So after posting on another thread about catfishing/fake girls and mentioning that I had a story to tell of when I got hurt by it, I was encouraged by a moderator(thank you for the idea) to post a new thread and tell the story as long as I keep names private. Names will not be mentioned. Not even fake one. Pronouns are the mane of the game here. So here is my cautionary tale. Please go easy on me. I don’t like to recall this as it reminds me of how stupid and foolish I was. I got an email from a woman. She responded to a personal ad I posted once on a dating site. She said where she was from and what she liked about my profile. Red flag the first that ignored: she lived far away yet wanted a relationship? So I went with it for a while. Talked everyday. Got on Skype. Red flag number two and one that really was a umbrella flag: she liked everything about me regardless of what it was. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Again, as I was lonely and vulnerable, I walked passed that flag too. Then came the big one. The reddest of all red flags. She had an uncle that is selling his company for $2 million and I’m entitled to half of it for some reason. I just need to pay for the cost of lawyer fees. Yep. I paid. Then it went on. My mom died, need money for burial. I sent it. MoneyGram to those curious. "Just a little longer and we will be together ‘my love’". There was always an "opps, delay, need more money". This person kept sending me pictures of the same woman that likely wasn’t who this individual was. Quite sexually attractive and a lot of them naked. Lonely, vulnerable, and apparently quite easily hooked by a nice ass. This went on for a year and a half. Finally, I came to me senses when I got something from her from some U.S. Government office about money laundering. That I had to pay an additional $30,000 in order for us to finally be together. I didn’t pay this, but she "found a way around" this(probably was going to be her next thing after paying anyways) by sending me cheques to cash which I would send back to her. I had help here. Everyone saw scam but me and luckily one person said to open a new account at the bank to deposit the cheques into. Bank caught the fraudulent checks right away. I remember being so upset when I came to the bank. Not angry, but devastated. Also, the bank manager treated it like a cop interviewing a criminal when telling me. What came of that was remembering that this person had my account information. I said to close my account and start a new one. Probably the only smart thing I ever did during this whole thing. So, if things seem too good to be true, they probably are. Any time someone claims to love you early on(forgot to mention that) that’s a red flag Any money coming to you that you didn’t earn is a NOPE. Any time you need to pay for anything, listen to your gut. Believe me, my gut was saying NO NO NO! making the many trips to the bank and MoneyGram, but loneliness and vulnerability got the best of it. I lost $50,000 in total. Don’t be stupid like I was. I hope this all makes sense. Just be very careful out there,
I'm very sorry to hear that and shocked after reading your post.Scamming is getting more sophisticated . For what it's worth I don't think you was stupid . Personally when it comes to dating ,I am a firm believer of the old-fashioned boy meets girl whilst out on the town .I appreciate however it's been more difficult these days with the pandemic but you see what the person is for real and not hidden behind a screen. Thanks for posting your story and I sincerely hope some good news comes your way .
Thanks Naked for posting that here. If it helps just one other person for falling for a similar scam, than it certainly has been worth it.
Damn man. Sorry to hear about that. To all. No matter how desperate you all get. Always be vigilant and never trust anyone on the other side of the screen. You just don't know. I had it happen once to me. I filed a fraudulent charge on my credit card and got my money back. I highly recommend you guys do this if you feel you've been stooped. It's worth a try.
