Fraud Gang Conned Women Out Of Over $50,000 With Online Dating Profiles Claiming To Be WHO Workers Stranded In Syria

Jan 15, 2020

Ideally, a dating site will lead you to the person of your dreams. Sometimes, however, the search for love can turn into a nightmare. Two women found themselves conned out of a small fortune while looking for love, by being convinced that their online friends were working for the World Health Organization.

You've probably heard stories about people who misrepresented themselves online to break others' hearts, but online dating site scams can also break the bank. That was the case for two women who found themselves duped out of thousands of dollars by con artists using fake dating profiles to find their next victims.

Melanie Kay and Jackie Ballie, 49 and 62 respectively, each believed that they were messaging a man who worked as a World Health Organization nutritionist. Using the Christian dating site Plenty More Fish, each woman was conned out of over $50,000.

Ballie was a widow who believed she was talking to a man named Jack McDud (emphasis on "dud"); Kay was catfished by a profile with the name Timothy Barton. Miss Ballie lost a substantial portion of her savings, and Kay lost money she had saved to pay for her son's college education, reports The Daily Mail.

These women were led to believe that two World Health Organization nutritionists had been stranded in Syria during a relief mission. Ballie was led to believe that she would meet McDud when he arrived back to the United Kingdom and be repaid the money she sent, with interest, The Daily Mail continues.

Three individuals have been charged with fraud by the Glasgow Sheriff Court; Busy Oladopo, Sidney Ochouba, and Christine Murray have all denied that they took place in the series of 2014-2015 frauds.

This is a modern update of a common con. Dating sites allow fraudsters to build more trust and rapport than emails and phone scams of the past; when emotions are involved, people tend to act less rationally.

Using the WHO as a front allowed the scam artists to seem more official and "above board." This canceled out the women's normal discretion and suspicion, which are a person's best safeguards against scams.

Both Ballie and Kay are understandably angry with the perpetrators, but also with themselves for what they see as their own gullibility. They've experienced many difficulties since losing money to the trio accused of this online fraud.

Ballie and Kay aren't the only women who have been defrauded this way; two other women, Hilary Robinson, Stefka Mirkova, and Coleen Wallman each claim they sent money to one of Ochouba's accounts.

Wallman, too upset to face her defrauders herself, asked her son-in-law call the number she was given. Her son-in-law, Rudolph Benadi, spoke to a man who claimed to be from Nigeria, who was very angry and confrontational.

Ochouba claims that this money was paid to him for interior decorating services. Miss Robinson denies this, saying she never met Ochouba. When Mirkova began to suspect a scam, she called the WHO, who told her that nobody by that name worked for the organization, The Daily Mail concluded.

Ochouba, Murray, and Oladopo are currently on trial for their alleged crimes carried out between the Summer of 2014 and early 2015. Authorities warn that though these people have been apprehended, there are many others still carrying out scams online; anyone using online dating websites should be wary of who they message.

It's tempting to believe that only the naive can be seduced into a scam like this, but experts warn that's far from the truth. Here are a few helpful tips for people who think they might be the intended victim of a dating website scam:

• Know who you're talking to. As we've seen in countless "catfishing" stories, it is easier than ever to create a false identity online. Verify that you're talking to a real person by running their photos through a search engine like TinEye, or search for them on various social media accounts. If someone claims to be part of a prestigious organization, it's important to verify that this is, in fact, true.
• If something/someone seems "too good to be true," they likely are. We all want love, money, and happiness; con artists play on these desires to dupe even the smartest people out of their savings.
• Never send money to someone you haven't met in person. No matter how "legitimate" someone may seem online, they might be an impostor.

If you know anybody (particularly older people) using dating sites, we ask that you spread the word about these scams. Nobody is completely immune to "confidence games" like this, but information is power. Stay safe!