AUGUSTA, Ga. () — Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Social Catfish, a company dedicated to preventing online scams through reverse search technology connected us with a reformed scammer out of Nigeria.

Chris, a former scammer from Nigeria, shared insights into his past involvement in online scams. He admitted to starting scamming in 2016 during his university years due to financial struggles and described the ease of creating fake identities, particularly for military romance scams. “Most of them had failed marriages and they really need someone that’s gonna be good man, someone that’s gonna take care of them,” he told Shawn. “I tell them I’m on deployment and I have no access to my bank account. If I tell them I’m in Africa, maybe I’m in Afghanistan or Iran for deployment, I don’t think you can use a bank in Iraq. So it’s kind of logical and reasonable,” he added.

However, a pivotal moment came in 2021 when he scammed a woman out of $30,000, leading to her illness and depression. This prompted Chris to reflect on the impact of his actions and ultimately decide to stop scamming. “I have a mother and I was feeling like I would not be happy if was doing this to my mom. So I felt guilty and I showed my face on our video call, and she cried. Then she introduced me to Social Catfish,” he recalled.

He now advocates for caution when seeking love online, advising individuals to verify identities through video calls and to end conversations if they have doubts.