“Did you sleep well last night?” I was shaken a little when
a stranger asked me that question. Online. Well…it was through the chat
function on Words With Friends but we weren’t friends. He had invited me to
play a game and I accepted. His question was creepy. I blocked him.
“Hi how r u?" Another stranger on WWF began a chat after I
took my turn. “Why are you sending me messages?” I asked. “I just want to play
a game.” He accused me of being rude. I don’t remember, but he may have
blocked me.
“Hello pretty. If I may ask, where are you playing from?”
Another stranger on Friends wants to chat. The only time I had ever used WWF chat was to say things to
my friends like, “Great play!” or “I hate when I get “u, u, i , i, c, i, i.”
Curiosity drives me
This year I began receiving invitations to play with people
I didn’t know. I saw no harm in it—more games, more rewards, more practice.
After a slew of invitations from men to play WWF with them, I was curious about
what drew them to me. I changed my profile to age 95, living in Antarctica but
it didn’t seem to matter. I changed my profile picture but the invitations kept
coming. Sometimes my profile photo included me with my husband. It didn’t
matter.
Curiosity has always driven me so I began to look for answers
concerning this phenomenon. Google helped me to find answers. It seems that
women on various social platforms, especially older women, are up for grabs
when it comes to men who prey on vulnerable people. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and Words With Friends and not looking for men. On all platforms, I've been approached by men looking for women for one reason or another. As in all aspects of life online and off line, no place
is safe when it comes to scams.
I began to research experiences others had had and I read
warnings. I discovered how the scammers worked and I learned the answer to my
main question— why? I should have known the answer was greed, something that drives
scammers and some people in real life. Scammers often play to lonely,
vulnerable women and eventually persuade them to send money to them through
gift cards.
I wanted to confirm what I had read. I wanted to see how the
game unraveled and how good the scammers might be. So I began a journey of
playing with strangers on Words With Friends and developing a different persona, sometimes named Serena, sometimes Bonnie.
What I read was confirmed. The men who invited me to play had
a method and a covert motive.
My WWF Men
The strangers who invited me to play these friendly Scrabble
type games had these names, none of them real, of course: Denny, Alex, Christopher, Diego, Gedrick, Harry, James, John, James, Pete, Richard. Most had sad stories about why they were alone and lonely.
One wanted us to be "secret lovers" in spite of me telling him that I was happily married.
Another man, very quickly into the conversation, told me he wanted me for his wife.
Let’s focus on two of my favorite scammers
Scott Miller, Mr. OK Man
(Note: I copied their answers along with their mistakes.)
Scott Miller’s profile said he graduated from the United
States Naval War College and that he was from Australia. He must have forgotten
about the Australia in his profile because he told me,
I’m from Los Angeles
California but I’m stationed here in South Korea in peacekeeping mission and I
have been here for one year and six months and this is my second time here I
need to get my mission oh here fast because am tired of loneliness and I missed
my daughter a lot where are you?
Although Scott said he is from California, he asked, so tell me how is the weather condition over
there in your country?? Already, he does not speak of the US as his
country.
My fictional character, Serena, mixed facts
with fiction. I told him I was happily married which is true but then made up other details.
When I said that my husband and I used the same phone and apps, it didn’t take him very long to ask me to use Hangout or to
set up my own email, separate from my husband. He told me I could download
Hangout in my “play store,” not an expression I’ve heard in the US. I set up a separate email account as Serena on a free site. However,
even when I sent him the email address (not Gmail), he assumed I was on Hangout
which is associated with Gmail. I found that most of the scammers did not
understand this distinction.
It’s interesting that many of these fakes talked
about honesty!
Scott: Well, I will
appreciate us being good friends in sincerily, honesty and trust although we
just knew each other what do you think? So tell me what do you think about
being honesty
Serena: What a silly
question. It’s the way the world should work but sadly it doesn’t.
