Shakira the donkey
Scammer Alert! Be aware in Petra/Jordan!
Some bedouins are professional scammers and are telling strange stories to get Sex, money and a visa! #petra #jordan #bedouins
They are „fishing for tourists“, mainly female travellers and are waiting for you right after the Siq in front of the treasury! They follow you trough the heritage and involve you in conversations. If you do a tour with them, they will invite you for dinner in a “real” Bedouin house, in a cave or the desert (Little Petra or Wadi Araba)! Sometimes they offer you to do a tour on a donkey/mule/camel for free! There have been cases of rape and sexual abuse that happened in Airbnb's - or in Wadi Araba and in the caves and many women suspected of being drugged!
They belong to five tribes, so they all know each other! So the Bedouins in Petra are fraternized, cousins, brothers in law, they are all related to each other!
The older ones are teaching the younger ones and even the children are already beginning to scam! These cases are going back to 2006/2008! They will tell you how they had to move from the caves in Petra to Um Sayhoum, the village which was built by the government! This is actually true but they should work for real and not scam around! Everything they do is forbidden in Islam and in their culture it is a big taboo! They are not open minded and western, they don’t respect tourists and women! It’s all fake! So take care!
The hidden secret in Petra/Jordan
The Bedouins in and around the rose city Petra in Jordan call it ‘fishing for tourists’. The way it works is that once in Petra, some bedouin men approach solo female travellers to give them a private tour. They will take the girls to caves in the mountains, to the most beautiful views, they will make fire and cook, introduce their family, dance, drink, watch the sunset and sunrise on a blanket under the ‘shooting stars’.
Many Western women aren’t used to all that attention and romance. They get swept off their feet. The requests for cash only come later, sometimes they ask you after months!
#wallahimissyou #takecare #shakirathedonkey#bedouin #jordan #petra #jacksparrow #fakelove 🐴
Why you should report your story to us
Why Shakira?
Many tourists took a ride on Shakira in the past years so after a lot of stories from Petra and how women got scammed we decided to call our Instagram account: “Shakira the donkey”! It’s also a beautiful femal name in Arabic and the Bedouins of Petra like the songs of the Colombian singer as well
How they scam?
There is a huge and underreported industry behind the Bedouin romance scammers of Jordan. This form of love fraud is Petra’s darkest secret.
Romance scamming is best described as ’emotionally manipulating someone into a fake romance, where scammers slowly work on their target to gain financial and/or material benefits’. It is also known as Bezness, especially in touristy areas and has become an industry on its own
Who we are and why we are doing this
We are a private association of volunteers warning and informing about romance scammers in Jordan. We are informing especially solo female travellers as there are reports also about rapes and sexual abuse! We contacted the Jordanian Gouvernement already, but it is a corrupt country and the issue is well known. The stories we are posting are reported by victims and we always ask for all evidence! We got a lot of threatens so we can not reveal our members identities! Please report us your experience as we will protect and support you.
What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
If you found your way here because you learned you were being scammed, you may be at a loss for what to do next. It’s never easy to learn that the person you have been in contact with is a romance scammer. You thought you had found the perfect person. He was attentive, romantic, and always knew just what to say. You may have already invested a lot, emotionally and financially, into a relationship that you are now just beginning to realize does not exist. So where do you go from here?
Note that we are using “he” here, but we are aware that also all your friends in Petra, the mothers and fathers and anyone else is involved in the scams!
1. CUT OFF ALL CONTACT WITH THE SCAMMER AND ANYONE CONNECTED WITH HIM. This is the most important thing you can do. Remaining in contact with your Bedouin scammer will only cause further harm. Continued approaches from him (which may include continuing to plead his innocence, manipulating you with guilt or phony confessions, or even becoming verbally abusive or threatening) will make it much harder to accept what has happened and move on. Block him on messenger, filter his emails to trash without reading them (better yet, change your email address if it’s feasible), don’t take any phone calls from him.
2. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
If at all possible, resist the temptation to confront him, send him proof he is a scammer, nor show him he is posted on an anti-scam forum. It is a normal reaction to want him to confess and feel guilty about the harm he has done. The truth is, if he confesses he will just tell more lies, and he is not going to feel guilty. To the Bedouin scammer your whole relationship has been a business transaction. He learned a long time ago to see victims as nothing more than a source of money, no matter how much he pretends to care. When you point out what he has done wrong, he will learn from your information and will make his scam more believable next time. If you point out that his current name and photo are posted, he will create a new account and victims won’t find the important evidence that he is a scammer.
3. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
If you have lost money, report the crime, but do not allow yourself to get hung up on false hopes of getting your money back. In reality, chances of getting your money back are virtually zero. The scammer is operating from Jordan and most of them ask you by phone- or audiocall for money, so that you have no evidence at all and everything he has told you is a lie, so you have little to no real information about him. When a scam crosses international borders, a tremendous amount of money, red tape, and political activity is required just to initiate an investigation, and with few resources available, only the largest of losses (typically hundreds of thousands of dollars/euros) will trigger an investigation. However, reporting the crime is still important, because our governments need to understand the severity of the problem if we want them to take stronger action against it. We advise you to contact your embassy in Jordan and ask for legal support in Amman! Wadi Musa is a small community and at the end of the day they all know each other as well
4. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
Review the information you have given him. If he has your name, address, phone number, and photos, there’s really nothing for you to do. If you gave him the info about your social media accounts block him and everyone else from there! If you have given him your social security number or other identification, bank account information, credit card numbers, passwords, or you have opened any accounts for him, take action. Follow your country’s process for reporting possible identity theft. Report your credit cards as compromised and replace them. Contact your bank about actions to take on bank accounts. Change your passwords, and –this is very important – change any password reset questions to something he can’t guess. Block him everywhere without telling him, cause they will all start to contact you!
5. If you find out, he is a scammer
Send us the scammer’s information, including the text of his emails, his audio calls, snaps of his messages and photos to help alert others who may be current or future targets. The Scammers frequently use scripts – a series of prewritten messages – that they send to multiple victims. They often keep these scripts even when they change names. There is a good chance that the scammer has sent the exact same messages you received to dozens of other women! And most of them are iliterates, so they work together with others! Posting those scripts can help another victim or potential victim.
6. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
Don’t beat yourself up.
Falling for a Bedouin scammer doesn’t make you stupid, desperate, or deserving of punishment. It makes you human. You were looking for someone or something, and the scammer convinced you he was what you were looking for. The scammer is very experienced at using lies, guilt, and manipulation as tools to get what he wants. Further you can be sure they were observing you from the beginning!
7. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
Even though I know that this person was a scammer, I still find myself looking for a message, waiting for a call from him. Is this normal?
For weeks or months you poured your heart out to this person. Even though you now know that he was pretending the entire time, you were invested as you would be in any relationship. If you were dating someone in your hometown and the relationship ended, you would likely still miss him for a while, even if you were the one who called the relationship off. The same is true here. You will need to grieve and recover from your loss just as you do from the loss of any important relationship. If you find yourself overwhelmed, you may need to consider professional counseling. It is also very important that you don’t let those feelings allow you to be pulled back in to the scammer’s grasp.
8. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
My scammer is now threatening to hurt me and/or my family. Am I in danger?
The scammer may threaten you in an attempt to get more money from you, or to try to convince you to withdraw reports about him that are hurting his other scams. It is a good idea to report any physical threats to the police. In reality, when dealing with the type of scammers profiled here at Shakira the donkey, the risk of physical harm to you or your relatives is very low. These scammers typically target victims outside of their own country. Passports and visas would be required to come to your country, and he may not qualify for them. Even if he did have the ability to travel, coming to your area would cost him significant time and money. His goal is to take your money—not to spend money pursuing you. In addition, he knows that the risk of being jailed for scamming you is relatively low—but if he were to attempt to harm you (or have someone else harm you), the risk of being caught and put in jail is much higher. It’s not a risk he is going to take. The scammer is essentially a coward, hiding behind fake information, taking few real risks.
