Second only to flight money, the Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) is the scammers highest paying income.
Also known as the Personal Travel Allowance, Travellers Allowance Fee, Travellers Assistance Fund, Travellers Assurance Fund and numerous other forms of “I have to have wodges of your cash or they won’t let me fly”.
Let’s get this over with now … THERE IS NO SUCH THING any more, anywhere, it’s an online dating scam.
First of all look at the wording Basic Travel ALLOWANCE, not basic travel requirement.
In the same way as we now have cigarette and alcohol allowances (ie the maximum amount you can take into/out of a country) the BTA used to be the maximum amount of local currency that could be exchanged and taken out of a country.
Why?
If poorer nations just allowed everyone to take as much cash as they liked out of their country the economy would be dead in the water in a week.
Therefore, poorer countries introduced the BTA to limit the amount of local currency that exited their country. This was scrapped 3-4 decades ago and replaced with other currency allowances but it gives the scammers an excellent legitimate sounding tool to get your money.
Something vital to understand is that third world countries don’t care who leaves or if they ever come back, the people that care are the country the person is travelling to.
This means that during the visa application process the applicant must prove to the visa section of the country they are visiting that they, or their sponsor, is financially able to pay for travel and expenses.
Very occasionally passport control at their destination country may randomly ask a traveller how much cash they have (this is usually when someone from a third world country arrives for a two week stay with 10 suitcases) and 50-100 pounds sterling/dollars or equivalent is more than adequate.
There is NO requirement, anywhere, for the person to show their government/travel agency/airline that they have 1000 pounds/dollars in cash … it’s a spinoff from the Nigerian 419 dating scam and a very effective one.
The usual amount asked for in terms of BTA is between 800 and 3000 pounds or dollars.
Let’s put this into context … on the Nigerian section of the Expat Blog we see:
the cost of living in Nigeria… a bit of an odd question as 90% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.
So if you send them 1000 pounds (without calculating the flight money etc) you have just paid them 8 years basic living allowance.
Bet you wish someone would give you 8 years of salary free for just making a couple of phone calls and sending a few emails!!
Not hitting home yet?
Let’s try something more visual. At todays exchange rate 1000 British pounds is 241,127.33 NGN (nigerian currency).
Now go to Nigeria Car Finder and in the second hand car section leave everything as any and set the price to 250000
My search showed that your hard earned cash could buy a scammer:
1992 Honda, Accord … takes just 1 successful scam (flight and BTA money)
1993 190e mercedes, 1993 model … takes just 1 successful scam (flight +BTA)
2000 Mercedes-Benz, 200-Series … takes just 3 successful scams (flight and BTA)
Now then, do YOU drive a mercedes?
What about a home in a well-to-do area?
“Real estate for sale: 3 bedroom bungalow in cornerstone estate Price: 7 million”
So they just have to scam 10 people in the UK out of 3000 pounds for flight/BTA/hospital etc and bingo, they can live the high life without a mortgage … can you?
I’m sorry to be so brutal about this but you MUST understand that sending these people money is the equivalent of you having a half decent win on the lottery.
To make matters worse if you send them just 1 pound or dollar they will never leave you alone, you will have to change your online details, your home phone number, your mobile number and perhaps even move house to get away from them.
If you are reading this because you think you might be being scammed (requests for large sums of money to be sent through Western Union for BTA or flights) then I almost guarantee you are.
If you have already sent money then don’t feel ashamed, they prey on the humans most basic instinct, to love and be loved.
However, cease all contact immediately … don’t decide they might just be genuine so I’ll give them a couple of days, if you are reading this your head is sending you alarm signals, listen to them.
Conclusion: There is no such thing as Basic Travel Allowance or any other terms which suggest such a thing, the BTA is a dating scam.
(please note the photo of the boys used in this blog post are not known dating scammers, it is simply a photo of boys in Africa)
October 16th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Hi,
I’m really happy that I can find all this information online. I am “IN THE LIMIT” to send money to nigeria – lagos.
I met a cute girl on e-kontakt.se, as it says before on this blog, scandinavian girl.
Im living in Sweden and she is living for some weeks in nigeria. She asked me, 2 days after we met, to send 250 euro to her.
After reading all this website… I just have to say thank you to all of you, that could inform people how tricky the world is.
Im Brazilian, I came from a reality that people is trying to get advantage on weak and inocent. I have been working with poor kids before, inside the the GUETOS/FAVELAS. Most of the poor kids has drug dealers around to push them to be this or that..
When I felt that this girl, suddenly, was so pushed to ask for help and money!! i thought that she was in trouble…I thought that could be kidnap or someone pushing her to get money online.
I couldnt sleep this night and I start this morning looking for an answer… Here it is the answer. I already inform the authorities about her.
The only thing I would like to know, how can we check how long time a HOTMAIL account exist?
Thank you, Thank you!!!
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:18 am
Hi Will
Sorry to take so long to reply.
As far as I know there is no way to check how old a hotmail account is.
March 20th, 2011 at 2:46 am
Thanks friend,
I just been scamed by a fake American woman who claimed that is is caught in Lagos,due to a lack of money to go back home to America.I believe,there must be strict laws that mandate regulations for dating sites.The dating sites must be payable as we got most like eHarmony,for example.Criminals less like go to paid places,because they fear they need to pay with their own credit cards and also have IDs to be checked to be sure they are legitimate people.All dating sites must not be free,but payable and heavily regulated by their hosts.
Thanks friend!
March 20th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Hi Jerry
I’m afraid scammers regularly join paid dating sites, they simply use stolen credit cards or the money their victims send them.
People need to join dating sites which only allow members from your own country to join.
October 22nd, 2010 at 10:44 pm
when i was reading those comments i was so scared because my fiance still in nigeria and just spoke to him that the airline airfrance asking him this BTA and his flying on tuesday please help him to fly because he got no money to show because he had been robbed there.
