The bible for con artists: Nigerian conman who robbed 50 lonely women reveals his brutal tactics

Rippled biceps, short blonde hair and a military uniform: this was Christopher Maxwell’s favorite mask.

For five years, Christopher, now 24, posed as a romance scammer, posing as a US Army man who scoured social media platforms and dating sites for his next victim, successfully duping up to 50 women into total $70,000 (£55,400). Speaking to Money Mail, the self-confessed reformed conman admits to using deceptive and cruel tricks to seduce women across the English-speaking world.

Christopher, who uses a pseudonym and now works as a consultant with anti-fraud group Social Catfish, started running scams to make easy money in 2016 when he was in his second year of university in Nigeria.

‘I had no money and my family was broke, so I had to do something. I know people might not understand, but I’m a professional and it was my full-time job. I cheated every day of my life back then.”

But did he feel guilty for cheating on these women? ‘I felt bad at first, but at a certain point I stopped. I made good money,” he says. ‘I have never sympathized with these people or allowed any emotion to come into them.’

Christopher says he used social media platforms Facebook and Instagram to contact women, as well as dating websites. He primarily targeted women in their 50s and 60s who appeared to be recently divorced or widowed.

‘I can use that to my advantage. The dating apps make it easy because you can set your profile to a specific age group,” he says.

His profile showed photos of a man he found online who was in the military, and he told women he was American and had been deployed to Afghanistan, Israel or Korea.

The 24-year-old says he had a series of false excuses for asking for money, including that he needed money to catch a flight and spend the rest of his life with the woman, or to change his uniform.

“I started with small amounts and always said I would pay it all back.”

His biggest windfall came from a 61-year-old American woman, who sent him a total of $30,000 (£23,700) during their one-year relationship.

However, she used Social Catfish, a company that verifies online identities using reverse image searches, and was able to track down Christopher.

When confronted by the woman whose life he destroyed, he says he felt terrible and is glad he no longer has to scam to make a living.

Christopher leaked a 40-page bible for scammers in Nigeria, titled How to Make a White Woman Fall in Love with You Through Online Chat.

Christopher leaked a 40-page bible for scammers in Nigeria titled How to Make a White Woman Fall in Love with You Through Online Chat

The book, shared with Social Catfish’s Money Mail, offers a step-by-step guide, with scripts of romantic phrases, conversation starters and questions. It promises that women will “fall head over heels in love with you.”

It says that the type of ladies who are ‘easier to get’ and ‘will fall in love with you as quickly as possible without much stress’ are the over-40s.

It says: ‘They work and that’s why they have the money you need. And because they are single at forty, they long for love.’

Once the target is identified, the playbook instructs the scammers to do research before talking to their “customer.” “You’ll want to know everything you can before you talk to her because this will help later.”

Check her (social media) bio for information. It could be her hobbies, pets, work, passion, whether she has children, where she lives, etc.’

It recommends complimenting women on their activities or what they like and asking questions about it. It adds: ‘You want to go gentle and different. Don’t send “hello”. There are many people who have sent her ‘hello’ before.

You want to send something that will make her like you from the very first text. Something that makes her open your message and her heart to you.’

Once the conversation gets going, the book says “make it about her.” ‘Oyinbo women (a Nigerian term for Western women) like to talk about themselves. They will think you care and will fall in love.”

It then instructs the criminals to compliment women with one of sixty suggested phrases, such as: “I can’t believe I found someone like you” and “Your mind is as sexy as your beauty.”

Women are more sensitive to messages at night, the report claims. “Learn her time zone and text her around 10 p.m. The night is when you can easily make her fall for you.”

Scammers are told to take the time to ask for money to build trust first. It says, “Spend days talking about random things. It can be time-consuming, but it’s totally worth it.’

When it comes to asking for money, the instruction is to “ask without giving the impression that you are asking.” For example, “If she asks about your day, tell her it was bad, and then tell her you’re broke, that you’re behind on your mortgage.”

‘On her own she will offer to give you money. If you want a new phone, tell her yours is broken and you can’t chat anymore.’

Christopher reveals that the biggest advantage of speaking to a scammer is if he or she doesn’t show their face over a video call. ‘

“Avoid anyone who says they can’t meet because they are in the military or live abroad,” he says. If they confess their love too quickly and demand the same in return, it’s a scam.

j.beard@dailymail.co.uk