However, we have seen scammers, when very angry, who have caused some problems for their victims by reporting their victims as scammers, harassing friends, using victims’ names in scams, etc. It is best not to “play” with a scammer who has your real life information, as this will make him angrier and more likely to attempt to retaliate—and while your life may not be at risk, you don’t need to waste your time and energy dealing with these things.
9. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
I sent intimate photos/video to my scammer or he says he recorded my activities on webcam, and now he is threatening to publish them. What can I do?
If you're being blackmailed with intimate photos or other messages, here are 4 reasons why the Bedouins won't be posting any of it anywhere:
1. it is absolutely forbidden in the Bedouin community to show naked skin, neither from men, nor from women! So they would do themselves social harm!
2. you can assume that at the same time they are cheating other victims, who would thus be aware that they are using criminal methods to get money!
3. Extortion is a serious crime in Jordan. Gather all the evidence and make sure you have it in writing (sms, messages, email) so you can put them in jail right away!
4. most women are intimidated by simple methods because they are ashamed! There's no reason for that! We'll help you! Defy them and publish everything about them! Block them everywhere and break off contact with all his friends and family!
10. What to do, if you find out he is a scammer
sent intimate photos/video to my scammer or he says he recorded my activities on webcam, and now he is threatening to publish them. What can I do?
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. The only advice we can give you is not to give in to blackmail demands, and once again, cut off ALL contact with the scammer. If he cannot reach you, he cannot blackmail you. If he knows that he has power over you, he will continue to abuse that power and demand more and more money. He may promise to destroy the photos/video, but remember he is a liar and a thief, and his promises are worth nothing.
The truth is, in most cases the scammer will not follow through with this threats, because following through will cost him time and money. If he tries to post anything pornographic, most public sites would delete it anyway. In the unlikely event that he does post something, you need to be proactive and contact the site immediately to have it removed. Depending on the threats, you may want to file a report with law enforcement. Your best weapon: contact us, we will fight for you and just post his face here!
Advise for female traveller
We know travelling is exciting: seeing beautiful nature, culture, meeting new people and taking amazing pictures! And it’s good to trust and staying curious!
But we consider the following
1. Create new accounts on social media before travelling so strangers won’t have access to your friends list and don’t give them your real name on social media! In. If someone sucks you can just delete it after a while
2. Memorise emergencies numbers (embassies, police, hotel) or write them down to take them always with you
3. Send scans of your passport, visa (if necessary), credit card and contacts to your email address
4. Get an prepaid simcard (in Jordan you can get them at the airport in Amman or in the cities) to make sure you have always internet and can call in case of emergency (Whatsapp will work perfectly even with the new number)
5. Inform yourself before travelling about traditions and rules how to behave
6. Make sure you will forget about your good education in case of a dangerous situation and just yell at them like hell and don’t let them manipulate you! If a situation feels strange just trust yourself like you would do at home!
7. Always keep in mind that this people make a living from tourism and you don’t know them! They are not your friends! Tomorrow there will be the next tourist! Of course they’ll be nice to you, they want something from you!
#wallahimissyou
#scammer #jordan
#petra
Magical Petra
The scammer will ‘work’ you because he needs you. You can provide sex, money, and a visa. And these are obviously great advantages to him. He will chat you up on Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram or Skype. Hours and days in a row. He will say the sweetest words that you could think of. He will invent dramas to keep the fire burning and the hot-and-cold game on, so that you fall harder and harder. He loves you /// he can’t live without you /// he can’t stop thinking of you /// he never met anyone like you. Your love story will rocket and plummet and head again to new heights: his parents now know of you, he wants to marry you, he wants you to live with him
Bedouin Scammers are manipulative
Scammers will go to great lengths to gain your interest and trust, such as showering you with loving words, sharing ‘personal information’ and even giving you gifts. They may take months to build what may feel like the romance of a lifetime and may even pretend to book flights to visit you, but never actually come.
Once they have gained your trust and your defences are down, they will ask you (either subtly or directly) for money, gifts or your banking/credit card details. They may also ask you to send pictures or videos of yourself, possibly of an intimate nature.