October 23rd, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Nena have you ever met your fiance or is it someone you just met online?
October 29th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
A MAN NAME ELROD RODSON FROM UK HAS E-MAIL ME his e-mail is rodson67 @ yahoo.com has been talk with me he said he buy and sell horse he got me on evo wed set then could n;t find his sit he is on facebook in uk if this him he send me copy of fly to come here to meet me but said needed 800 for a bta then went two 200 this sonething i wourldnt gave any one . he call s text me he im me all time keep me upset then tell me he love me only he is very hot man in photo he e-mail me his visa and it was a usa visa with same photo he send me now when you get a passport they take the phtoto you can’t used your photo so i just want everone to know he out there he has not got any money from me also i check on horses he said he got and the breeder don’t know him at all so watch out for him he keeps text me ever two three day’s i have block him on my net but my phone got go to the cphone to block him. he told he kill his self he could be with me he also used god a lot and queen so .he also when you tune him down make you feel you are hunting him he very good of what he dose i sent him this sit to him still said he who he say but for him to trust me i have send him trust 200 i told him go to h e ll so you take care
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Hi Sally I was wandering if Mark was right or not about there being a differant variant of the BTA scam by local Offical how I assume get paid real well there but I don’t know for sure. I was recently conversing with a young lady at least I think it was a young lady that said she worked with Doctors without boards which they are real and she was in the UK on assignment but the she said it was about to end and said she need money to get home when I told her I had no money and would save the $300 USD up to help here come home I lost communication with her for about three weeks and then she turned up in Nigeria say the Doctors without boards flew her unit down there to take care of the orphan down there. When she was about to leave she had them change her flight ticket to my location and we where suppose to me in person but when she contacted me she ask for this BTA that she said the imigration offcial asked for so I told her I would send to her but she gave me some one elses name so I became really suspicious of her and start questioning her motives and asking why can’t I send it the money to her and she can go pick it up from Western Union she told me the she couldn’t because she wasn’t a citizen of Nigeria but I called Western Union and asked them can any one pick in Nigeria citizen or non-citizen they told me that yes and they have no ristriction and who can pick up money as long as they have valid ID or international passport they can even cash it there they told me. so I told her this but she presited and told me that she will be here on Tuesday that was on November 31st 2010 She said she was from the USA originally. I got cerious when she started asking for this BTA so I typed in Basic Travel Allowance Nigeria into Google and came up with several web site on it including this one and they all said it doesn’t exit but Mark is say that there is another version of it but when I told her this and start questioning her about it and then I told her what I did which was to call the US Embassy in Nigeria and for the sake of argument called the UK embassy as well and they both told me no you don’t need it to board a plane to go out of Nigeria but you will have to declare upon entry either into the UK or the US or give them your sponsors name. I was going to be at the airport here in washington state near me so there would not be ay problem with here entring the country because she had been gone for so long. They also told me that all you need is a valid passport visa if needed and plane ticket nothing else was needed. When my US Navey warship stopped there those we were greeted with open arms but we some of use tried to reboards our ship some offical stopped us but when out ship went to full alart because we were stopped at the entrance to the port and guys started coming off the ship with guns they quickly backed off and we all boarded the ship and quickly left port. But any way after I told her I would send now money she got mad and said she was crying because I didn’t believe her but now I was wandering could I have made a terriable mistake and abandoned her there because she said she quit her job because of the love she had for me and wanted to come to see me and meet me. I did cry over this for awhile and tried to talk the US Embassy into helping but they said they would if they won’t even help their own citizens then why are they there in country. So for the rambling on but please responed to this as soon as you can SALLY. She got mad and then told me to have a nice day and wished me luck in finding true love which I think I my have abandoned there please answer me as soon as possible she was only asking for $200 USD. As for WHY’S comment I think he or she is the one that needs to do some research.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Was I correct in not sending the $200 USD she asked for for the fictious BTA? I am sad because I feel like I should move on but can’t until i get and honest blunt answer please. ?
December 7th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Hi Roland
Very sorry to take so long to reply, I have been rather busy.
No there is no such thing as BTA and yes you were right not to send it. Your story is exactly the tale I would expect from a scammer, including disappearing for a few weeks and suddenly turning up in Nigeria.
Please do not lose any sleep over this, you caught on before you were scammed. Well done.
I am emailing a more comprehensive answer to you directly.
December 9th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
ALL I CAN SAY…WHY NEED TO SHARE THE STORIES>
WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DIE SCAMMERS DIE.
December 12th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Anonymous you are funny I guess every blog site needs someone to make the issue humorous. Keep it up.
December 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
I met a girl from Nigeria 4 months ago, on a website called mate one dot com. She told me her heart had just been broken cause she caught her boyfriend cheating on her, and then we started talking. We got to know each other and fell in love with each other. I was in the US navy(im currently being separated). I sent her 500 dollars a while ago for her internet bills, and for her to buy a present for her grandmothers birthday. She told me that her parents died and her dad left millions of dollars for her and her husband when she is married. She claims to be from Alaska, where her father was originally and her mother is from Nigeria. After they died, she said she moved to Nigeria with her grandmother. I have called her on the phone and talked to her, or maybe it wasn’t her. I have had 3 pictures of her, and she sent me nude photos via email. I recently decided to leave the Navy and marry her, and send she asked me to send her money to fly to the US. I used up my whole paycheck, maxed out my debit card(500 dollars) and I got a 300 dollar loan form my bank. I sent money through Western Union to her supposed travel agent, and supposedly she got the ticket yesterday. She sent me a last minute email today cause her flight leaves today from Lagos, Nigeria to the US in Philadelphia. She emailed me about “BTA FEES!” I talked to her and called her a scammer and told her she wasted my time and ruined my life. But she kept denying it and saying she is telling the truth and really loves me and wants to be in my arms and wants to prove me wrong. She told me that she is going to the US still and does not wanna miss her flight. I told her I could not send her anymore money, so she told me she was going to go to the market and sell her jewelry and clothes to get $810 dollars for her BTA fee. I lost my trust in her and im so worried. I have so much love for her but am in pain right now. Am I being scammed?
