SCAM Warning to those new to social media
WOW! I was almost suckered into it! He spent the past few weeks working on me. I didn't listen to my first gut instinct asking why this man of such importance found me interesting,..not to say I'm not, but he should be way too busy to be spending time on G+ socializing. Recently, I read about these guys who pose as military men and do this to women who are looking for romance, but hey...they do change the script. When I didn't fall for the romance gig, he changed his focus onto my philanthropic ideals, asking that I order & accept meds for the people in Afghanistan who can't go to a doctor and the soldiers that can't get the meds they need....total deposit expected, which was emailed to me from person #2 who 'works' for a large international pharmaceutical company was ONLY 20% of a discounted amt of 25% for a grand total of $20K+! HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Do ya think big red flags went up then??
So, dear social media newbies, be most careful as a lot of these scammers are much more proficient at what they do than mine was. And BTW, be sure you save all pertinent info on these folks and report them to www.justice.gov/spam. I'm not saying that will hep though. A lot of the articles and posts I read said that their hands are basically tied, since most of these scams are perpetrated from Nigeria.
I was lucky...I was skeptical all along. Many people who should be, aren't. Don't be one of those. Question anyone who wants any sort of personal information, or wants you to send money to them or a 3rd party. If you are scammed, don't be too embarrassed to report them immediately. Hopefully, it may help you and those in the future.
Recent Comments
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Well done for having the courage to share your story the internet is the digital wild west and anything goes I am afraid it was always like this and shall always be like this
The old snake oil salesman, so well pore-trade in old western movies has not gone away he has just changed addresses now he lives on the internet finding a path to all out vulnerable emotions and needs
Barry
Hi Barry. Yes, it's sad but true. Altho I didn't lose any money, it did throw me off track emotionally for a bit. I'm ready to get back in the saddle again, I'll just have my trusty derringer handy from now on! :-)
Thanks for sharing your story. It is sad but true that these human vultures take advantage of lonely people all the time. It is a good rule of thumb to NEVER EVER send $$ to anyone that you get e-mails from . I get e-mails all the time saying they have thousand of dollars just waiting to be released to me if I will send them a small "fee". Yeah right!! This fool is not going to part with her money like that! Its the same with these phone scams. Lots of people get rooked every day into parting with their hard earned cash or having their credit card information compromised by unscrupulous fraudsters. It is a sad world we live in sometimes.
Yeah, right is right! It is sad, isn't it? It's a horrible thing we can no longer be a trusting society.
Yes. My girifriend's neighbor who is in her 60's, was scammed into sending money for a very expensive "gift" that was supposed to have been sent to her by this supposedly "high ranking official of a country/s army". I still did not understand why you would send money for a present sent to you. Anyway, this lady did fall for this, send the money and that was the last she heard about this army man.
VERY INTERESTING! Now I'm wondering about this friendly young man who is a Marine stationed in Afghanistan. Keeps calling me "Gorgeous" and "Dear" and "just wants to talk." Hmmmm.
He's never hit me up for money but I never let the conversation get past the weather. I have often wondered why he would want to spend time chatting with a happily married lady who's probably 3 times his age. Thanks for the great scam warning, Margot. Great post!
Wlll, "dear", this guy started out by saying I looked sterling. THAT should have given him away immediately... Who talks like that here? And obviously, his eyes weren't working correctly!! LOL Just be careful, it was close to a month before this guy hit me up...and do remember, it wasn't the normal "romance" scam that's being written about on the scam sites. They can take quite awhile before they hit you up for money....need to make sure you're on the hook first, and then need money to get home or some such thing.
Best of luck and be careful kiddo!
I certainly hope so Lacy. If it hadn't been for my very skeptical husband, I might have gotten in more trouble over the years as I have the tendency of being too trustful and think the best of all people. It's just so sad we have to worry about that.
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Thanks for sharing this. Brave of you. I am following you now. -Alice
Thanks Alice. If this post keeps just one person for falling for this type of scam, it's a good thing;