Scott:
I love and respects my job, I think it is a great job and I really like the
adventure on it, although it’s a very risky and dangerous job but God always
show his mercy towards me and sees me through. I attend press
conference,Interviews,Meetings with top international Army Generals and Iraq
officials. Speech to my soldiers,paper works and several other duties. I work
16 hours,4hours rest and 4 hours sleep, daily. I graduated from United States
Military Academy in 1983 and holds Masters degrees in Administration from
Central Michigan University and National Security and Strategic Studies from
Naval War College.
Sooner than expected, he asked for money.
Scott: My dear I don’t
have much connection on here that’s why I told you to get me an iTunes
card do you saw the
massage I sent to you please dear can you help me get an iTunes gift card,
that’s the only way we
can talk often
Serena: I don’t understand this at all. What is an iTunes gift card? It
allows you to download songs? Why do you want me to buy you songs?
Scott: Dear I use the old version of Gmail application I want to use it
to update the apps on my cell phone that’s the only way we can talk and when
it’s not installed there will be no connection on the phone. Dear just try and
get me the card ok because without the card they will be no internet connection
on here ok pl
Serena: I bought an iTune card from a friend who lives next door. I
hope this will work so we can continue to communicate! The code:
Xf849U50cOKeWEyQ
He asked what was the amount and Serena told him $25. Of course, he was unaware that she had made up the code after researching the format of iTune codes.
Scott: Dear why don’t
you take a picture of the card ok please just try take a picture of the card so
I see it ok I just want to be sure ok Dear about to load the card but it’s say
I should enter the country what’s country card is it?
Scott: Dear the 25$
don’t work on my phone because 25$ and it will not last for long can you get
another 25$ to make it 50$ so I can get all my app instead?
Then Serena decided to confront him as a scammer trying to take
advantage of her.
Scott: Why will you
say such a thing dear you’re been nice to me do yoh believe you’re talking to
ascam I real ok am to old to play games ok if yoh want we can talk on hangout
so I call you and send you my picture ok you just help me and now yoh are
saying I scammed you dear am real ok your friend just want to spoil you day
Serena: I am so
stupid! Why would you need money from me when you are in the military, attend
important meetings and are a leader. This is what you told me! Maybe you lied
to me? Of course you are a scammer. I gave you $25 and you ask for another $25.
You told me that you are a man with a good job and probably make a lot of
money. You sent me photos of you (?) in uniform. Maybe that’s not you at all?
Why do you ask more money from me? You probably have more money than I do! I am
gullible and stupid. I am glad I didn’t send you more money! You should be
ashamed of yourself!!!!! Are you really Scott Miller? Do you really have the
job you said?
You’ve gotta give it to him. He’s persistent. He swears he’s
real and, after more conversation, he doubles the amount he asks for to $100, but not before a little
sweet talk.
Scott: I know you have
been sad, But chin up. There’s no reason to be blue when someone out there
cares about you, You are such a special person, that you should never spend a
single minute unhappy. Since smiles are contagious, I’m sending you many big
smiles today and have a wonderful day! Smile now. You won’t regret it. Kisses
my baby.
Then bam…he asks for more money.
Scott: please I don’t
want you to go take our friendship and discuss with you friend they are not
happy with you, you remember I told you that my Gmail have not been updated so
I will not be able to talk to you all the time I want you dear to try and get
me one today dear I want us to always talk more okay, dear remember the card
you should not show or tell anyone about it and the 25$ dollar card you sent
did not work please try and get me iTunes of $50 50$ each so you make it a 100$
okay. Please I really want us to continue this conversation okay, hope to hear
from you sonn (hearts) Dear please and send the picture of the card so I can
load it on time and please don’t let anyone one know you are going to get the
card because there are people who don’t want your happiness, trust me on this
sweet (heart emoji)
Then suddenly he tells Serena he will be flying to Iowa but
doesn’t write to say he’s in Iowa. Serena sends him several messages asking
if he’s in Iowa yet.
Serena: Scott, you
disrespected me. I asked you twice if you were in Iowa. On June 17, you told me
you were going there in two days. On June 20 I asked you if you were in Iowa .
