While surfing the internet, late
I bumped into a guy that seemed great
He only said Hi, as others had tried
but to speak to THEM wasn't in-Nate
He was truly a VIRTUAL man
And try as I wanna
He's way off in Ghana,
So things didn't go quite as planned.
Picture this: You are chatting online with a guy (named Nate) who has great looking photograph on a dating site. He says the most charming things, including sharing his desire to find a soul mate. Not that tall an order, right? Is it a mere coincidence that you found each other on this site, or were you profiled, as a middle aged financially secure but lonely woman to bilk money out of? Could you ever fall for a scam like this?
Hopefully not. I had a conversation with a decent looking guy who said he was from Denmark, having moved here, to San Diego, with his 8 year old son after his wife died recently. (So SAD!) A Civil Engineer, who was awaiting word on a contract that would take them both to South Africa soon. This was the first red flag. Not that everyone who pulls romance based scams does so from Africa, but an alarming amount of scams originate there.
When he told me that they moved to the beach area of San Diego, recently, I asked him which beach? He said, "The one near the rocks." The tide must have been out because I definitely started to smell something fishy. He might as well have said, "The one near the ocean." for all the sense that made.
Our virtual romance was brief, as I apparently didn't quite fit the financial profile he needed. It wasn't until he updated his Yahoo profile that two other women came forward to warn everyone of his scams and alias's. One of the rare times I was glad I had no money to love.
Then there was nice looking American soldier stationed in Afghanistan, who was planning on retiring soon, and wanted a good woman to come home to. The pictures of him and his buddies, the story about growing up here in the states, all seemed feasible. What seemed strange was how long it took him to text answers to the most simple questions, and his choice of words. While we were talking about going to the beach one day and the type of bathing suit I have, he asked, "Do your bossoms full?" Uh, yeah. When I asked him if he spoke English as a second language, he said no. So I asked him if his parents were from somewhere other than the U.S. He said, "Oh yes, I am of mixed race. My mother is from german and my father is italian." Where I come from that's not what we call mixed race. I think the race was to Google Translate.
I started seeing his photograph on different dating sites, sporting different names. Turns out whoever was in the photograph may have had no idea of his virtual profiles. He was part of the "Nigerian Fake Soldier Internet Romance Scam" that claimed 375 female victims. One of whom wired her "virtual fiancee" five hundred thousand dollars over three years time. A Colorado woman and her 74 year old mother were sentenced to 27 years for their involvement in the scam which is thought to have netted over one million dollars.
So, while Internet dating sites may offer you more opportunities to find someone to love, consider who you give your heart or money to. They may be only "Virtually Yours."
