Scams That Prey On the Lonely

[Beth Griggs]

They don't prey on the lonely, they prey on the stupid.. If you think that sally floppyknockers, that's like a 10 on the looks scale, randomly wants something to do with you, when there's no logical reason for her to even be contacting you; well, that's just dense..

I don't think scams are good, and if you got scammed, well, that sucks. But in a sense they are good, to keep people aware, and push them to use their brains. If people are that dumb and driven by their dicks (instead of their brains), well, then that's on them for gettin sucked into it.

And obviously anyone that asks you for money within a month of knowing you, scam or not, is an instant red flag..

It has really cheered me up to see this post thank you. At least a person with common sense, logic and the balls to say it as it really is. I get sick and tired of old ugly men trying to get what they believe to be a beautiful, long legged busty woman of TWENTY to give up her family, friends, job, country to go and live with him - and bring her gold, jewels and money and give him loads of earth shattering sex and be his carer when he needs one and then moaning when it goes wrong. It never occurs to these people that she would be the one who has been scammed and used if she had existed and agreed. Why would any gorgeous young person give up so much for a stranger - let alone one three times their age who is poor?

 

[Beth Griggs]

I won't dare to say all scammer are women... Yet an hour ago, a woman I don't like, kept on trying to lure me away into a relationship I don't want (with her) and just when she introduced me with her friend, she asked me to buy for her the underware her friend sells... Some ask money, some asked sex or undemanded relationships, and I won't say they are one gender or "race".

There is no such thing as a woman who is short of sex! Even an old ugly woman can sell sex to strangers. She can do email sex or phone sex and some men would prefer an old woman to pay for meet sex. So she won't be looking and going short! And if you are a stranger to her it is business, nothing more, not her fancying you or being generous with her time. It is about her telling you what you want to hear so that you give her money etc. If you are nothing much to look at and older than her it is even more ridiculous. She could do better than that with a guy who lives just around the corner.

 

[Beth Griggs]

I dunno what your talking about. Perhaps its because I am new here, but I have never been targeted for a scam. Guess I don't come off sexy enough.... **sniff sniff**

The scammer is after money and material possessions not sex.

 

[Beth Griggs]

A friend of mine recently got taken for $3200.00 Canadian. I made every effort to direct him from this line of insanity but he refused to listen (just for reference he is 65, "she" was allegedly 32). I tried to get him to just spend a $100.00 or so on a webcam just so he could make a reasonable attempt to verify the persons identity but whoever it was on the other end was so convincing......... He threw everything away on a ridiculous Internet romance- I find that it's difficult to treat him with the same kind of respect I once had.

Here we are a couple of months later. The woman he lives with (kind of my surrogate mother to some extent) considers him a room-mate now and would like to be shut of him as soon as possible. It's so bad she has asked me if I would buy half the house from her as she would like to turf him, pay him out, and get rid of him.

Wow!!!

Your friend is hardly intelligent and is very naive and arrogant if he thinks some woman of 32 would be seeking out a stranger online and out of the thousand who would fall over themselves to be chosen pick him when he is 65!!! He is not rich and he is very old, what would be her reason for choosing him?
He was after sex not romance. Am not surprised the woman he lives with is sick of him. I bet she is a lot older than this young thing and she can do a lot better.

 

[Beth Griggs]

A friend of mine recently got taken for $3200.00 Canadian. I made every effort to direct him from this line of insanity but he refused to listen (just for reference he is 65, "she" was allegedly 32). I tried to get him to just spend a $100.00 or so on a webcam just so he could make a reasonable attempt to verify the persons identity but whoever it was on the other end was so convincing......... He threw everything away on a ridiculous Internet romance- I find that it's difficult to treat him with the same kind of respect I once had.

Here we are a couple of months later. The woman he lives with (kind of my surrogate mother to some extent) considers him a room-mate now and would like to be shut of him as soon as possible. It's so bad she has asked me if I would buy half the house from her as she would like to turf him, pay him out, and get rid of him.

Wow!!!

 

[Beth Griggs]

Your friend is arrogant and stupid if he thinks a gorgeous woman of 32 would want him - at his age.
It's not as if he is Mr Charming or very sexy or rich - the woman he is with now has lost interest and she is older and more like him. He was after sex not romance. He thought he would end up having a whale of a time at the young woman's expense, with her giving up the chance to be with a much younger man and much more just to suit him - selfish. If it were me I would lose interest in him because he is selfish and because he is stupid. And of course this 32 year old woman is probably a 40 year old man pretending.