You ignored my question. Again on June 22 I asked if you were in Iowa. Again
you ignored my question. Calling me “sweetie” means nothing if you ignore what
I say!
Serena: You are
unbelievable! You STILL HAVE NOT ANSWERED MY QUESTION! I understand being busy
but my question is AGAIN: Are you in Iowa now? A test on Hangout will not work
because I am not on Hangout and will not go there.
Scott:
oh ok fine just go away ok u hurt me by your worlds ok stop yelling at me ok I
don’tlike that ol fine an in Iowa now ok I don’t want to talk here anymore
because am really tried of talking on email I prefer hangout and u say u don’t
wanna get hangout so just forget about me ok
Then he sends what surely was his his last email. One
word: “Bye” with
waving hands emojis.
But no, it was not the end: He had a totally different scam approach out
of nowhere.
Scott: The Union
reward me with some Diamonds and Golds rings for some months now so I want you
to email the company that you're my wife that I say they should sheap all the
Diamonds and Golds rings to you then when the company have sheap them to you
then you will now sell some of the Diamonds and Golds rings so that you can
raised allot of millions then you will now send me some money after you have
sell some of the Diamonds and Golds rings so that I can go and activate my
account so that I will have access to my money in my bank account I love you so
much that is the reason why I want you to do this OK I don't have access to my
money now and I have allot of millions in my bank account I just need to
activate my account so that I will have access to my money in my bank account Then you will keep some Golds rings for yourself and keep
some Diamonds for me when I leave the here we will now use them OK
So I want you to email
the company so that they will sheap all the Diamonds and Golds rings to you due
to you been a good friends with me and I don't have anyone to tell ok pls
UNBELIEVABLE!
Airborned62 (Denny)
Unlike scammer Scott, Airborned62 who told me his name was Denny, was literate in English.
He immediately started with details about himself and asked specific details
from me.
Denny: Nice
playing words with you, hope your are having a nice day? I’m from Brooklyn New
York but currently in Syria due to my job. And you? I’m a Military Officer in
the United State Army and you?
He said he went on military patrols for 3-4 hours at a time and told a sad story. At 54, he claimed to be a widower with two
sons. His wife died of brain cancer three years ago. Serena asked who was
taking care of his kids while he was away.
Denny: They’re
in the Military boarding school back in the State
He had sort of a questionnaire and immediately tossed them into the conversation:
Are you a Christian? Are you
at work or at home? What’re your favorite foods? What’re your favorite drinks?
Do you like shopping? What are your favorite colors? My favorite color is white and red, because the white stands for a pure
heart and the red stands for love, so when you add the both of them together
you have a pure hearted love, that is me because I do have a pure heart for
love. What are your hobbies? Love,
swimming, dancing, singing, and reading, walking on the beach, fishing,
camping, romantic walks along the beach in my barefeet holding my woman’s hand,
watching sunrises and sunsets Which sports do you most enjoy watching? Tell me what do you like and dislike? What
are your favorite TV shows, movies you like watching? What are you doing now?
Denny: Can you drive a
car?
Serena: Of course.
Doesn’t everyone?
Denny: Nope I can also
drive and I have two cars Tell me about the current house that you are living
in, do you live alone?
He told Serena that most people have more than two cars. Hmmm...And then he wanted to communicate on—can you
guess?—Hangout. In our email conversations, this scammer took on a romantic, poetic personality.
Denny: Good
morning from here dear. Night has gone taking the darkness away from you now
the sun is brightening your day to wake up and accept the opportunities given
by the sun. As you start yet another day in your life, always remember that
your troubles will come and go but friends like me will stay with you forever.
Good morning.
Denny (on another morning): Rise and shine my
friend. The sun is up, and the birds are singing to let you know just how great
the morning is. They say that God created women in the image of man, but your
beauty is beyond that of an angel. Good morning and enjoy your day. [emoji]
Then Denny began talking about belief in
distance relationships and asking if I would like to get married again? I had told this scammer that I was divorced.
