A friend of mine in Oregon met a man on a dating website.He claimed he was of Swiss origin and lived in Auburn, WA, then suddenly went to Ghana, W.Africa on a gold merchant trip.Then he got stuck there and asked her for money.I reversed the phone number and it traced to Emergency Cash.They had a disabled web site. Also, they were listed with the BBB in various cities, as expired members. I called all numbers listed for this business. (*67 of course)A W.African man answered and acted like he didn't understand what I was talking about when I asked for their hours, and hung up on me. After a few hours, my friend tried to call the guy and all the numbers had been disconnected!!
I have learned these people use Level 3 Communications who gives them a phone which appears to be in the US but is overseas. I've read some of the complaints here and think the "middle eastern" accent most likely is West African. The US Embassy even has a web page dedicated to the Ghana scammers. I read that the dumping of computers over there has resulted in criminals now using the boards in the hard drive to get people's phone numbers, etc.
I believe the FTC, FBI, Interpol, and all law enforcement agencies need to look at cash advance companies and determine which ones are connected to the W.African scamming schemes that include gold, dating, investments, etc.