On line scammers

[momtokam]

http://youngwidowedanddating.com/2016/11/06/scammers-target-your-heart-then-wallet/

 

I just wanted to put this out here, in its own thread.

Scammers are everywhere and sadly widows are huge targets. Please be careful.

[klim]

I must say I feel like it's so obvious but also it obviously works sometimes....or why would they do it.

 

Do be careful.

 

Personally someone that calls me honey or babe before  they know me doesn't gain my interest.

 

And lastly is there anybody else out there that when they figure they've spotted a scammer likes to play with them.....trying to catch them up in their lies.    ...it's a game I play , a sad pathetic game but one that sometimes keeps me occupied. :-\

[RobFTC]

And lastly is there anybody else out there that when they figure they've spotted a scammer likes to play with them.....trying to catch them up in their lies.

 

Sometimes   I don't do it that often anymore, but every so often, I have to see how far down the wormhole goes.  The transitions are my favorite part - as in, "hey, your profile is written so well, and first messages were good, so why does it feel like you can barely string together a sentence that sounds like you're a native English speaker any more?"  Handoffs!  It can be rather amusing.  One I confronted, and got a "Look, I am just doing my job, OK?" response.  Not too often the 4th wall breaks! LOL  :

 

Take care,

Rob T

[momtokam]

It's so obvious to me now, but not in the beginning.

 

I had not dated in 26 years and never on line. I had no clue at all. I consider myself somewhat smarter than the average bear but I didn't know anything about on line sites. I didn't know it wasn't normal for someone not to want to meet right away. I was vunerable and lonely and chatted way longer than I should have, being drawn in by the attention. I am also a very trusting person.  The second the "I need a favour" came up, I knew, and I felt so stupid. It was about 3 weeks in. I woke up pretty quick after that.

 

I just wish someone had educated me on all this baloney. This is what I am hoping to do here. I don't want anyone wasting their time with these predators.

 

I do at times mess with them as well. In my mind, I hope I am wasting their time, so they can't prey on the more vunerables ones. It can also be quite entertaining as well.

 

[arneal]

I hear you, momto -- I was in the same boat. However, my online scammer didn't ask for anything and instead promised the moon. I was almost going to go see him but then the veneer slipped and I saw the discrepancies. I felt so stupid, but I didn't want to give up. I found a site that gave me better local options and that's how I met NG. I was able to see him face to face within a few days of our first messaging, which let me know that he was a real person (in various senses of the term lol). It's sad that some people get their jollies from hurting others, whether it be by taking their money or seeing what they can make them say or do.

[Guest nonesuch]

There were a couple I encountered:  one sent me a Facebook friend request - with a picture of a man and his daughter.  He would go anywhere for love...And I thought, hey, he's got a school aged child and if she's just lost her mother, why would he take her away from her home and friends? The light slowly dawned.  Also, I'm a tad old to be Mom to an elementary school child.  I realized it was a scam.

 

Another said he'd go anywhere for love (hmmm, I sense a pattern) and if he had looked at a damn map, he'd have realized that the town I lived in and the town he said he was from were only 25 miles apart.

 

Once I Googled the email address, and the results indicated a scam.

 

You can copy and paste a few phrases your potential suitor has written to describe him- or herself into Google and find out how original or un-original it is.

 

I got a call from "The IRS" but unfortunately didn't have the presence of mind to play with the scammer as this one did: caution, NSFW, much foul language used.

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2016/09/30/jokester-fun-mocking-pakistani-phone-scammer-call-takes-dark-turn-evoking-911-396050

 

 

[arneal]

Yes, nonesuch -- Google is like the NSA for ordinary people! Check out https://ctrlq.org/google/images/ to do a reverse look-up on photos as well. On various browsers you can right click and download the posted photo and upload it to this site. If you are using Chrome, you can right click and I think photo search is built in.