December 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Hi Micah
My instinct says yes you are being scammed. Of course there are genuine women in Nigeria looking for love but this story fits the scammers profile. The only thing to do is wait for her next communication … either she will say she is in the US and can’t wait to see you or, as I suspect, she will miss her flight and ask you for money to rebook her ticket.
December 22nd, 2010 at 7:18 pm
I just wanted to share my story. Yesterday I fell victim to this Love/Romance Scam. We met on bbpeoplemeet.com. He “found” me and sent this really nice email. We emailed back and forth on the site then moved to Yahoo IM. He told me that he was from Miami and that he was in Nigeria on business. He’d return to the states on 12/24/10. He told me that he didn’t wanna spend the holidays alone and that he wanted us to meet. He asked me for $350. I gave him $150. He then asked for $180 more dollars for a “Basic Travel Allowance” fee. I told him I didn’t have the money. He asked for my credit card and checking account information. I did NOT provide him with any of that information. By this time, I KNEW I had been scammed. I wish I had followed my first mind and NOT sent him the money but it was a $150 lesson learned. To everyone out there, please DO NOT, I repeat: DO NOT fall for this scam like I did. It’s sad that people will take adavantage of others for there only filthy monetary gain.
January 3rd, 2011 at 12:05 pm
She said she missed her flight and was in the hospital for 3 days, now she told me she wished me a happy new year, and asked what I wanted to do now, that she wanted to know my plans, she wants us to get married still and have kids….
January 4th, 2011 at 5:11 am
Hi Micah
Sorry to hear that but it is no surprise, she is a definitely a scammer. She doesn’t want to get married and have children, she (if she is a she) just wants to string you along for as long as possible in the hope of getting money or expensive goods out of you. I suggest you cut off all contact with her now.
January 6th, 2011 at 1:46 am
I have a guy friend who is in Niegria working with his son and we met on an online dating site. Well I sent him 100 to help with airfare then he goes to airport to fly home to states. Well he was told he needed 400 per person for him and son fot BTA. So what I am understanding is that THERE is no BTA and that I have been had by someone who says he loves me and wants to spend rest of life with me?
January 6th, 2011 at 1:54 am
Hi Jennifer
I’m afraid that is the case yes. There is no BTA, so if he asked for money for this then he has scammed you. The next stage of the scam, if you sent the 800, is he will miss his flight or his son will get sick or he will be robbed on the way to the airport …. same old story time and time again.
I’m very sorry for your hurt feelings and the loss of your money but at least you had the sense to find out now and not later down the road.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:11 am
So far he has not asked me for the 800 he knows I don’t have it he is trying to find a job out there to get the 800 himself
January 6th, 2011 at 2:22 am
My question to myself would have to be …. so why has he talked about this money for something that doesn’t exist?
Just be careful please Jennifer, if he says he was robbed, attacked or his son gets sick just cease all communication. Scammers regularly reel out a story until their victim is so afraid for them they have borrowed money and even got loans on their homes to send them money. Don’t fall victim … BTA does not exist so why is he talking about it?
What nationality does he say he is?
January 6th, 2011 at 2:25 am
Born and raised in the us
January 6th, 2011 at 2:31 am
Ok so how is his spelling and grammar in his emails?
Have you ever communicated with him directly while he was in the US?
Did he go to Nigeria with a company? (ie did his work fly him out there to work)
If so why have they not flown him home?
Have you ever seen him on webcam?
Why has he taken his son out there to work with him?
Is his wife dead?
Does his son want to call you his mother?
If he has been working out there why doesn’t he have the funds to fly home?
Has he been to the US Embassy to ask for assistance?
Hasn’t he got family or friends in the US who could help him?
These are all questions you should be asking yourself, as they are all part of a scammers story which don’t add up and it will paint a picture for you.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:40 am
Ok thanks and he works for himself he did get paid but he was told by banks he could not cash the check out there. He has asked a friend from his home town to help him as he has. Have not seen him on web cam but have gotten 3 pics of him and 2 of his son. He said his wife died like 7 years ago and his father dies 3 years ago. So he has no family. I don’t think he went to embassy yet I emailed him and told him to try going there.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:48 am
I’m afraid his whole story is the same as most of the scammers tell, just read through the comments on this blog and you will recognise the story. Is he an engineer or art dealer by any chance?
Let us assume he cannot cash the cheque out there … he can send it to his bank in the US by DHL.
I will email you from my personal email account and if you want you can send me the pics of him and his son, together with one of his emails to you and I will tell you my opinion.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:59 am
Ok thanks
January 6th, 2011 at 3:14 am
Just for other readers … Jennifer was dealing with a scammer. I took a couple of random sentences from the emails and googled them and up popped gender and photo changed but the exact same wording. Sorry Jennifer.
January 8th, 2011 at 4:40 am
I have been talking to a young lady on facebook, and then yahoo instant messenger. I was scammed for 550.oo. All very similar to what I have been reading on different sites..
Juliet Martins is a Nigerian dating scammer. I thought she was a mid 20′s white girl. Played me like a piano. She got to the airport she said to come be with me. they wouldn’t let her through customs because she didn’t have the BTA which is Basic Travelling Allowance that some countries used to use to make sure travelers had enough cash on them. well it turns out that hasn’t been in existence for some time. I went looking on the internet for basic travelling allowance and came across Juliet Martins name on several occasions. She is also on face book. The page where I found her was jengjuliet juliet.. after more digging, and did a photo match program on TinEye.com came up with a photo match…. The photos all belong to
Raven Riley a exotic and porn star. lessons learned….. 550 bucks down the tubes. Russ.