Denny: My
wish is for God to grant me a lovely and understanding woman, because that will
make me happy for the rest of my life
Denny: A beautiful
morning to the best and most wonderful friend in the world. Night has gone
taking the darkness away from you…now the sun is brightening your day, so wake
up and accept the opportunities given by the sun. Good morning my dear [kiss
emojis]
Serena told him that her grown daughters told her she shouldn’t trust
him and he wanted to know why they were “monitoring” her and why she didn’t have her own privacy.
Serena: Family is
important. They also share these things with me. They are absolutely not
monitoring my privacy. I share with them what I want to share. Are you
suggesting I should not share with them that I’ve met a most interesting man
who I like talking with?
Denny: Thanks for the
compliment But I suggest you should keep it to yourself if you don’t mind?
Serena: Why?
Denny: Because they
can get your mind change about me, they don’t know me but already told you that
you should not trust me. Do you live with your kids?
Serena: No. They are
quite independent and spirited.
Denny: So how did they
know about me? You told them?
Here it seems that he completely forgot our recent
conversation. Maybe another person? Hmmm
Serena: Because I told
them I met a most interesting man who is capturing my heart with his poetic
greetings.
Denny: Smiles. You
make me laugh a lot
Denny: Hello Serena, I'm very
glad to receive this mail from you. When you wake up, Just let me know if
you feel the same love in the air as i do, to wake up every morning finding
that i have been blessed with such a precious friend like you, makes me feel
the luckiest one. Every morning i express my gratitude to the almighty God for
blessing me with such an honest and modest person as you. Good morning my
sunshine. I hope you enjoyed you swimming, i wish i was there with you at there
pool, i really like the way you express yourself to me. My job here is a bit
stressful, i command NATO training and am also a patrol team leader. I don't
have any Japanese friend, I and my kids love dogs a lot. I don't think i need
much things to make me happy, all i need to makes me happy day and night is a
lovely and understanding woman that's is trust trustworthy and caring.
That will makes me happy for the rest of my life because true love is very hard
to find. my late wife was the most beautiful thing that i have ever experienced
because she want me all even if am a mess, i didn't date the most beautiful
woman in the world, i dated the woman who makes the world the most beautiful to
me. when i experienced true love my life got changed. My kids like shopping a
lot, swimming and they love visiting the zoo. No they don't have
difference personalities. Once again thanks for the mail i really
appreciate. ♥️
Serena: I value good hearts
and I’m already beginning to see that you have a beautiful heart.
Denny: I'm very glad to hear from you, you make me smiles a lot
and I like the way you express yourself. My current job is OK, but
when i retire i want to settle down with the woman who is ready to love
me, and we both have our own company.
[1] What would be
the perfect setting for a first meeting with a new date?
As for me I will
take first to a nice fast food restaurant, share some ice cream together, drive
around the town together, while in the evening, we both go to the best
restaurant to have dinner, candle lights on the table, a nice loving blues
music will be playing, pop some champagne together, look into her eyes and tell
her how much I love her and tell her she means the whole world, and that she is
the air that I am breathing, and that I will do love and cherish her till I
die, tell her how lovely are
lips her, then give her a lovely kiss, after that we both go out counting stars
together, that I think will make my first date very lovely and romantic. My
heart feel soft and tender for you i don't want to be your friend
just for friend sake i want to be with you in good times and bad times i want
to share good ideas with you, been you friend means when ever you feel down i
will be always here to lift you up. I like people been honest and you are so
honest. You know my dear true love start with friendship but to think
of it my heart feel calm chating with you and its seem so nice, i believe
we are destined to meet.
[2] In your free time
what do you like doing my dear?
well in my free time i
like playing golf,swimming,like reading books and watching movies but most of
all what i do best is that i spend my time with the kids in the orphanage home
play with them and provide shelter for them cause they are the leaders of
tomorrow. I really like you know and its amazing to have a wonderful time
with you and its also long i had a sweet and nice communication with a lady i
believe there is a reason been together here and God knows the best. Life
is special and I like to wake up feeling excited of what the new day brings,
even if that means bouncing off the planets. I am an optimist who believes
that everything happens for a good reason and you never know what destiny has
for you and someone together. I'm looking for a lady, who's ready for a
serious relationship that can lead to marriage, a sincere, honest, caring,
understanding and loving lady to spend the rest of my life with.
