Description

Perpetrator contacted victim (me) on Facebook dating site. Introduced himself as Dale Petersen, resident of Kodiak, AK. I was in Anchorage at the time. Talked to me daily via the dating site and asked if we could communicate through "Signal". I agreed since I had the app, at first he asked to communicate through WhatsApp. Continued communication. I thought his answers were unusual, as everything I stated was repeated within his answer. I suggested that we speak instead of text. He said he was embarrassed of his "accent". said he was Norwegian. I have a Norwegian relative and know the accent, he looked Norwegian in his photos as well. He called and texted me every day for approximately a month, sent me daily pictures of him and his dog, told me a story of him being at his daughters place in Jacksonville, FL and he had sent her and her boyfriend on a trip to Peru. His job was a retired welder, he retired from his job in Kodiak due to health issues. He had two degrees, one in civil engineering and one in business management. We were to meet in Anchorage, and he said he had been making plans to go to Greece for his birthday in June and would I join him. He of course would pay for my ticket. We talked about attending concert of mutual interest in artist. I actually bought two tickets to go to a concert in Napa, CA. He told me he was having his house remodeled in Kodiak while he was away and that he wanted to have it completed before we visited there. He sent me pictures of it, started referring to it as "our house" which I thought was weird. I also wanted to see him face to face and his phone was having "problems" - another red flat ignored. I asked for pictures to show his frustration, he sent me a set of "4". I bought the concert tickets with my Discover credit card. He seemed excited about that, also about the fact that I had Bitcoin, that he was following that market and doing research on it. He gold me that I could open a "Discover bank account" online, where he could deposit funds to help fund our future vacation plans. What I did not know is that when you open a Discover Bank account, it automatically merges to your Discover Credit card account. He told me he would be making deposits into my regular checking account via the Discover account and could I please send funds to his contractor, Michael Schmdt247. I asked about credentials for Mr. Schmidt. He assured me he knew him, his wife and where he lived, provided me with a materials list with cost. Initially he said he needed to send him 7500, I could only send daily limits. I sent a 10 test transfer, then a 2000, and then 3000. I sent this because I saw that money had been transferred into my bank account, 5,000, 1400, 1,000 and 1,791. I thought he had made those deposits of "his" money. I also transferred 2,000 into bitcoin and sent it into his wallet. I still had 2,000 to transfer when I received an email from Discover for my monthly statement. My minimum due was $212.00. How could that be, my balance was over 10,000. I discovered those amounts deposited into my bank account were from my discover credit card, via the new discover bank account made online. I froze everything! When I told him I froze, he became extremely angry, wanting me to unfreeze and even attempted to get back into the online account to withdraw cash back rewards. He sent me a picture of his passport, his middle name was different as was the birthday, picture had been doctored. Did a reverse search on his pictures, found pictures of a "real person" named Rufus Gifford, politician, from Boston Mass. I called the number he was using from Signal on a regular line, a woman answered. When I mentioned his name and the scam, she exclaimed, You too?. I asked her to tell me more. She was scammed 5,000 and her bank account cleaned out in May 2023, he had been courting her online for about 5 months, Her name is ****** ******* ********* ******* ***  He first contacted her when she was going through Hawaii airport in January 2023. Same ammo used but different, Greece, Peru, daughter *****, same pictures, she sent me a copy of what she had. She is devastated, on disability, age 66, afraid to tell her children. He called her as I was talking to her and wanted her to tell me they met in Kodiak, which they didn't. The house pictures, once I got an address (street) I googled and discovered it on Zillow for sale, he told me he had put it on there and he took the pictures. I have a friend in Kodiak, I asked to check out, she called me back to tell me Dale Petersent is non existent, and so was Micheal Schmidt - unfortunately money had already been spent. When I called Discover, they basically told me since the money went into my account, it was a scam but not fraud. I reached out to CashApp, again, money had already gone through. I asked if they couldn't close Michael Schmidt247 account or at least look into how much he was getting. I made it a point to put on the transfer for Dale Petersen home repair. - all of that was a lie. He wanted me to send the last 2,000 in bitcoin, I told him no, put the 7 grand back into my bank account, He said he couldn't since I froze it. I said there were alternative ways, gave him my address where I am working to send me a cashiers check. I know that won't happen. I am pissed beyond belief for not regarding the red flags. I am more pissed that this is a well organized scam with parties at both ends, using AI, using a real plan book and preying on older, single widowed women ready to start getting social security. If I can gather all this information as a sped teacher, why can't authorities go after these scam artists and help recompense the victims? He knows my birthdate, my home address, full name. They are getting better in making themselves seem very "real". I figured I paid a man about 127 bucks an hour to talk to me, compliment me and ** me for about a month. It's criminal!! The crime isn't online dating, it's about accessing someones credit card, illegal transitions, using someone else's identity, using victims as "mules" to transfer money to unidentified criminals, doctoring a US passport, using someones phone number illegal, scamming woman on disability, the list just goes on. I feel like I was emotionally raped. I want to see justice, even if I don't get a dime in return. I really want to see whoever is on the receiving end of Michael Schmidt247 in jail! Thanks for pursuing this matter in earnest.