Real Stories: I used to make millions scamming men on dating apps

I know what you're thinking: “Another OS using men for money.” But trust me, when life humbles you, and desperation becomes your daily bread, morals start to feel like luxury.

It started with Tinder. I joined just for fun. My roommate had dared me to make a profile, and I did. Added some pictures from my birthday shoot, a catchy bio, and boom! The matches started rolling in.

At first, it was harmless. Just flirting, soft lies here and there. But then I matched with a white man named Richard. He was 42, divorced, lonely, and loaded. He said I reminded him of his late wife. Within two weeks, he’d sent me $300 “just to buy something nice.”

That was the beginning of a lifestyle I didn’t know I could live.

My roommate and I built a system. She’d help me draft responses. We’d research each guy like a job interview. What they liked, how they talked, what emotional holes needed filling. We gave them the fantasy. The sweet Nigerian girl looking for love, loyal, caring, and “struggling to survive in a country that’s so hard on women.”

Men ate it up.

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There was Mike, who sent $1,000 for my “hospital bills” when I said I had fibroids. Kevin paid for my rent for two years. Ahmed? He was in Dubai and once sent $5,000 so I wouldn’t have to “work in those horrible conditions.” I told him I was a struggling nurse. I’ve never even worked in a hospital.

At some point, I started calling it emotional Yahoo. No nudes. No blackmail. No lies about being kidnapped. Just feelings, carefully packaged and sold to the highest bidder.

We made millions. I upgraded my wardrobe, moved into a better apartment, started saving in dollars. People thought I was a tech babe or crypto plug. One of my classmates once said, “This economy no even touch you.” I just smiled.

But the game started to eat me alive.

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I couldn’t form real friendships anymore. I distrusted every man who tried to talk to me. I started to wonder if karma was real, if one day, I’d fall in love and get played just the way I played others.

Then Fola came into the picture. He was different, and I found myself opening up to him for real. But the guilt nearly killed me. I couldn’t stop thinking, “Do I deserve real love? After scamming men for money?”

That’s when I decided to stop.

It’s been over a year now since I deleted all the apps and started a small thrift business online. I make way less, but I sleep better.

Though some nights I miss the money.

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