Hello Jacustomer,

This is a scam we see over and over again. Do NOT send him any money. All estate expenses come out of the estate itself. It's only after everything else has been paid for that the remainder gets distributed to the heirs. So the premise is a lie, and there is nothing really that she or you could do.

Secondly, if your scammer was coming into a $5.2 million estate, do you think that she would have trouble anywhere on earth finding a lawyer who wouldn't be happy as a clam to wait for his fee for as long as it took? Do you think she would not be able to get a $5,000 loan if she needed it with that kind of money assured?

I know you want to believe her, because she's worked hard to seduce you with promises of all sort, but step back and look at that objectively. Try to think the way you would if someone else told you the story and not someone you think you care for. It's simply preposterous.

Scammer's work in rings and their confederates pretend to be doctors, lawyer, bankers, government agencies, customs workers, airport security and what have you. None of them is going to tell you he is a fraud. The "lawyer" will insist they are using his name but that he's the real thing. I doubt he is but if you wish to provide me with his name, I can probably tell you for sure.

Finally, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but most of the world's romance scams come out of West Africa, specifically Nigeria and Ghana. If a woman in Nigeria comes on to you on a dating website or social network, she's certain to be a scammer. Scam is a big business in Nigeria. In a country where the average person makes less than $700/year, if she can steal several thousand from you, she's on easy street for a long time.

You know from your dealings with normal people that real relationships are pretty unpredictable when you are first getting to know someone. Scammers, on the other hand, are entirely predictable, because their course of conduct is pretty well scripted. The big tip off, of course, is when they ask you for money. In your real life, strangers don't do that. There would be something wrong with them if they did. That's true on the web too. The web gives the illusion that you know someone well, because you think you are planning a life together. In fact you never know anyone at all until you can meet in person.

The anonymity of the internet and the state of computer has turned the web into a scammers ' playground. Anyone can be anybody, anywhere that they want to pretend to be, and get away with it to boot, make you think that they know you, and then steal your money. But not if you can recognize the course of a scam relationship. Even before the money request, things just don't progress in a natural way. They are a little "off." So here are all the tell-tale signs of a romance scam:

- the scammer reaches out to you on a dating or networking website and she falls in love with you at first sight.

- She moves in on you and rushes the relationship towards some kind of a commitment. She pulls you off the site where you met and tells you that she wants an exclusive relationship with you via webcam, skype, Yahoo messenger, etc. She flirts with you and teases you sexually, especially when she is talking about gifts and money.

- She is in another country, but she wants to visit yours or claims to be a citizen of yours. She will most commonly be in Ghana, Nigeria or Malaysia.

- And as soon as she knows that she's got you all really hot and interested, she starts asking for things or money. She wants to see you but she needs a visa, a passport or plane tickets. She may say she needs money for a Basic Travel Allowance or Declaration Fee (there is none) and/or she will have an emergency that keeps her from getting on that plane -- a car accident on the way to the airport. A legal problem with an inheritance. A mugging and a trip to the hospital. A dying mother/father/sister/brother who can't pay hospital bills. An arrest at the airport trying to get a suitcase filled with gold or jewels to share with you.These are just some of the most popular excuses. There are many others. You can see a very good list of the excuses here. No matter what the phony excuse, however, she will say that you're her only hope to solve her problem for you. And it will cost you money. A lot of it.

- She will want the money wired via Western Union or MoneyGram, which has no protection for the sender. It's like throwing your money away.

Once she asks you for money, You can bet that she's not who and what you think she is. She's a group of thieves, almost always men, sitting at an internet cafe, working together to rob too trusting, good hearted men and women such as yourself of all of their money. If you send her money, she'll come up with another emergency to ask you for more. And another. And another until you catch wise or go broke, whichever happens first.

However, you may feel when you are caught up in the drama of somebody else's so-called life, strangers don't ask other strangers for money, unless they are panhandlers or thieves.

If you have wired money to her, your only chance of getting your funds back is if law enforcement can find and apprehend her. You should report the fraud to your local and national authorities and to the FBI online at their Internet Crimes Complaint Center, IC3.gov.

If you'd like me to check the name of the lawyer, use the reply tab below and give me his name. Otherwise, I'm betting I have hit the nail on the head.

Per the FBI, American's lost $50 million dollars last year to on-line romance scammers. These are professional thieves, coldblooded despite all the sweettalk, and very, very good at what they do. Don't become one of next year's statistics. Report her to law enforcement and hang onto your money.