[3] So tell me what are
the things you like in a man and what you dislike.
My advise i will give to
you is that just let your heart to be free cause am here for you anytime you
need me you can lean on me, Right now my heart beat for you not because of your
appearance but my heart can feel you. I feel something special for you and
i will take my time and take it slow and tell you we are met for each other
when the time comes. I have been through a lot as a man and have conquered
much opposition in life as well and would love to meet someone who will
understand how been hurt feels and would love to find a honest relationship, I
want the love that's been locked in my heart for so long to be unlocked by that
special lady like you. Imagine opening your eyes each and every morning
and smiling at the thought that this new day is completely different and brings
new excitement, and that the person you're with feels exactly the same
way. Well, I don't think that the age difference or distance between us
should be a barrier, rather, the most important thing is for us to be sure if
we really find understanding, happiness and joy within each other. Above all, I
think love is the greatest, don't you also think so?... As for me, I feel
lonely a lot of times and that's why I need to find my true love, a person that
will love me as much as i will love her. I have a feeling that destiny brought
us together for a reason. As time passes by, we'll find out if we're
compatible with each other. From my own opinion, when it comes to
marriage, there's actually nothing superior than being with your soul mate,
some one who truly adores you, understands you, cherishes and loves
you the way you are, don't you think so?
It really
takes strength, patience, understanding and discipline to build a
responsible family where there's love, peace and harmony and that's the kind of
family I want, what about you?
I need some one like you
to share ideas with for good relationship i hope you agree with me?
Actually, if we build a
strong relationship with each other, I will travel directly from here to meet
you in your state so that we can be together and make some plans towards our
future.
All I need in a woman is
a care, trust, understanding, sincerity, faithfulness and respect in other for
us to spend the rest of our lives together and happily. I also value the sense
of humor in a woman,
What interest you in a man?
well, I'm caring,
out-spoken, humorous, understanding, passionate and cheerful. Definitely, you
will be the one to see for yourself by the time we will be together. I really
don't like a dirty woman, what about you? what are the habits that you hate in
a man?
[4] If I may ask,
are you romantic?
As for me, I'm a romantic
man, I know how to make my woman contented with my love and If I eventually
love you or you finally become my wife, I will love you with all my heart,
respect you, care for you, cherish you so much and treat you like a Queen
because I'll be ready to take sacrifices in order to make you happy and be
there for you. I'm so happy to hear from you and it's really becoming
interesting as we get to know more about each other.
Have a wonderful night
rest. hugs and kisses for you dear💋😘💖💖💋
Now Serena can see that Denny is picking up speed, especially in his
next message but she wasn’t expecting it so soon.
Denny: Dear my heart is calling
out for you. Being miles apart from you is like salt dripping on an open wound.
I never thought I could love someone so much as I like and think much of
you......even though we're far apart. My heart seems to grow fond of you with
every second that goes by..... of this great distance that separates us. I know
that some decisions are hard to make, but when affection and love prevail over
any other interests, then all the roads to happiness become wide open and
danger free. First of all, I would like to make sure you know that I love you
very much.
I also
need you to know that there`s nothing more beautiful in the world than what is
happening between us right now; I feel we are growing closer and getting along
really well. I feel we are becoming more intimate in every sense, and that`s
the most gratifying thing two human beings could wish for. That is why I need
to remind you even if that takes a simple message like this, that you don`t
have to be afraid of anything, as close and united partners. Distance, like you
may have known, doesn't matter if you really want someone, what matters most is
your honesty and trust for that relationship to work out. Distance is the key
to love's eternity and love knows not distance, it hath no continent, its eyes
are for the stars. Even if you are far away, you are always close to my heart.
