Professional scammers are at the top of their game. Interestingly enough, they are well-schooled in the top selling techniques used by well-respected companies across all industries today. The scammers use these sophisticated selling techniques on their targeted clients, gaining their trust and then misusing it in order to attain their revenue objectives for the year. The scammers are part of sophisticated crime organizations and function like any other company you do business with. Scammers use Spin Selling and Executive Selling courses taken by honest, hardworking professionals to increase their earning potential with each client. Psychologically, the professional scammer understands how to become Your Trusted Advisor – or whatever fills the void in your life – solely to achieve their revenue objective for each targeted client. Scammers are very skilled at using IT software programming, hacking websites, building websites, making videos, and creating Facebook profiles to appear legitimate. They can build an entire fake world to draw you into their web.

So, where is your weak spot? Is it in a relationship, loneliness, unemployment, grandchildren, or other things? You can be certain there is an organization of scammers out there who are proactively constructing compelling scenarios that will address your weakness for the sole purpose of stealing your assets. These assets can be anything of value to you. Be alert. Don’t hand out money, computers, jewelry, watches, or love. Keep each one of these blessings close to your chest.

If you suspect that you are a victim of a scam, report it immediately to local law enforcement. You can also post on my blog at www.scammed.com to help others be aware of potential risks. Who knows? Someone may share information that will lead to the capture and conviction of a scammer. Don’t lose heart. When people unite, we can work effectively with law enforcement to capture scammers or greatly decrease their chances of scamming another person. Be vigilant. Get involved and let’s work together!

CHAPTER ONE

The year 2013 started off well. My daughter Farrah and I were excited to participate in the Actors, Model & Talent for Christ (AMTC) SHINE Event in Orlando, Florida. Our family scheduled time to be together and to enjoy the kick-off of the new year. As in any family, things were not picture-perfect, but I was determined to do everything possible to bring my family back together. Farrah, her daughter Sophia, and I were living in Iowa. Michael, my ex-husband, had relocated to Austin, Texas, two years before and was subletting an apartment from a woman. So, the opportunity for all of us to be together on New Year’s Eve and to participate in the SHINE event as a family was something I was looking forward to.

I wanted to surprise Michael, Farrah, and Sophia with a gift. I bought tickets for everyone to spend New Year’s Eve at the Epcot Center in Disney World. I gave each person their admission ticket since we couldn’t all ride over to the park together. There were too many activities going on between the SHINE event performances we were doing and the career obligations we each needed to address.

Eventually we met up at the Epcot Center for the festivities. Traffic was a total gridlock with thousands of people going to various area attractions for the evening. The Epcot Center itself was crowded with thousands of people, jammed tightly together every step of the way. All of this chaos created a huge amount of stress. It was an unbelievable situation. All I wanted was a few hours of laughter and enjoyment with my family. I was just trying to schedule some quality time together and to make a loving and happy memory.

When you are a celebrity, people get excited to see you everywhere you go. That comes with the territory and your schedule must include time allowances for this interaction. So, we accept, enjoy, and embrace moments with our fans while simultaneously having family