January 10th, 2011 at 7:24 pm
I met a girl I am madly in love with. She is in Great britain and she told me after I helped her with her Plane ticket, and Passport. She told me she visited the Embassy to check on her Visa so she could be with me and she told me she had to have a BTA in order to get out of her Country. I would like to know if I have been scammed by her or not.
January 11th, 2011 at 10:39 am
Hi Shawn
Yes you have been scammed I’m afraid. I am from Great Britain and no such thing as BTA exists here or anywhere else. You say she is British but what country is she in at the moment? Why is she getting a visa from her own embassy? Visa’s are issued by the embassy of the country you wish to visit.
British citizens with a UK passport do not require a visa to enter the USA, under the waiver program.
So sorry but you have been scammed.
January 19th, 2011 at 9:37 am
already 10 days more or less I became acquainted with a woman named Trisha Melinda Hudson, an American, living in the UK Stanford, we speak that Trisha finally decided to come to my country, but not as easy as I imagined, all that talk money for BTA. …. Can you explain about this situation? Is this a scam?
January 19th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Hi acer2662
Yes it is a scam, there is no such thing as BTA. America has no BTA, the UK has no BTA and no other country has BTA. Sorry she is a scammer (and is probably a man not a woman if you haven’t seen them on webcam)
January 20th, 2011 at 10:08 am
I have talked to this girl named anita Williams for a year now saying she wants to come back to the states after parents died in a wreck in Paris. She says her dad had a large company out of new York and she is stuck in Nigeria. She keeps asking me to send a bta and I found out from a co worker that just came from France to work that there was no bta. But I have seen her on webcam.
January 20th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Hi Donald
Scammers are not just male, women are also involved in scam gangs and are paid to chat to men and get them to send money.
Does seeing her on webcam mean she is telling the truth or is who she says she is? What evidence has she sent you to show her Dad owned a large company in NY or that she has been to France or that BTA exists? I am guessing none and you are simply taking her word for it.
Does she claim to be a US or French citizen? If so has been to the US or French Embassy if she is having trouble leaving the country?
The golden riule in this situation is … if they have lied about one thing then you must doubt everything they have told you. What actual evidence do you have that any of her story is true or that she isn’t just a Nigerian citizen trying to make money out of trusting people on the internet?
February 6th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Hello i have a women in Nigera, and she says that she is an american, she have been there to help her sick mother. She wants to travel to me but she say she need money for (bta) she have mail me a document it look like its from the gowermen. and that explain the (bta) so i am confuset, and i would like same help.
best
regards Hokan
February 9th, 2011 at 4:49 am
Hi Hokan
BTA does not exist, therefore the document will be a fake. I will send you an email and you can send me the document to compare to fake documents in my database.
February 9th, 2011 at 6:57 am
hey people lets set this straight right here and right now BTA(Basic Travel Allowance) does not exit ans has not exited for decades people for decades. I hope all the scammers that are trying to scam people guess what we are letting everyone know that this BTA does not exit. and if Sally can help stop one or two people from throwing their hard earned money away to you scammers then she has succeeded in stopping you from scamming that person and maybe even the next dozen or so people. I hope all you scammers are caught and go to jail for many year if not life.
February 9th, 2011 at 7:12 am
If anyone out there including scammers can prove that this BTA(Basic Travel Allowance) exits then by all mean contact sally and send her the documents so she can prove that they are all fakes. I want to see hard core evidents that this BTA exits if you scammers can’t prove it then I guess you are not goning to be scamming anyone anymore at least the people on site like this that are trying to get the word out. I put up challange to anyone the can come up with hard core proof that it exits.
BTA DOES NOT EXIT PEOPLE GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD AND TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS SCAM.
February 9th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Hi, I have just been scammed. I really thought that I could trust this guy because he didn’t start out asking for money. But then this thing about BTA came up and instead of looking it up before I sent the money I sent him $120. So now I’m out of $120 and I can’t get him to leave me alone. He keeps e-mailing me and calling me and he keeps telling me he loves me. He has even asked for more money. He asked for me to send him $300 more dollars. What can I do now?
February 9th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Hi Donna
The good news is you only lost £120 rather than thousands, as many scammers have. The even better news is you have now found our community so can get as much support as you need.
You should be able to block emails and calls from that number. Contact your phone and mobile company to ask for the number (s) to be blocked and block the email address (s). It is much easier if you are simply not aware they are trying to contact you.
If all else fails you will need to change your email address and phone numbers … don’t think of it until about 3 months have passed, they usually give up after that time if you totally ignore them. Don’t even reply to say “don’t contact me”, as that is communication and means you are reading their emails … simply block/ignore them totally.
February 10th, 2011 at 5:10 am
I have been talking to a girl from Nigeria for about a month. She said she was from the US and claimed to be a over there working on a Tinapa Resort in Agege, Lagos. It sounds like the same story that I am reading above about asking for money for a plane ticket and now this BTA. She gave me her SSN and I did look it up, but I didn’t get her exact address she was claiming in the US. I’ve got a hunch that she had stolen someone’s identity. Everything has sounded funny the whole way through. After looking up Basic Travel Allowance and finding this message board I know that something isn’t right.
February 10th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Hi Gillette55
What scammers fail to understand is how embassies and immigration work for US citizens. It’s hard to give enough information to victims without writing an instruction manual for scammers but she has lied about BTA, so now you know she is a liar … even if she was genuine (which she will not be) would you want to be in a relationship with a liar??!!
