i've lost count.
FB post: 9 out of 10 guys i meet online try to scam me
yes, it's true. how does it happen? lemme tell you a story.
i was pulled in twice. the first time i was talking to someone who was living in another state that was close to me and he stated he was moving to my area. not that this is uncommon. people do like to make connections before they move. understandable.
after several conversations he told me he couldn't leave yet because his last girlfriend just put him into terrible debt because of her gambling problem. that's how these things start. some type of financial problem. and, please, you know my answer. then he disappeared. ghosted is the new term.
the second time it happened in a similar situation. moving to your state. he actually did move there. but he stopped talking to me for awhile. then all the sudden he appeared again looking for a place to live, etc. i told him that i guessed whoever he had on the hook must have disappeared.
the patterns started to show. one photo. my wife died. cancer. i'm looking for love. bad grammar. using the incorrect tense or verb. they can't talk on the phone. recently, they like to hang out on kik or the hangout app. which, no.
a few days ago i started talking to this guy who (supposedly) lived here. military guy. been single for some years. involved in the k9 unit. sent photos in uniform and working his dog. whiskey was the name. he said he wanted to meet me (last weekend) but it never seemed to work out. and then he went tdy. here's another thing. when someone sends messages, texts, etc, in weird hours. but then if you go tdy to the desert, well then there's a legit answer for your messages to come in weird hours.
i had a wee gut check. time to put on my sleuth hat. since my ex disappeared i've gained some pretty good skills. mad skills as they say.
this person happened to step into territory i know. military. working shepherds. military installations, etc. a few good questions that did not get answered. i researched military k9 units. surprisingly, there is actually a lot of info and photos out. interesting that 'whiskey' had been a famous k9 shepherd. photos, history and his recognition. but, he was put to sleep in the early 2000s.
i mentioned that i had a concert ticket for this weekend. he said he could get leave. got permission for leave. oh, but it was going to cost. and, he didn't have all the money with him.
and there it is. the mike drop.
the things that were different was this person actually had a phone number from an area around here. we tried to talk twice. but he had bad reception and the connections didn't go through.
i learned a new trick last night. reverse photo lookup. these people, aka jerks, steal other people's photos to build there profile. or persona. now you can look for the photo. it shows where the else the photo has been used. nifty new trick.
anywho. there's an emotional process to this all. first, most important to me, is i've come to understand by experience that i am protected. i might get close to one of these criminals but my eyes are quickly opened. and of course life experience is always helpful.
i've taken myself off online dating. it may have been a great thing in the past - people meeting the love of their life. but for me it's just not happening.
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