The Sweetheart Swindle Victim

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"Except for infants, and children, there does not exist any one age group who has escaped falling prey to this scam." --- Dennis Marlock

First of all, the victim must be completely ignorant of gypsys and their sweetheart swindle scam. Therefore, he will never read pages like this, until it is too late. Since you are reading this, you may not (any longer) be a good mark for the scam. So, as you read about this crime, please think about elderly, isolated or lonely loved ones, and inform them before they can be victimized.

Most all swindle victims fall into three categories, and this is what the con artist is first looking for (assuming the victim has money to extract):

  1. the good
  2. the greedy
  3. the gullible
Best is a combination of the above. I fell for this sweetheart swindle scam mostly because of type 1 and some type 3. I consider myself to have been more "ignorant" than "gullible". I basically thought all scams involved type 2 or 3, and had never heard of or given much thought to victim type 1. My scammers had to work their act for months to get me to pay, but I paid dearly because I was an extremely "good" victim.

The sweetheart swindler looks for several more specific characteristics in the mark:

Often, victims are the elderly because they have more of these qualities. I had all of the above attributes except for my age; I was only 30. So how could I be so stupid to fall for this?

Because I had never heard of it. Because I came from a place where you love, trust and help your neighbor. I paid so much because I was 100% convinced I was fighting a life or death battle with cancer and I was the only one capable of meeting this need. I have always had a desire to help others in need with the means that God gives me. I could never put a price on someone's life, and that is why I gave so much. If your spouse and best friend were dieing of cancer, would you not give all you could to help them?

It didn't help matters that I am very independent, self-sufficient, stubborn and a determined problem solver. I will always find a way! With God, all things are possible. I am not a quitter. So the Mitchells were able to take advantage of these "good" characteristics to make over $100,000 a year at my expense.

They disappeared and left me with $3/day for food. They tried to get more so that I would die. But I am a survivor and am finally able to get on with life. I am thankful for the lessons learned through all this and hope it will help others to recognize and avoid the trap.

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Timothy D. Witham <twitham@surewest.net>
Time-stamp: "2004-10-16 12:26:49 twitham"