February 14th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
I too have been scammed from Nigeria by someone claiming to be from Bristol. He said that he was over there to sort out his late father’s estate, probate etc.
Like the trusting person that I WAS, I fell for it, but when BTA was mentioned a.) I did not know what it was, and asked him to explain. b.) When the explanation was forthcoming I looked it up and found that there is no such thing.
All contact by me has ceased, but I am the recipient of repentant Emails, text messages and phone calls, none of which I answer.
I suspect that he will get tired of it soon.
Thank you for the existence of this site.
February 14th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Hi John
You are taking exactly the right action … none. Simply ignore all the pleas of innocence and angry “you don’t trust me” rubbish, it’s simply designed to reel you back in.
They usually get tired after a few weeks if you don’t respond in any way and move onto their next victim. Glad the site was of help.
February 14th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Good to see that i am not alone… i met three men on SPARK.COM.. and funny they were all on the same timeline with questions and then with “feelings” and then with BTA… I called the American Embassy in Nigeria to see why this “american” could not get any help. She checked his name and age and did not find a passport for such a person. Glad i called the Emabassy, thank you for your website as well. Do you want the pics from the guys?
February 14th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Thank you for your reply, Sally.
Having come in at 10.30pm from work I found an Email from a “new” character, but the wording “I hope you remember who is sending you these Emails” immediately gave the game away.
I also found a Faceboof friend application from a “woman” who alleged that she was in the same line of work as me, but again the wording, eg “Please write me” “I want to get know you” was identical to earlier Emails from the scammer.
I suspect that there might be a team at work on this and other scams.
At any rate he, or they, cannot be very intelligent.
Thanks you again.
February 15th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Hi John
Facebook is being bomarded by scammers at the moment, I have seen a real increase in scammer contact requests and yes they are so obvious. They will keep going until the money dries up, as people get wise to them and then they will move on to something else.
Just stay aware and don’t respond … even to say I know you’re a scammer.
February 17th, 2011 at 12:27 am
The calls from Nigeria are gradually decreasing in frequency, and there have been no emails today.
February 17th, 2011 at 2:42 am
Hi John
Excellent news, just keep ignoring them and they will get bored and move on to another victim, unfortunately but at least you will be rid of them.
February 18th, 2011 at 10:04 am
Hi Sally,
There have been no calls, emails, or texts for some 36 hours now.
Perhaps he, or they, have given up. Let us hope so!
February 18th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Great news John, fingers crossed they have given up and moved on. Stay on your guard for a while though and don’t just answer your phone without checking who is calling first.
February 18th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
I am a Nigerian and it is very disappointing that some of us have decided to live life with the purpose of victimizing others. There is a body established to fight online crime in Nigeria: EFCC and tey have been trying their best but i encourage each one to help us in any way you can.
DO NOT REPLY TO ANY OF THEIR STORIES NO MATTER HOW CONVINCING THEY MAY SOUND.
Don’t just reply back at all.
Greed sometimes contribute to your being victimized. If you know that you did not apply for any lottery, why would you agree to pay some cash to claim what you won?
won from where??
They would say that their parents, uncles, cousin, business partner awarded so so and so contract to them and they are looking for some money for some initial deposits?
why wouldn’t the person go to the bank to seek for fund knowing that he would eventually gain?
ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD YOU REMMIT YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY TO SOMEONE YOU JUST KNOW FROM THE INTERNET.
The good Nigerians are bearing the brunt of these nefarious acts because apperently now, there is no honest Nigerian but I assure you that there are.
Thank you
February 18th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Hi Mex
Welcome to the blog and thank you so much for your comments, it is lovely to hear from a Nigerian.
I can assure you that we are all aware there are honest and decent Nigerians but I’m afraid with the amount of scams coming from your country everyone is tarred with the same brush. I hope your country finds a way to combat these people and return your countries reputation.
Could you please post details of the EFCC and how we can contact them. Perhaps if I can send the details we receive to them it will help them in their fight to combat scammers.
Sally
February 19th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Hi Sally,
Text message received 5.30pm GMT.
“Hello John, how are you doing? Hope you have found a place in your heart to forgive mee Please write back John”
Needless to say I have not vouchsafed unto him an answer!!
February 19th, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Well done John, just keep ignoring the calls. If you answer in any way, even to say leave me alone, it is communication and something he can latch onto … like replying “but I just need you to forgive me”… then you reply and on and on it goes.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
I think I was the dumbest of anyone scammed. I am a christian who only lives to help even if I don’t really have much. I do not place the value of money over love. However I really dislike the fact that people could be so horrible and do this to other human beings. Man this really sucks. I am so a shamed of being fooled like this. I tried so hard not to be a victim because I heard people were getting scammed, but I still became a victim. I can’t even say how much these horrible people got of me but I can tell you it was way more than anyone I have read about on your site so far. I am so glad I found this site.
Thank you for all the info.
February 20th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Hi Lisa
I’m so sorry to hear you were a victim and that you lost a lot of money. Unfortunately trusting people like yourself are a scammers dream come true .. one lady in the UK lost £100,000 (about $162,500). It is so upsetting that they would treat good people this way but even more upsetting that our governments are not doing more to warn people and stop this.
February 20th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
The reason our governments don’t do anything is because they have their heads stuck up each other ass and they are worried about banks failing you know what let the bank fail and do more about these scammers that can’t make it in the real world.
February 22nd, 2011 at 3:21 am
Just had a Skype contact request. I have blocked it.