Where to stay as female travellers
BEWARE: if you go to Petra, stay in a hotel. If you use airbnb or couchsurfing and you think that your host is "such a nice person", you are wrong: he is scamming... check well with whom you stay! If you are female travellers (alone or in a group of women)he will call his handsome friends to do a tour with you and to take care of you • you will get new friends on Facebook & instagram • there also cases of rapes & some girls also suspected to have been drugged before!!!!!!!!! Take care!!!
Married to a Bedouin
The romance scammers sell you indeed romance and illusions! It’s all about a fake love story!
The Bedouin (Love)stories almost always begin similarly, as they are described in the book "Married to a Bedouin" by Marguerite van Geldermalsen. The women come to Petra as tourists, are overwhelmed by the beauty of this place, go on a tour with the bedouins and change their itineraries!
For the young Bedouins this is of course different: they seem almost bored, because they experience the same stories every day! The best tour is therefore the first one, after that you always hear the same stories: my donkey died, my mother is sick, my car broke, help me to create a business and so on. They are waiting for you to come back, a long distance relationship starts..
In the book written by Marguerite she tells about her personal Bedouin live story, when she fall in love at first sight as a young women from New Zealand and moved in a cave with her husband from Petra! This was before Petra became UNESCO WORLDHERITAGE but all the Petra guides will tell you about this romance and will make you believe that a love story with a Bedouin is possible: “If a Bedouin lives, he takes only one wife!” Cause they are allowed to marry up to four! The truth is: most of them are already married or to Bedouin women or westerner
The scammers: The ALFAKEER twins
The twins: Mohammed ALFAKEER
The #Alfaqeer twins are the most dangerous guys in #Petra! They are sociopaths, abusive and manipulative! They will trick you with their sweet voices and offer you trips and the real #bedouin #experience! They will introduce you to their mother, family & friends! But they are all part of the game! They invite you to Little Petra (desert) to their cave or Airbnb! They abused females travelers and #mohammed have been in jail for rape and was released after his family payed money and they tricked the victim! Take care!!!
#wallahimissyou #takecare #shakirathedonkey #bedouin #petra
The scammers: the twins
The twins: Ahmed ALFAKEER
The #Alfaqeer twins are the most dangerous guys in #Petra! They are sociopaths, abusive and manipulative! They will trick you with their sweet voices and offer you trips and the real #bedouin #experience! They will introduce you to their mother, family & friends! But they are all part of the game! They invite you to Little Petra (desert) to their cave or Airbnb! They abused females travelers and #mohammed have been in jail for rape and was released after his family payed money and they tricked the victim! Take care!!!
#wallahimissyou #takecare #shakirathedonkey #bedouin
The scammers: Eamad
#Eamad is always smiling and very stylish! He is married to a western but always claims he is divorced! He scams you for money and sex, smoke wheat and drinks! He like to invite you for a party! His donkeys die often
The scammers: Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp alias Ahmad is married to a western and runs a travel agency and an Airbnb! He is very nice and offers you to take a shower in his house, having dinner in the desert & having sex under the stars! He was protagonist of many documentaries about the bedouins in Petra!
The scammers: Suleiman
#Suleiman is still fishing in #Petra for a new #wife! Though he is married to more than one! He will invite you to his #cave in the #unescoworldheritage in #Jordan. He wants you to meet real #bedouin people and drink some #tea. He will offer you a tour on his #donkey #mule #horse and sleep with you on the same #matress under the stars or at his cave. He will show you the most beautiful #places and propose... #takecare any report to #shakirathedonkey cause it’s all about #fakelove from a #scammer. They do no #trekking nor #hiking only smoking #shisha, sending you messages on #facebook #wharsapp #instagram like #wallahimissyou
The scammers: Mohammad Shamaseen
ALERT about Mohammed Shamaseen....
