Seduced by the Dark Side

By Fulan Al-Fulani

Seduced by the Dark Side as a book title required little brainstorming as it occurred to me shortly after my decision to write a book detailing my disastrous cyberspace adventure. This title describes my inner experience dramatically and accurately. From the time of its beginning on Saturday morning, October 16, at approximately 11:00 a.m. until Tuesday afternoon, February 8, my life was immersed in a seemingly blissful online relationship that had taken complete control of my thought process. The individual in whom I had confided with reassurances of faithfulness and loyalty turned out to be an unprincipled criminal eager to seize my financial assets greedily and mercilessly, and with no regard for me as a fellow human being.

The two principal players were my soul mate, Jane Daley, referred to by her chat handle, Jane Love, and her alleged family attorney, Philip Smith, who supplied me with an array of pseudo-legal documents which provided a means of siphoning my personal funds for transfer into his personal account. Jane Love and Phil Smith gained my confidence and exploited my naivete to perfection. By the time I realized what had happened, it was too late to turn back. The die had been irretrievably cast.

Emotion had trumped intelligence and common sense; however, now I acquired a renewed respect for doubting third parties. This life lesson was one that I learned the hard way. In the aftermath, I concluded that the best and most feasible way to confront this undeniable catastrophe and recover from it would be to retell said catastrophe to a wide audience. My aim would be twofold: recover lost assets and alert other prospective victims of cybercrime.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886545173

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Seduced by the Dark Side

Fulan Al-Fulani

Copyright © 2023 Fulan Al-Fulani

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88654-516-6 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88654-517-3 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Meet Jane

Enter Ringleader, Phil Smith

Crossing the Event Horizon

A Feeling of Excited Waiting

Lingering Uncertainty

Turning Point: Stunning Discovery

Surge of Self-Doubt and Depression

Reconciliation and Recovery

Fellow Cybernauts Beware!

Alert to Online Scammers from Lady Macbeth

About the Author

Preface

The purpose of my decision to write and publish this work is to alert those who would use online dating sites to the presence of some very real dangers. My own failure to recognize these dangers resulted in catastrophic financial loss, not to mention the detrimental effect of this experience on self-esteem and self-respect.

Ghanaian online romance inheritance scams are real. What your faux ami or fausse amie would have you believe, on the other hand, is anything but real. The scenario is a well-orchestrated presentation of pleas for help and promises of great wealth from a family inheritance. Your chat partner, or fiancé(e), will inundate you with poetic words and phrases of reassurance. In addition to your chat partner, you will meet his or her family attorney who will ask you to intervene financially.

Both the chat partner, or fiancé(e), and family attorney will have rehearsed their roles to perfection. For them, scamming with fraudulaent claims is a way of life and a lucrative way of earning a living. So rule number one is to be leery of any requests for money, and never to send money to someone you have met online and whom you have never met in person. Drop this contact without further delay! Delete and block those who ask for money.

In the personal story that follows, you will read firsthand the actual dialogue between scammer and victim. Italicized sections are integrated to describe what is actually taking place as opposed to what presumabley is taking place. In many if not most cases, the scammer's insincerity will be apparent to you as reader, but perhaps less apparent to you as an online chat partner.

The family attorney will introduce legal documents for you to sign plus an amount for you to pay to rescue your fiancé(e), and set the stage for you to receive chests of Gold and uncut diamonds from a made-up shipper. These documents are artfully crafted and look authentic to the unitiated observer.

On this journey, I am conned into believing that my fiancée will buy a one-way ticket to live with me. A shipment of Gold and uncut diamonds for my fiancée and me to cosign will soon follow. The problem is that my fiancée never arrives and neither do the Gold and uncut diamonds. My return to reality will be abrupt and abhorrent.

Chapter 1

Meet Jane

This autumn Saturday morning was no different from any other. After a solid, envigorating workout at the purple-hued LA Fitness Center, I enjoyed an awesome early breakfast with Mom at her place. When I say awesome, I mean just that: a buffet-style repast of egg on toast, grits, raw carrots, spinach, avocado halves, celery, thinly sliced apples, spinach, banana halves, strawberries with stuffed ginger, blueberries, thinly sliced and quartered oranges evenly cut. Quite a breakie, as they say Down Under!

My normal routine consists of taking a quick shower, getting dressed, and heading to the computer room to check my most recent email. As usual, I found myself browsing through a tedious litany of meaningless, deletable messages from my laptop. One email, however, just happened to catch my eye: that of the Colombia-Cupid dating site. I was feeling reassured by the nice correspondence I had just received from so many sharp ladies, most of whom had responded with flattering comments. The lone exception was Vanessa who wrote: Too old for me.