 

[xephier102]

It has really cheered me up to see this post thank you. At least a person with common sense, logic and the balls to say it as it really is. I get sick and tired of old ugly men trying to get what they believe to be a beautiful, long legged busty woman of TWENTY to give up her family, friends, job, country to go and live with him - and bring her gold, jewels and money and give him loads of earth shattering sex and be his carer when he needs one and then moaning when it goes wrong. It never occurs to these people that she would be the one who has been scammed and used if she had existed and agreed. Why would any gorgeous young person give up so much for a stranger - let alone one three times their age who is poor?

While I thank you for the support, I honestly can't agree with much of what you've said, due to the level of judgementalism and general ignorance.. Not to mention, you're saying all of this crap to a dude that's old, ugly, and poor, so.. thanks...?

Not every dude is just out for sex. At least not any more than, every woman is only out for looks, money, and a foot long dong.

Stereotypes are ****. We should really be doing our best to break them, not inflate them.

 

[Beth Griggs]

While I thank you for the support, I honestly can't agree with much of what you've said, due to the level of judgementalism and general ignorance.. Not to mention, you're saying all of this crap to a dude that's old, ugly, and poor, so.. thanks...?

Not every dude is just out for sex. At least not any more than, every woman is only out for looks, money, and a foot long dong.

Stereotypes are ****. We should really be doing our best to break them, not inflate them.

I have come across hundreds of guys like your friend in the past year. They never look at it from the point of view of the "young woman" they are contacting. Loneliness is awful but not an excuse to expect a stranger to make do with someone who is three times their age or whatever. When an old man is interested in a very young beautiful woman it is obvious it is about sex. It won't be the fact she is highly intelligent and well educated! Nor will it be that they have masses of hobbies and interests in common. My opinion is based on knowing of and helping thousands of clients over the years, I do this for a living. Full time.

Scammers realise their mark / victim is trying to seriously update at the other person's expense and turn the tables on them..... scamming is about money not sex - sex is used as bait to get the money. They go by stereo types and they make a lot of money out of it, so stereo types exist and work. People who are realistic about the sort of people to seek out to date/marry cannot get scammed.

The only way a young woman bothers with a much older man is if he has a lot of money and is generous with it. Even then she can get one local and would not have to emigrate or move.

The latest scam is for guys in chat rooms.... A beautiful young woman starts to chat to him. She makes sure she sounds sexy, available, eager, sleazy, no holds and broad minded, very much like an expensive whore, but one who is not professional and does not charge - the dream of many men in chat rooms - all of the pleasure at no cost - when he says about meeting for a few days of sex at his place she says wow what a great idea. He wants to meet to get laid for free. He wants to skip the bits where he takes her out for a meal and gets to know her. Or gives her the chance to decide whether or not she fancies him. He might be three times her age, fat and ugly. Like a visiting sex service. She has no reason at all to be interested in this. It could be very dangerous for her to turn up a some stranger's place, she might get raped, beaten up etc. And she can easily get sex off guys she knows already. But she then says something along the lines of what pity I cannot come over today / tomorrow because I am short this week and need money for petrol. In his eagerness to get free sex for a few days and nights he offers to send her the money to fill the car with petrol. He thinks he is going to get a bargain. Some woman running around for him and days and nights of sex for a few pounds or dollars. He pays her enough for a tankful of petrol and of course she disappears. Was she a she or a he? If she had wanted to meet up with strangers for sex she would have charged properly, not given several days and nights for free. And she could have made sure they were as young and good looking as her. But the arrogant mean, selfish guys don't want to admit that.

 

[TheRealCallie]

We're going to argue about who gets scammed and why now? Really? There are a million different scams that prey on the lonely, the ugly, the gorgeous, the rich, the poor. Doesn't matter your age or anything, only that you can be scammed. Stop arguing about it, you're both wrong and you're both right.

And a few side notes...
First, I know a lot of women who actually are into older men. Some of them are actually rather pretty, some of them aren't. They aren't after money or anything, just love, so they aren't all out to scam someone.

Second, 65 is NOT "very" old.