February 24th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Just a had a mobile phone call from Nigeria, I did not answer it. 17.16 GMT
February 24th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
hi i met this girl online and she says that she cant go home without 2000 bta money. she is from denison texas and she says that her mom is sick and she was told to stay with her and this is the third time something has happened for her to come back. first she owed money for rent then its the bta money now its she got into a car accident. I keep telling her that there is no bta and I M getting tired of sending money for this. but i read from another site that their is one back i read on another site that there is a such thing i want to know what to do my heart tells me i believe her but in a way i do not cause something always happens
February 26th, 2011 at 7:20 am
Hi JR
Please can you post a link to the site that says there is BTA so I can have a read and contact the website.
I’m confused, is the woman in Texas at the moment and needs to go home to Nigeria or wherever, or is she in Nigeria (or wherever) and needs to go home? If you met her online how do you know she is where she says she is?
There used to be bta in countries like Nigeria, about 40 years ago, but it was exactly what it says … basic travel ALLOWANCE. It set the maximum amount of foreign currency you could take OUT of the country and was designed to stabalise their economy. It was never a charge to let you enter or leave a country.
In 2011 there is NO bta anywhere in the world and anyone who tells you there is is either a liar or misguided. I get people coming to this blog to say there is bta in Nigeria but when I check their ip address guess where they come from!!! Of course scammers don’t want people knowing there is no bta so they put out information on forums and blogs saying it does.
Have you ever met this woman in real life? If not why are you sending money to a stranger on the internet? What sort of person has no friends, family or work to ask for help when they have financial woes and must turn to strangers.
February 26th, 2011 at 9:09 am
She is in nigeria and needs to go home in texas. You are right how do I know where she is. The website i went to was answer.com and i typed in the question Does Basic Travel Allowance exist in nigeria? See what answer comes up.type in some other questions and see what else comes up.i m so foolish and confused on what to do. i dont understand to this day on how she has no friends she also told me that she cant go to her immediate family because when she was younger she almost got raped by her uncle. I just want this to be over with. I dont know if this whole story she is telling me is true or not.
February 26th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Hi JR
No I’m sorry it is not true. A US citizen does not need a single dollar to return to their own country, only a flight ticket. If she is a Nigerian citizen then her mother would be her US sponsor and accept paying for her while in the US … so again immigration would not require her to have money.
Her story … car accident, paying rent and BTA are all ways scammers get money out of trusting people on the internet, they play on your sympathy (which is why the US soldier scam works so well).
My advise is to break off contact with this person immediately. Do not answer phone calls and delete emails without reading them, she is just trying to get money from you for nothing.
Think about this ….. Live rates at 2011.02.26 09:49:00 UTC 2,000.00 USD = 306,040.01 NGN
What can 306,040 Naira buy today in Nigeria from buyright.biz?
A second hand car – 100000 km 2000 Daewoo Nubira 299,999 Nigerian
A whole shopping list – AIR COOLER KLF-06B 102,500.00/- + H5 Extreme Digital Camcorder 42,270.00/- + BookTop 3G computer 87,340.00/- + Huawei E585 3G Mobile Router 32,500.00/- + a scanner to help you in your scamming work OptiCard 821 Business Card Scanner 15,600.00/- + 25,000 to spend on chasing your next victim
It sort of puts it all into perspective don’t you think?
If you want to be absolutely sure simply call the US Department of State http://travel.state.gov/ and ask them about BTA, I am sure they will be happy to confirm bta does not exist.
February 26th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
i understand what you are saying but it still sounds very convincing to me.she is still convinced that there is still a bta. she sounds convincing about this whole thing i m gonna try and break it off and see what happens with everything. does this feel like extortion to you
February 26th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Hi JR
It’s meant to sound convincing or people wouldn’t pay. There is no bta, it’s that simple. Please don’t leave yourself guessing … call the state department and find out it is not true. Once you are totally certain it is not true you will easily be able to see the obvious lies she has told you. Unfortunately people often WANT to believe it is true or they have to face that they have lost their money and fell for a conman/woman.
My guess is when you break it off she will get angry/upset and say “ou don’t love me or trust me” because that is usually what they do … it’s all emotional blackmail.
It is not extortion, it is fraud in my opinion. They pretend to be someone else in order to get money from you … are you even sure she is a female? Often men pretend to be women to defraud people, so have you ever actually spoken to her?
February 26th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
you are right about this. i will see what is gonna happen with this whole thing i m still itchy about it but i think it will go away
February 27th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
what is your definition of extortion and your definition of fraud
February 27th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Hi JR
I would define extortion as someone using their position (usually official) to obtain items or money, whereas fraud is using trickery or a false identity to obtain items or money.
February 27th, 2011 at 8:23 pm
J.R I was once in your possion and then I looked up BTA and Found this site and several others that say it does not exit and believe call the state department like sally says and they will tell you the same thing sally and this site is telling that it does not exit and hasn’t exited for decades. So please just ignore them all because I have and I now have a young lady coming to see me from that very country and she is busy working and getting the remaining money she needs to get here to me and I have not had to send her a dime of my own money at all. This young lady also told me that the BTA doesn’t exit in Nigeria at all. Because I asked her and she told me no it doesn’t and then she told me she will work hard and pay her own way to get to me. So I hope with in the next few weeks to a couple of months I will be seeing her walking off a plane at Seattle-Tacoma international airport. I am very happy.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
what happens if your visa expires what can you do about that?
February 27th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Depends how long ago the visa expired. If it was quite recently then you simply apply for an extension to he visa but if it was 6 months ago they are likely to refuse the extension. The worst that can happen is you get deported back to your own country and it then becomes very difficult to get a new visa for that country.
Is this still about the woman who asked for bta? If so please remember she lied to y ou about bta, so personally I wouldn’t believe anything she says that requires you sending her money.
February 27th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
i m trying to avoid her as much as possible but she wrote me on yahoo messanger telling me that there is a bta that they still use it there i keep telling her that there is no bta i m getting tired of this i dont even know why i did this in the first place
February 27th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
She won’t stop until you break off contact. The more you answer her, even to say you know it’s a scam, the more chances she has of reeling you back in.