To Vanessa, I replied, ¡Espero que encuentres al hombre de tus sueños!

Just by chance, while I was leafing through some promising ads, I noticed one intriguing profile: that of a thirty-five-year-old wholesome-looking Swedish lady with no makeup. In fact, her profile picture was nothing special at all. On the what-the-heck premise of what do I have to lose, I decided to send her a message.

In a nanosecond or less, Jane Daley (subsequently referred to by her chat handle Jane Love) replied and attached five tasteful pictures of a lady with class, including one of her in a colorful yet elegant dress taken during the time she had studied nursing in Saudi Arabia. In said picture, there stood a stunning figure in the foreground and distinctive, aesthetically pleasing Islamic architecture in the background. My mind conjured up the thought that Jane has a lot of drive and determination to get ahead based on this experience she decided to undertake.

What sent my ego soaring, in contrast to Vanessa's Too old for me comment, was the moment when Jane almost commanded me to end my ColombiaCupid dating site subscription right now. She interjected that she had just done so. In Swedish, she exhorted, Ja eller nej! All I could think was that she must be sincere! Pretty soon, Jane and I are in contact on the Google Hangouts platform every day. I looked forward to hearing the bubbly sound when I was being texted.

Hi, Jane, it's me, Ron Burns.

How are you doing, handsome? Nice meeting you on here as I am new to this online stuff and was introduced to this online stuff by a friend of mine. Well, I am single, I never been married before with no kids… What about you?

I was married once, but have no children.

Oh, that's good to know, handsome. I am also an honest woman who loves being surrounded by family, friends, and holidays. So, I hope that you are upfront and honest with me, as well. I realize that I am thirty-five years old and that you are somewhat older than me… I'm 5'7 tall and athletic, was born and raised in Sweden. All my free time I'm spending reading books and learning my subjects in college. I love cooking so much so you can be ready to taste something with me. I am a loving young lady. I hope to become happy very soon, traveling, visiting cinema, meetings with friends. I have a sister and a brother. I love my family."

You have had some really neat experiences. Living in Saudi Arabia is unique. When I worked for an airplane manufacturer many years ago, I once helped teach a really nice group of trainees from the Saudi Arabian Air Force. It was a pleasure to know them and learn about their culture. And how is your life now?

Yes, I am oh okay… All right, I mean to touch each other often. Most people are touch starved. Holding hands, walking arm in arm, and cuddling on the couch are just some of the simple ways to share this very powerful experience. Be respectful of your partner's feelings. If the one you love is dealing with a loss or a disappointment, let him or her know that you are available to talk. Also, letting your partner have the space he or she needs to process feelings is a way of showing that you care… If your partner is having a rough time, pull out all the stops. Don't hold back on helping or minimize your mate's troubles. Having the one you love by your side when things are rocky is a true gift.

Your points of loving, not nagging, trusting, and maintaining balance go to the heart of the matter. You said it well!

All right, I would like us to get to know more about each other and see where it could lead us too because we both don't know what is meant for each other yet till we get to know more about each other. Life is too short for man and woman to live on this earth… I will like you to do something for us…

I don't understand.

I am sure you will do it for me. Ron, are you with me?

Well, dear, I will like you to delete yourself from that dating site if you are really interested in me. So that we can get a peaceful mind to chat now… The dating site will interfere with our friendship.

You're my own special man.

We will have many beautiful times together.

Yes, you are right.

I have extremely positive feelings about our initial introduction and whole-heartedly welcome the opportunity to know you better each day and, hopefully, one day to love you! You are a wholesome looking young woman. Plus, you have an outgoing personality and you are well spoken. Thank you for the lovely photo!

Hello, Ron. What are you doing now?

Just had lunch and then took a quick walk. What time is it for you in Uddevalla?

It is 7:00 here. So, Ron, you said you will do something for me? What are you doing?

I am just chatting with you.

Have you done deleting yourself?

I am devoting myself to you with no conditions attached.

Do you mean you will not do it?

No, absolutely I will do it and concentrate solely on our relationship.

Okay. So, I will like us to see each other now.

I am very happy that we met today. To be honest, you are the one I'm interested in.

"So, how do you trust someone? Oh yes, I know it's hard to trust, but I don't give up in trusting the right man who I love to spend the rest of my lifetime with. Trust is one of the keystones of any relationship—without it two people cannot be comfortable with each other and the relationship lacks stability. Trust is the glue that holds relationships together. It is what allows you to feel safe so that you can be vulnerable enough to emotionally connect with another person. When relationships first begin, trust is often given early as part