 

[Beth Griggs]

We're going to argue about who gets scammed and why now? Really? There are a million different scams that prey on the lonely, the ugly, the gorgeous, the rich, the poor. Doesn't matter your age or anything, only that you can be scammed. Stop arguing about it, you're both wrong and you're both right.

And a few side notes...
First, I know a lot of women who actually are into older men. Some of them are actually rather pretty, some of them aren't. They aren't after money or anything, just love, so they aren't all out to scam someone.

Second, 65 is NOT "very" old.

But the women who are young and prefer older men will go for a local man who is self sufficient, normal, charming etc, not one in another country who can barely string a sentence together, bald and pot belled and living in a tatty rented room. No young woman has to go online to find someone or make do with crap. Sensible people never get scammed. I know a lot of rich people, they all worked very hard to get to where they are and get the money they have, none of them would be expecting someone much richer than them - a stranger - to want them, they would realise that is pie in the sky and reject such people.

 

[kaetic]

But the women who are young and prefer older men will go for a local man who is self sufficient, normal, charming etc, not one in another country who can barely string a sentence together, bald and pot belled and living in a tatty rented room. No young woman has to go online to find someone or make do with crap. Sensible people never get scammed. I know a lot of rich people, they all worked very hard to get to where they are and get the money they have, none of them would be expecting someone much richer than them - a stranger - to want them, they would realise that is pie in the sky and reject such people.

I've seen a lot of similar scams on facebook that target older women... not really young attractive guys, but attention is attention. I'm sure there are people who fall for it. Just be thankful your friend found out this guy was still looking for some one else. (in effect, scamming/cheating on her)

Also, the scams that have people calling the elderly pretending to be family members who need money.
There are scams where they pretend to be "Windows" calling you about your computer problems.
Secret shopper scams that actually send you a check that never clears. (you are supposed to buy a money transfer of some sort... western union/gift card with the "check")

There are people calling pretending to be the local courthouse. (number matches, and they use the correct names of judges/etc) Sure, call them back and the courthouse will tell you it's a scam. But how many people just get scared and fall for it?

Sure if you stop to think about it, or look into any of this at all, it's obvious...
But these scammers count on people falling for it because they get panicked or emotional. They prey on the desperate.

I think it's a little much to equate sensible to rich though. And rich people get scammed by hedge funds/pyramid schemes/investing scams all the time. Maybe not the ones you know, but it happens.

 

[TheRealCallie]

^^Don't forget the one about calling older people saying their kid is in jail and they need to send money to bail them out.

Scams are scams. It's not about being "sensible," like kaetic said, sometimes it's emotional, sometimes it's panicking and sometimes, it's just desperation. Because even if it is a scam, at least someone is talking to them.

You seem to talk about being rich a lot, @Beth Griggs. Why is that? Are you flaunting it, or maybe inviting scammers to try to make a go for you? I don't know, but it kind of comes off as arrogant and "I'm better than you." No offense, that's just how it reads.

 

[TheSkaFish]

Sure if you stop to think about it, or look into any of this at all, it's obvious...
But these scammers count on people falling for it because they get panicked or emotional. They prey on the desperate.

I think it's a little much to equate sensible to rich though. And rich people get scammed by hedge funds/pyramid schemes/investing scams all the time. Maybe not the ones you know, but it happens.

Totally agree. Scammers prey on people by taking advantages of emotions like hope/desperation and fear. Or things like a lack of knowledge (which can play into the fear, like the Windows thing - it might get people who are new/not very knowledgeable about computers, to be afraid). For loneliness, they prey on people being hopeful and desperate to make a connection with anyone, and the fear that they never will. It overrides people's common sense and gets them to agree to things that if they stopped to think about it, and could detach emotionally, they might realize something doesn't add up. Or they might even know something is wrong but go against it anyway, because the hope, desperation, and fear are just that strong.

I also think it's a mistake to equate sensible to rich. Rich people absolutely get scammed by those things you mentioned, Bernie Madoff comes to mind. Plus, people can be really smart in some areas but it doesn't mean they'll be smart in others. Someone can be brilliant in their field, but a zero in everything else.

And as far as not sensible, we only have to look no further than America's Daddy, Big Homie Trump as I call him.
He might have a lot of money. But not a lot of sense.

 

[user 135671]

Scams target people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels. There's no one group of people who are more likely to become a victim of a scam, all of us may be vulnerable to a scam at some time.