Please take my advice, call the state department and confirm bta doesn’t exist. Once you hear it from an official source you will be 100% sure it’s a scam and can then block her contact details and move on with your life.
March 5th, 2011 at 4:54 am
His email is seekingforurlu@yahoo.com. He told me he went there to build a bridge and his daughter is with him. He had on the web site that he lived in PA. He told me his parents died in a car reck and he was the only chil. I have pictues of him and his daughter along with pictures of the bridge. I have a email of his paycheque. I have a copy of the flight plane he was suppose to have made. I sen him $2000 to help him and his daughter get home. Now says he needs $4000 B.T.A. nonspendable money to come home. He will give it back to me when he get off the plane in Lynchburg VA. I did not send that to him. I am a single mom of three and I am in school as well. The $2000 was grant money I had just gotten. I have a dective looking into it as well. Please contact me back at the above email. I really did not want to go on the site to began with but I was hoping that it was a christian one.
March 5th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Hi Pamela, I shall email you directly.
March 5th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
I m still suspicious about this whole story if it is true or not even though i have not spoken to her in a few days and i just read pamelas story and it sounds very similar to mine
March 6th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Hi JR
Scammers tend to stick to scripted stories .. if it works for one person, then it will work for others.
I don’t really understand why you are still trying to work out if her story is true or not. She lied about BTA, she asked you for money for something that doesn’t exist … there should be no doubt in your mind about a person who lies to you in order to get money.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:25 am
Listen up you are being scammed probably by a Man pretending to be a woman they work in teams so if you send him/her your hard earned money you will NEVER get it back nor see him/her or hear from him/her again until they invent a new reason to steal your money.THERE IS NO BTA IT IS A SCAM!
March 7th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
PEOPLE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A B.T.A (BASIC TRAVEL ALLOWANCE). PLEASE STOP SENDING MONEY UNTIL YOU KNOW THEY ARE REAL AND LEGIT.
March 12th, 2011 at 11:23 pm
@J R listen up very carefully you are being scammed probably by a man pretending to be a woman have you seen her on web cam have you spoken with her on the phone do you know her address and let me guess she wants you to send the money via western union and in someone elses name if you send one dime it will NEVER be returned to you and you will NEVER see this person because if you send money once they will invent another crisis and keep begging you for more money You have been warned THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BTA IT IS A SCAM.trace this scammers email origin check the email headers and above all google the name that she/he has given you but it is your money do with it as you wish but CUT OFF ALL CONTACT leave your scammer with nothing.
March 14th, 2011 at 7:32 am
Hi, I just sent money to someone in Nigeria. He is from UK and went there for a project he said. He got robbed and asked me money for BTA. He’s still waiting for more money from me for a flight back in UK. We met online. Now I’m having doubts! I feel ashamed for sending him the money for BTA. I read this after sending the money, it’s too late now. And I want to stop communicating with him but he has my name and number. I live in Dubai. Do you think he will not stop and follow me here and put me into to much trouble? I want to be safe now, i dont wnat to send him anymore cash for his airfare. PLEASE HELP. im worried and confused. What’s worse, I lost my job, so I am really really broke.
March 14th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Hi May
This is a scam, there is no such thing as BTA, he is not from the UK and he did not get robbed.
No he will not follow you, he couldn’t get a visa to leave his country and he isn’t interested in following you … he is only interested in getting money for nothing. He might try getting angry or try to make you feel guilty because he is in so much trouble …. all lies designed to make you feel bad for him and send money.
Just block his number and email address and forget about him. He may contact you again in the future to say how much he loves you and misses you … this is just to try to get more money.
March 31st, 2011 at 7:11 am
Hi thanks for the response Sally. I just saw your message now. Yes we still get in touch after sending him the money for BTA. He told me the American Consulate in Benin, Nigeria is helping him for his flight but all he needs is cash for the hotel as he checks out. He said he will pay USD150 for the diplomatic form. And he asked for additional amount for his hotel bills. I send him again a total sum of USD1180. This is because he stayed in the hotel for a while as he waited for me to get my salary, so it took me more than a week and the hotel bills has increased each day passes. Now he told me as he got the money, he went to the Consulate office to fix his flight, they took his SSN for this which is why he said he only needs $150 for the diplomatic form to get him a flight. He said he is also a US citizen. As he went to that office, he said he has to undergo for a Medical pass, which is again the problem now because he was told he got inflicted of a virus, he has malaria virus he said. Which means he needs another cash from me for the medications. I dont know if these are all true. The consulate has to help him if its relating to medical expenses. Isnt that covered by his SSN too? Are you for the US Sally? Do you know about these SSN and diplomatic forms he was saying? I feel so abused now as I am really financially broke now. He promised he will help me back, and will send me money as soon as he comes home to UK. Please help me.
March 31st, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Hi May
I am going to email my reply to you as well as post it here to be sure you see it before you send more money.
No I am not in the US, I am in the UK so if you want to email back his UK details (name, address, phone number etc) I will check them out to show he doesn’t live in the UK.
Go back to the beginning … he asked you for, and you sent, BTA money. There is no such thing as BTA, it simply does not exist and is a lie to get money from people.
This is what the US Embassy website in Nigeria says:
The scammer’s luck is incredibly bad – he/she is in a car crash, or arrested, or mugged, or beaten, or hospitalized. Close family members are dead or unable to assist.
Beware of anyone who requests funds for a BTA, or Basic Travel Allowance, as a requirement to depart another country for the United States. There is no such thing as a BTA.
So we know he told you a lie at the beginning to get money. The story should end there, he tells lies to get money … so we know it is a total scam and cannot believe anything he says but let’s look at his story.