It's good that we are far away because we learn the patient to wait for each
other and cherish our love. I long for the day I'll dream of your sexiness no
more, when your lips will caress mine for real, when your touch will make me
alive again, and the sight of you arouses all my senses. Though the miles may
spread out far and wide, and time may wear our faith too thin, I know that the
golden bond of love shall keep us close at heart.
Dear I need a favor from
you, Please I would have liked that you get some Amazon gift cards for me,
need them to purchase some books online. I need these books to help me with
some psychological issues. I'm just having some hard time dealing with the
scenes we witness here, the Doctor here just gave me a few pills and he
was the one that recommended that i read
(1)The Happiness
Hypothesis by Jonathan Heidt
(2)Thinking Fast and
Slow by Daniel Kahneman
And a few more but i just
want these two for now and I would also use it to update my military
customized IPad. The books will cost about $184
So i think $200 will
resolve that for me.
I will really
appreciate if you could help me out.💋
Serena: To
be honest with you, I am really puzzled by your request for access to an Amazon
gift card. I feel for you and what you may be witnesses in a war zone! I can
only imagine. My love, how are you suffering psychologically! I’m glad your
doctor gave you some pills to help you cope but why do you need my assistance
financially? You told me you have two cars and are paid well. Denny, I really
don’t understand your request. Please tell me more. My heart is opening
to you but part of your latest message doesn’t make sense to me. ????? Of
course, after you explain to me, I will help how I can but I am troubled. xoxo
Denny: Every morning, I
wake up, smile, and thank God for all the wonderful blessings in my
life. You are one of those blessings, my dear friend. You have been
for a very long time. I know that I don’t say it a lot, but I really love
you! My life is happier and crazier because of you. If you hadn’t
been my friend, I think I would still be a huge introvert. You were one of
those few and trusted ones who brought me out of my shell. Thank you for
doing that, and thank you for always being a friend to me. I love you!
Good morning princess, hope you had an amazing night's rest.On this beautiful morning, i wanted to let you know that
I am thinking about you. You were my first thought the moment I opened my eyes.
I know you must be sleeping by now and hope that you had an amazing night
dreaming of us. Serena I lost both parent when I
was 17 years old, I partly took care of myself afterwards till I grew up and became
a man. I simply wear my heart on my sleeve and have a lot of love and time to
give to those who are special to me.. I like to travel and experience other
cultures... My job as a SSG officer in the U.S. army. I take time to explore
the many places that I visit. I am constantly amazed by the cities I go to. I
also love to listen to music. I was born in New York grew up at Germany and
Spain. Everyone say I have an accent, I have two children boys precisely named
Alex and Ryan I’m originally from Brooklyn New York. I’m 5”6, 205 Ibs, with an
average physique and I have always been a very sports- oriented / active
person. I love nature, art and animals. Your daughters got nice names, I and my
kids likes Trek. Yeah my kids would love to have stepmom, they have talked to
me about getting a new wife a long time ago but I told them that I will soon. I
even wanted to email them today about you but I wanted to let you know first if
I should tell them about us or not and I know they will be very happy about us.
I can fly an helicopter and yes I have been deployed in Yemen before. You
seem nice..I'm not looking for someone to live with, I'm looking for someone I
can't live without. Giving away a heart can hurt .... having a broken
heart can be life threatening, even to the strongest people. But receiving one
is the greatest gift....