"This is my story: I know Mohammed Shamaseen from Facebook more than one year. Every day he said to me, visit Jordan, visit me. He was very friendly. He wrote me every day. Good morning. Have a nice day. The whole year!!! Please come to Jordan. You only need a ticket. I have a car, I have everything. You don’t need something else. Well. 4 weeks ago, I bought a flight to Jordan. He said to me, I pick you up from the airport and we sleep in a Apartment in Amman for 2 days. He said to me, the price is 45 JD for one night. So we‘ll stay for 2 nights. After this time he said to me, it was more expensive. The owner from this house want 60 JD for one night. So. I gave him 120 JD. Without that I saw the bill. The whole 2 days in Amman I payed all food, his food too. After this 2 days we drove to the Dead Sea. We stay in a hotel for 95 JD one night. I payed this. The diner and the lunch. After this we drove to Petra. This day I payed the shishas. The food. The drinks. For us together. Next day we go to little Petra. He said to me, you have to pay the entry. For himself and for me. I said, why? You are an local. He said. Yes. But I’m here with you and I don’t work today. So. I have to pay too. So. I have him 100 JD for the entry. He payed this! I never saw a ticket. He said to me we make a horseback ride to the high place of sacrifice. It’s free because the horses are his own. After that I wanted a camel ride. At the end of this day he said to me, I have to pay 30 JD for the horseback ride. Not for the horses. But for this area. For 2 persons 60 JD. The camel ride also 60 JD. I was so stupid to gave him the money. After this he said, we going to a Bedouin camp in little Petra. So. I payed for one night. For 2 persons. After that he said we going to Wadi Rum to sleep in the desert. Only we both. So we started and by the way, he picked up 2 friends and said, they are coming with us. But we need a lot of things for the desert. So we bought. And I payed!!! More than 50 JD. The night in the desert was very nice. But, I’m happy to alive this. He drove madness. After that we drove to Aqaba. In Aqaba the same. My friend has an apartment. The price is 60 JD for one night. Aqaba was the horror. My money was empty. I had nothing more. I said him this and he change his face. You have to pay this. 2 days.... he always was bad to me. I was happy for the day of my departure to Germany. 3 hours in the car without one word. He said, he have to drive. I only sit here. After my check in I saw, that all my money was away from my bag. My last 100 Euro!!! I had nothing more. He called me and said i love you Baby. Don’t forget me. I will marry you. I said you will never see me again. But I will tell my story about this terrible vacancies. After my arrivals in Germany I looked at Facebook. He blocked me and his private phone number. This was my experience from Jordan. Never again in my life I trust people. I send you a picture from this man. Mohammad Shamaseen. Beware of this man. PS.... as he slept, I saw a lot of money in his bag. MY MONEY!!!!!!"
The scammers: Raja
#RajaHe will message you on Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook • he will video call you •”I want to see you” • he will ask you to come back to Jordan • he sends you pictures of himself & his friends • he will invite you to his place to meet his family • he will offer you a place to stay “you are must (most) welcome any time”don’t believe them if they have sweet talks with you, even after months they will keep working on you...the pics they send you took other women ❤#wallahimissyou
The scammers: Feras
#FerasMarried • shop owner • nice and always smiling • offering tours and sex in his shop with the beautiful view: why not? After he will ask you for presents & money
The scammers: Rakan
#Rakan he will ask for your WhatsApp and contact you even if you just saw him for some minutes while doing a group tour in Petra! He calls or messages you every day, inviting you to come back to Petra and be his guest! He will invent problems with his phone and contact you from his brothers or friends phobe so you feel sorry for him and send him money! He will meet you in Aqaba or Amman and scam you!
The scammers: Raaed
#Raaed he will follow you through Petra and try to get you in a cave! He approached females at Petra by night and tried to come closer! He will message you every day by telling you he fall in love and he will surely ask you for money!
The scammers: Suleiman Samahin
#Suleiman:
It’s by the book: you meet him in Oeyra and he is very nice! He works with camels, mules or in a shop in Petra! He will tell you that he needs money cause his animal died and he is building a new house! You will meet his scammer brothers and stay on a cave or in Wadi Rum! Though he is married to a Bedouin and has kids he will marry you as second wife and scam you for a lot of money!
Contact Us
Please report your story! It is very important to make this stop! Don’t be ashamed, we already heard all possible stories and we know how much it hurts to find out the truth!