90% of the scams I have dealt with in the past 3-4 months have been a US citizen, living in UK, who went to work in Nigeria on a project and having problems in Nigeria so they need financial help getting home but have nobody else in the world who can help them. Malaria is also the latest lie in their long list of lies … oh and going into a coma after a car accident!!
Next how he went to Nigeria … his story is that he went there for a work project. Any UK or US firm who send workers abroad must provide medical insurance and a return ticket. So why aren’t his employers helping him? Where is his medical insurance and his return flight (which of course would be either an open return so he can choose the day he returns or a ticket he can simply change the return date on). Even if he went there in a self employed capacity do you really believe he bought a one way ticket and didn’t buy health insurance?
Let’s examine his claim of having the malaria virus …. Malaria is not a virus, it is a parasite (known as Plasmodium) that reproduces in our bodies and is transmitted via mosquitoes. If he knows he has malaria then he has seen a doctor and would be aware that it is not a virus. You cannot catch malaria from other people and you cannot pass malaria on to other people … so there are no restrictions on travelling (unless you are so sick you have a fever and need to go to hospital). However, between 1.5 and 2 million people a year die from malaria, known malaria victims are hospitalised …. do you honestly believe if he had malaria he would be spending his time sending love messages on the internet?
Next the cost of drugs to treat malaria. As he is apparently not sick enough to be hospitalised the cost of treating malaria is between 8 cents and $5 depending on which drugs are used ….. information taken from http://www.microbiologybytes.com/introduction/Malaria.html
Do you really believe, after the money you sent him, that he cannot afford $5 to treat malaria? Do you believe there are no places in Nigeria a US citizen can go to get the $5 drugs to treat malaria?
If we go to the US embassy website for Nigeria and look at the page for US citizen emergency services we can read the following:
“The Embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Lagos can assist in finding medical help, contacting family members in the U.S. and transferring emergency funds”
If he is really a US citizen, who has been living in the UK then we can be 100% sure he has a bank account in either the UK or US. He also has debit or credit cards and so could simply walk to an ATM machine and withdraw funds. His employers could lend him money, the embassy can arrange emergency tranfers of money and his bank can arrange an overdraft or loan to get him home. There are any number of options available to him IF HE WAS GENUINE.
This is a total scam. I am sorry for you and I know you want to believe him, so please send me his details so I can provide concrete proof his story is fake and designed to scam money from you, so you are never tempted to send him money again.
So why does he need to ask strangers on the internet for help? Why would the US Consulate be arranging for a US citizen to be flown back to the UK? It all makes no sense. If you are genuinely in trouble and/or sick in a foreign country your embassy will try to help you get back to your home country but they will NOT help you go to another foreign country, even if that is where you have been living. The whole point is emergency help and in a real emergency you are just grateful and happy to get any help.
Staying in a hotel … you say you sent $1180 to pay for his hotel because it took you more than a week to get the money. I have just checked online and for that price I could stay in a top hotel just a 2 minute walk from the Presidential Palace … sound like someone in dire trouble with no money to you?
March 15th, 2011 at 8:13 am
Last month I was contacted by someone on facebook. We started chatting and he fell in love with me instantly. He is from US, and working on a project in Ecuador. After chatting with him for a week, he flew back to US. He gave me a US number to call, which I did. I googled on the tel no, and it is in the exact location he gave me as his hometown. We started to chat over the phone too.
He flew back to Ecuador the following week, and told me his work will finish in 2 weeks’ time, and he will fly to visit me. But he did not have enough money to get the ticket, as he will only be paid when he finished the project. He even scanned his paycheck for me to see. I sent some money to his travel agent in Ecuador to help him pay the ticket.
The next day, he said the agent told him he needed to get a Yellow Card as he is travelling from Ecuador. I checked on the net, and it is a requirement for it. So I send the agent more money to get him his Yellow Card.
He then sent me his flight details, and I was so happy, as I thought he is real and not a scammer. But yesterday, he said he needed BTA of US1000 as this is a requirement of Ecuador. I told him I have never heard of such issue. He was angry and ask him to go and get a loan and send him the money as his flight is next week.
I was getting worried and running out of money, and when I found your blog, I realized I was scammed. But I am still very puzzled. He has an active facebook account with friends communicating with him. I called his telephone number and he called me everyday to chat on the phone. He is very real, how does this work out? Am I his 1st victim as no one has voiced out anything on his facebook.
March 15th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Hi Michelle
I’ll email you directly as I would like to see his paycheck to see if it’s a photoshop job or a real paycheck.
How it works is they usually use call forwarding services, so for example I could give you a +44 number which would check out as UK but in fact I am in the North Pole. The number the person calls simply forwards the call to me in the North Pole. There are also number cloaking services springing up, which are free and you simply tap in your phone number and email address and hey presto your number changes. A third alternative is to have a US phone number and simply forward all calls from that number.
Alternatively he could simply be American but also be a scammer, the use of the BTA scam suggests he is far from honest. Which country did you send the money to?
Did you call him at the number which checked out to his home town?
March 17th, 2011 at 7:01 am
I have almost been a victim, 4 times now, all are from u.k stories are similar to the above, get you on yahoo, tell you love, marriage, using other profile pictures. Immediate love, proposal and coming to canada to marry you, they get you hooked line and then they sink your boat! Fortunately I have been smart enough not to fall for their scams but do want other woman to be aware of these scammers from on-line dating websites. I have there e-mail addresses and pictures where do I send these? and names they are using. 3 of these men are in nigeria and have u.k telephone numbers.1 is from london uk. I am helping to prevent other women to become more aware of these scammers. Where do I send my information?
March 17th, 2011 at 10:42 pm
Hi Lagray
Thanks for your comments. I will email you for the information.