[davidramic]

Hi there to begin with-my question is this-just recently I met a woman on the internet-after chatting with her for a while she started asking money for a passport and visa-she did get some money but eventually I decided to have her investigated before it went any further-i contacted this detective agency to have her investigated and after five days they sent this e-mail telling me that she was a scammer that her identity was false and so on so forth-since then I have had no contact with the woman and blocked her-my question is this-a week has passed and I have started to ask myself-how do I know that this online detective agency did do this investigation that I paid them for?all I got was this very professional looking e-mail telling me about the investigation they had conducted-how do I know for sure that they did conduct an investigation ?that they are a legiminate detective agency and not a scam themselves?what should I ask this detective agency that would once and for all prove they did conduct this investigation and not just send me a very slick professional looking e-mail?is there a website I can go to find out whether they have a legiminate business license and a up to date detective license to conduct investigations?please answer asap-thank you and no I am not still chatting with the women I just want to have peace of mind that I got what I paid for

[Alty]

Let me get this straight.

You were scammed by a woman, hired an investigator to investigate her and now you want to investigate the investigator?

Good luck.

[hheath541]

Ask them what results, exactly, they came up with. Her real name and location. Once you get that REPORT HER TO THE GOVERNMENT! I'm pretty sure it's the FBI, but it might be the CIA, that has a division set up to take care of Internet scammers just like her.

Oh, and let me guess, she was from south africa or one of the middle eastern countries. Her family is poor and she really wanted the chance to come to america to start a new life and you just seemed like a really nice guy who would help a poor, helpless women come to the land of opportunity to start a new life. So I have that about right?

[HelpinHere]

Tell any government investigation agency you can contact. (It's easier to contact the FBI than you think).

Tell them your story, like you told us, and give them a copy of any emails exchanged.

Then, from now on, pay more attention. Don't give money to con artists, don't give money to con artists who rat on the other con artist, and always check around before entering your credit card number.

[hheath541]

Tell any government investigation agency you can contact. (It's easier to contact the FBI than you think).

Tell them your story, like you told us, and give them a copy of any emails exchanged.

Then, from now on, pay more attention. Don't give money to con artists, don't give money to con artists who rat on the other con artist, and always check around before entering your credit card number.

Basically, don't give money to anyone you don't know or can't see in person. If you can't prove they're a legitimate business/person, don't give them money, or any other personal information.

Also, if you did use a credit card, I would suggest getting a new one now. If you used a debit card, get a new card AND a new bank account number.

[HelpinHere]

basically, don't give money to anyone you don't know or can't see in person. If you can't prove they're a legitimate business/person, don't give them money, or any other personal information.

Also, if you did use a credit card, I would suggest getting a new one now. If you used a debit card, get a new card AND a new bank account number.

Sorry heath, had to spread the rep.
Let me put it this way:

HelpinHere agrees: Yep. There are more ways to find out if it's legitimate, and you don't have to waste your money hiring a possibly illegitimate agency to find out.

And, changing/losing your info that you used to pay for it, that's the basics.

[morgaine300]

The time to check up on a place is before you give them money, not afterwards. In fact, the investigation was a waste of money from the get-go. I say that for two reasons. One is that anyone asking for money for a passport, etc after knowing you that sort a time is either not legitimate, or just something you don't want to get in the middle of. So an investigation was unnecessary to waste money on. Second reason is that even if they didn't find anything on her, it didn't prove that she was OK to deal with. So it would have proven nothing.

That out of the way, try the BBB. Also Google the company's name. There are sites out there where people report scams and ripoffs and such. If anyone has reported them, you'll find them at one of those places. Here's one of them I know about:
Home - Ripoff Report