 

[TheSkaFish]

You seem to talk about being rich a lot, @Beth Griggs. Why is that? Are you flaunting it, or maybe inviting scammers to try to make a go for you? I don't know, but it kind of comes off as arrogant and "I'm better than you." No offense, that's just how it reads.

I noticed that too. I'm guessing it's some kind of "humblebrag", or a form of compensation from a hard beginning and an attempt to distance oneself from it as much as possible (very 50-Cent-ian - everything seems to come back to him in some way, lol). Regardless, it comes off the same way. Talking about one's own wealth is pretty tacky. Not cool, man.

The flexing isn't just excessive and forced into threads where it's barely relevant, if at all. It's also weird.

 

[Beth Griggs]

I've seen a lot of similar scams on facebook that target older women... not really young attractive guys, but attention is attention. I'm sure there are people who fall for it. Just be thankful your friend found out this guy was still looking for some one else. (in effect, scamming/cheating on her)

Also, the scams that have people calling the elderly pretending to be family members who need money.
There are scams where they pretend to be "Windows" calling you about your computer problems.
Secret shopper scams that actually send you a check that never clears. (you are supposed to buy a money transfer of some sort... western union/gift card with the "check")

There are people calling pretending to be the local courthouse. (number matches, and they use the correct names of judges/etc) Sure, call them back and the courthouse will tell you it's a scam. But how many people just get scared and fall for it?

Sure if you stop to think about it, or look into any of this at all, it's obvious...
But these scammers count on people falling for it because they get panicked or emotional. They prey on the desperate.

I think it's a little much to equate sensible to rich though. And rich people get scammed by hedge funds/pyramid schemes/investing scams all the time. Maybe not the ones you know, but it happens.

No. Rich people do not get caught by by pyramid schemes etc. That can only happen if they acquired their riches through an inheritance or luck, like a lottery win. The ones who worked hard and are smart would be too sensible and not interested in anything which smacks of it being a get rich quick scheme, they believe in working. Rich people often pay financial advisors to sort out their money anyway, and they get paid by results. They would already have their money tied up in property or investments or stocks and shares which were carefully selected. I have a lot of rich clients and rich friends, none of them would be interested in a pyramid scheme or anything similar. Like you say there are a lot of scams to do with your computer, insurance, tax etc, which rely on the person being scared of prison or a fine. That is very different to the majority of scams which rely on people looking for an easy cheap way to get a great life and lots of money.

 

[user 139760]

I'm questionning the site where I'm at right now. Tons of girls my age or about, on a french site...writing profiles in barely legible english with sentence composition a 5 year old wouldn't do, looking for men 15-20 years their senior. And ALL gorgeous enough to not look 40 at all.
Smells...fishy. I wonder what the actual success rate is, on scams that actually work.

 

[user 139760]

No. Rich people do not get caught by by pyramid schemes etc. A

Lol wut? Rich people don't get caught? Give me about 3 seconds to browse CNN........
Bernie Madoff anyone? Nah,,I'm sure Spielberg wanted to make a donation....

 

[Beth Griggs]

I noticed that too. I'm guessing it's some kind of "humblebrag", or a form of compensation from a hard beginning and an attempt to distance oneself from it as much as possible (very 50-Cent-ian - everything seems to come back to him in some way, lol). Regardless, it comes off the same way. Talking about one's own wealth is pretty tacky. Not cool, man.

The flexing isn't just excessive and forced into threads where it's barely relevant, if at all. It's also weird.

The only reason I talk about rich here NOW is because we are speaking about scamming, where the scammer is after someone's money! The whole point of scamming someone is to get their money. And ob obviously if we are citing examples and I know a lot of rich clients and friends and family it stands to reason I will know more about how it does or does not affect rich people than those who do not mix with rich people! Why would I be attempting to distance myself from it when I work full time helping people with these things - distancing myself would mean I prefer to do a different career or be retired. I see a lot of naivety and lack of knowledge about this subject.

 

[Beth Griggs]

I'm questionning the site where I'm at right now. Tons of girls my age or about, on a french site...writing profiles in barely legible english with sentence composition a 5 year old wouldn't do, looking for men 15-20 years their senior. And ALL gorgeous enough to not look 40 at all.
Smells...fishy. I wonder what the actual success rate is, on scams that actually work.