Getting close to me is the sweetest thing you can ever
get....how long you've known me that really matters but how the chemistry
between both of us clicks. I love to see your messages that you leave for
me, even though you are a million miles away from me I can feel the love so
strong and pure, it's like magic coming through to my heart and reaching the
love that I have for you. I love you so much Serena. I'll love you till my last
breath, and when we are in heaven then is when you'll know the love that we
share how strong and mighty God blessed us with, cuz right now I can only know
the tears that I feel cuz Godgave me you, and I can only know you through
miles until I can actually touch and see your face, then is when my world will
be happiness that only God can give, a happiness and love that I have never
known, you are one amazing lady and I Love You with All My Heart And
Soul. I've never knew I could meet someone like you through
the internet, but then God whispered softly to my heart that you have
made me feel like I can face anything this world shoves in my face and I love you so much. I want your decision on
this to come from your heart, i just want a happy and quiet life after my retirement,
And i don't want another young lady to play around with. I don't need anymore
kids, i'm okay with the ones i've got. I just want true happiness and i find
that in you, younger ladies still wants to play around and go cruise at the
beach. i haven't been in another relationship since my wife passed
away. I don't fall in love easily dear, i look deep inside a woman before
showing my feelings. If i see something in her that i don't like then that
might be the end of us. Mere look isn't enough to tell if a woman is beautiful
or not, there's a lot covered behind those beauties. You need trust to
love, first you need to love in order to trust.To love someone is to
understand each other, to laugh together, to smile with your heart and to trust
one another. One important thing is to let each other go if you can't do this.
Love is like a wonderful feeling of compassion and satisfaction. It's
dangerous here but we are doing our possible best to keep global peace and
protecting lives. I have a lot but i can't access my bank accounts from
here, We get paid twice a month but the cash is been deposited in our bank
accounts back in the states. That’s why I needed you to help me. Waiting for
your email
Love you 😍💕
Serena: I feel
your psychological pain. You are such a sensitive man and you are living in an
area that is so infected with war. I don’t think I could handle that at all. I
am sorry you are going
through this but know that it will not be forever. Unlike your present job
which will end when you retire, loving relationships are forever. God will help
you through the bumps in the road now. I want so much to help you and hope my
messages do. I hope this Amazon card will help you find your center, your
balance. It is for $150 because I just paid a big property tax bill last week.
I hope this will help!
NF14-UC3KYO-U41M5
Denny: You
send me some code in the last email Have you finish eate?
Serena: Amazon
card code. I bought from a friend who had an unused card she didn’t want.
Denny:
Ohh really and serious?
You have gotten the card already?
Serena: She called me and I told her I was
going to get an Amazon gift card for an out of state friend. She said she had
one she hadn’t used and would rather have the cash. Perfect! She read the code
to me and I wrote it down. I’m giving her cash on Monday. I’m worried about
you.
Denny: Thanks dear I
really really appreciate what you have just don for me. I don’t know how to
thank you. Dear I want you to be strong for me and also put me in your prayers.
Serena: You
need to maintain emotional balance in a dangerous part of the world. You are
important to our country with your service. People don’t always appreciate our
military. You are in my prayers already.
Denny: Dear I don’t want you to discuss our
relationship with anyone until am home with you.
Thanks for been there for me and am always
here for you too. you’re safe with me. Once again thanks
Dear I need you to tell your friend to snap
the card and send it to you via email and then yu forward it to me.
Much love
Serena: Take a picture of it?
Denny: Yeah
This scammer did not
know that I was investigating some things. First, the photos he sent via email were
obviously downloaded from Facebook. I knew from the long file names and the metadata
that FB or someone (maybe a scammer data base?) seems to have added.
 |
| Denny sent photos to Serena by email and claimed one was of him at his job in the army and the other was him with his two sons. |
It took a while but I found the man the photos were stolen from on Facebook
and read enough of his posts to be sure that Denny and this real man were not
the same people. I was ready for this to end. By this time, I had grown tired
of all the time this had taken and I’m glad he moved as quickly as he did. With
his last Yeah, I blocked him from my
Words With Friends and wrote this last email message.
Serena's FK off message:
From incognito Serena to scammer Denny:
Dear whoever you are…
Shame on you!!! You wrote of trust and love in your messages but
you are not someone who can be trusted. You are certainly not in the photos you
sent to me. They were stolen from Nxxx Cxxxxx’s Facebook posts. He is from
Minnesota and his older son passed his driving test in September of
2018. You play with hearts to take advantage of lonely women who you ask money
from. And God? You are not a man who has any relationship with God! And we will
no longer have a relationship too.
Of course the Amazon card will not work. Look again at the hidden
message I put in it.
Good riddance!
