Scamming: Buyer Beware

 scam

(skăm)

N.

A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.

TR.V.

scammed, scam·ming, scams

To defraud; swindle.

A few months ago my husband and I parted ways.  He had somehow gotten himself involved with Instagram scammers and I, for one, did not want to be a part of that.  Fast forward 8 months...he is sitting in a Motel 6 in the middle of Bumf*ck, California waiting for the call from his girlfriend/fiance so he can move in with her.  Previously, we lived in a nice home, we both had great jobs and a happy married life.  We sold our nice home, he quit his job and is living only on social security, which would not house and feed a goldfish, and he lost his marriage.  For what?  For a dream?  He HAD the dream...home, job, love.  What evs...

Well, I had the pleasure of likewise meeting a scammer.  And so, ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to educate you on red flags.  Your scammer may or may not have photos that looked posed for...like modeling shots.  BIG red flag.  They will inundate you with love and warmth.  Their shower of affection is almost too good to be true.  You would be correct.  It IS too good to be true.  Now, I will tell you, the scammer I had used normal photos except for one.  Okay, I rationalized.  Maybe he took the picture for his business.  Additionally, they are almost always widowed.  If you don't believe me, ask Dr. Phil.  Well, you say to yourself, they could actually be a widower.  We talked for a week and then I inquired about talking on the phone.  He seemed amenable to it but said he had a cold and wanted to wait until he felt better.  Fair, I thought.  However, a friend of mine said, have you seen him?  Great question.  Last night, we talked.  There were major phone glitches prompting me to call him back.  I got an irate man who said someone had called him like 12 times asking for this person.  12 times?  Not me.  Now, I had some serious questions.  I did a reverse phone lookup.  Landline.  When he called back, he said his phone was on call forward.  Generally, you forward to someone you know.  Not someone who asks, why are you calling me?  Additionally, it sounded like he was in no man's land.  Gurgling and all kinds of background noise.  It was not a call placed, IMHO from the United States.  Furthermore, when I sent him a link for a video call, he said he doesn't click on links because he was sent a bad one once.  Hmmmm....he wanted to talk.  He had a British accent...funny, he didn't mention he was from the UK.  Or had lived in Australia.  Maybe he was calling from Australia??  In any case, I told him unless we did the video call, that was the end of the road.  He said he was insulted.  That's fine, buddy...because I don't like people who lie or pretend to be someone they're not.  You see how quickly this turned?  He wanted to talk with me...not be on a video call.  Why?  Because he was the man behind the curtain, not the man who called himself Sam and was a good Christian.  And let me tell you, he had everything down pat...to the Bible verses he liked.

I hope this will show everyone how easy it is to be scammed.  If someone asks you about money, retirement, investments, etc. cut them loose.  It is none of their business, no matter how much you may like them or how good their picture is.  Do not give personal information such as address, work, or anything that could help them steal your identity.  

Since the drama with my husband, I am on high alert.  I don't need a friend/boyfriend so badly that I am willing to take a chance.  It is so not worth it.  I have heard of wealthy people losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Scammers are good at what they do.  So please, think twice about an online relationship...dating websites are a buyer beware.