OPW – Apr 1 – Emmanuel Okafore is the type of man they warn you about online. For years, Okafore has been trolling online dating sites as both a man and a woman, catfishing unsuspecting singles and then swindling them out of their life savings. At least, that used to be his M.O.
Late one night, last August, the 31 year old Nigerian had just locked on to his new target, a 67 year old widow from Jersey City with the username Knittin_Kitten. It started as just another scam for Emmanuel, but as the two exchanged more and more emails, he knew that he’d broken the cardinal rule of phishing… never fall for the mark.
“There was just something about Edna, “remarked Okafore, “The way she would talk about each of her 27 cats… I’d never seen someone with so much love to give. It wasn’t long before I began to wish that I was the one on her lap.” After just 6 messages between them, Emmanuel came clean and confessed his true feelings.
At first, Edna felt betrayed, and ignored Emmanuel for over a week. “My friend Diane lost a lot of money to an online scammer, and I wasn’t sure what to think, “said Edna “but I started to miss him and eventually let him back into my life. We’ve been growing closer ever since.”
Edna and Emmanuel continued to email and video chat for the next few months before Okafore took some of the cash he swindled from other people and sent her a ticket to come visit him in Nigeria. She’s excited to start her new life with the man she loves, and she can’t wait to make the move… as soon as she finds a home for all of her cats.