Not Serena
Note the hidden word
in the fake code: NF14-UC3KYO-U41M5
What I observed
- All of these men wanted to chat more than play
WWF. However, one or two were especially good and proved challenging with word
plays. I suspect they were using Scrabble cheating sites.
- Soon after our games began, most began to use the chat
feature of WWF and then quickly wanted me to communicate with them on the
Google Hangout app, WhatsApp or texting on cell phone. They did not want to use
email although several did use it to communicate with me on one I set up just
for my “research.”
- Most said they were not living in the US and had an excuse
for being out of the country or off-shore--they were in the military or had a job on an off-shore oil rig.
- Most said they were widowed or divorced with one or two
dependent children living with a nanny or in boarding school. They had sad stories.
- All most likely used photos stolen from online social sites
like Facebook and one I traced back to a particular FB man.
- All seemed to have some problems with the English language,
some more than others.
- With some, because of disjointed conversations, I suspect
there might have been several different people at their end and they took
turns.
- Once the “relationship” went to a certain point, none wanted
“Serena” to share anything about the relationship with real friends or
family. "Your friends don't know me and they will try to change your mind. They don't want you to be happy. I want you to be happy."
- All used “dear” and “sweetie” and other endearing terms,
often almost right away.
- Some said they wanted to marry me.
- Most began with “Hi” and then quickly asked where I was
playing from. Then they soon had questions about weather, job,
favorites (color, hobby, activities, etc.) and family.
- They all slipped up on details they gave to me and made
conflicting statements.
- They all pushed for Hangout as the platform for communication.
- Often they slipped awkwardly between serious conversation and trivial
questions, as if they were following a disjointed script. I’m sure many of them
followed the same script, “what are you doing now? “ “honesty is important to
me,” etc.
- Years ago, everyone used to think that AOL was the only email
around. These scammers seem to think that everyone has Gmail which ultimately
connects with Hangout.
People want to
believe
In today’s world, especially online, we have to be alert to
those who want to use us for their gain. It is a challenge, even to those who
are experienced and savvy. There are certain rules to follow:
Besides the obvious—use virus protection, don’t open
attachments or links from people you don’t know, be careful what you download,
be careful what you post, keep your anti-virus program up to date, if it sounds
too good to be true it is—there are other things to keep in mind.
Never give out personal information to strangers. If you use
a dating app and want to meet someone, make it in a public place. Generally
beware.
I am amazed that we continue to receive outrageous emails
from obvious scammers. They must have some degree of success if they continue
to do this.
I used to be on LinkedIn until I received an email telling
me what my password was. It was my correct password. LinkedIn had been hacked a
couple years ago and I guess it is taking scammers time to go through their
treasure trove. Then I read the rest of the email more closely. They
said they had videos of me going to porn sights and responding at my desktop in front of my camera
in—ahem—embarrassing ways. Furthermore, “they” had my contact list and would
send their dirty proof to the first ten people in my contacts.
Because of the revealed password, I can imagine some people
might panic had they been participating in certain activities. The scammers demanded to be paid in bitcoin
currency and if they weren’t, undesirable things would be unleashed and sent
out to the victim’s family, friends and business associates. Luckily, all I had
to do was to close my LinkedIn account (which I didn’t use anyway) and be sure
I didn’t use that password for any other account (which I didn’t). That was the
end of that email and my LinkedIn account. Simple solution.
I remember years ago when I found a site that showed read time video
of hundreds of men on separate screens in front of their computers jerking off.
I wasn’t interested in watching their activity and I wasn’t offended. I was
just sad and I captured it on video and added the Beetles “Look at all the
Lonely People.” This was on VHS and I’m sure I no longer have it but my
response was to create a piece of art (?) with a statement.
What saddens me is that there are some very lonely people
who are so needy that it makes them vulnerable. In spite of all the warning signs, they want to believe so
much that they fall for these scammer tricks. They are told they make someone happy. Someone tells them, "I love you."They become believers.
Be careful out there in cyberspace. Hold on to your heart and your money.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
See below links for more information. The first is the most recent, sad and interesting story from the New York Times.
