A cautionary tale... Be careful on the internet!

[Speed Dealer.]

Four months ago, my girlfriend's mum met a man on the internet. This man was a very wealthy US citizen who was currently residing in Singapore with plans to the move to Perth mid this year. They talked on the internet and occasionally by phone and my girlfriend's mum (we'll call her Anne for the sake of this story) fell in love with the man. After recently divorcing out of a 20 year long abusive marriage, who wouldn't fall for a guy who was saying all the right things? Anne kept this relationship secret from both her adult daughters.

Well yesterday Anne went to her daughter and told her "I'm flying to Montreal, Canada tomorrow morning." Why? The man she had met on the internet was in love with Anne and wanted a future with her. He wanted to include Anne in his will, so Anne had to fly to Canada to meet with his lawyers and prove her identity. The man wouldn't be there (he's in Singapore) but his lawyers would organise it all.

Well as soon as my girlfriend came to me with this, alarm bells started going off overtime. Anne wouldn't listen to what her daughter's were telling her, so I had both of my girlfriend's uncles come round, and we pretty much said "This isn't negotiable, you're not going." We stayed up all night and made her miss her flight.

Cliff Notes:
- A middle aged, divorced, emotionally vulnerable woman met a rich guy on the internet (aka internet predator).
- He asked her to fly to Canada to meet his lawyers so she could be part of his estate.
- He told her to buy the ticket, and he would pay her back. She bought the ticket for $4000, without hesitating.
- He wasn't going to be in Canada, because he's currently living in Singapore. However he's a US citizen.
- He convinced her to lie to her children and family about the relationship.
- This MOFO was a smooth operator and had probably done this before, when it came down to it, my girlfriend's mum really knew nothing about this guy.

There is no doubt in my mind that as soon as she arrived in Canada she would either have been kidnapped or extorted and held for money and/or murdered.

EDIT: She is not going to Canada to meet him, he is apparently in Singapore. She was going to Canada for 12hrs to meet his 'lawyers' to verify her identity so he could leave her EVERYTHING in his will (worth millions of $). They've been in contact for 4 months and never met.

[shmoo]

Theres got to be an easier way to kidnap someone.

[devolved]

Thank heavens you guys caught on in time - scary shit.

So sad that people are so vulnerable that they really want to believe this stuff, and will do extraordinary things.

Sociopaths are masters of misery. Keep that in mind kids. They can spot someone who is hurting from a mile off, like a bear sniffing out a rabbit. Its instinct.

The basic question is - wouldn't you wait until you meet someone before you commit your undying love to them?

She probably would have met the 'actual' person in Canada (pretending to be lawyer), all her money would have been transferred to some account, then she would go missing. So close. Well done.

[Speed Dealer.]

Theres got to be an easier way to kidnap someone.

This happened a few years ago to a middle aged man from Melbourne, he met a woman online, flew overseas somewhere to marry her. Turned out there was no woman, just some kidnappers who held him for ransom.

It would be easier to kidnap someone from another country because chances are their family knows little about where they've gone. By the time the family realise they're missing and get in contact with the authorities, the kidnappers are long gone.

[Desmo]

Hahahahaha.
Oh dear.

[MADOGA]

. This man was a very wealthy US citizen who was currently residing in Singapore with plans to the move to Perth mid this year.

That on its own should be enough to make someone run.

not to much different to the Nigerian prince scam

[GreenMeanie]

An elderly widow I know in Rockingham just recently lost her lovely house to an Internet scam.
We will call her Anne(oddly enough).
Anne's husband had died some 4 years ago. She was lonely. Got involved with chat rooms and dating sites.

Met this extremely wealthy American engineer who was working in Nigeria, or Ghana blah blah. The bullshit was bloody obvious to me and probably you as well.
By the time Anne asked me what she should do it was well too late.
Anne had sent over $160,000.00 to these pricks. I worked out there was more than one of them.

The most unbelievable bullshit stories you have ever heard. But unfortunately Anne fell for it.

Loneliness, love or just a kind hearted person. Knowing her for quite awhile I would say all 3.

The sad ending came in November last year when her fella didn't show at the airport and the bank took possession of her home.

She now lives in a nasty one bedroom hovel in Rocky. Before last December she had a beautiful 5 bedroom home, one street back from the beach and a wonderful swimming pool.

I was her neighbour before I moved to the city.

I hope we can all keep an eye on our older friends and family. Loneliness in the golden years can lead to some terrible mistakes through desperation and other things.

Keep an eye on those who you love.

[okitoki]

*sigh* sometimes I am glade my mom doesnt know how to use email or the internet...
my dad passed away more than 5 years ago, and left a bit of money to us which among the siblings agreed that all the money should be left for my mom to ensure she enjoys a comfortable life.... but as the only son, and the accountant... I'm always worried that my mom would fall for a scam or invest it in some "get rich quick" investment deals which seems to happen a lot in asian countries like Malaysia... love scam is another worry I hope I will never need for my mom

All I can do is to make her promise to call me first if she decides to invest in anything.... I still can't believe her own brother actually asked her to fork out about $50k to get a taxi license for him as an investment (after he lost a sizable chunck of my grandfather's money in a failed restaurant before)

[Cam]

So the police are now involved, yes?

[Maxo]

Why do old people instantly have the naivety and street-smarts of a 5 year old when the internet is involved?

I would like to see condescending tv commercials with messages similar to "SAY NO TO STRANGERS", but for old people.

I remember a couple of months ago that my mum was confused because every time she forwarded the emails her friends did, the thing that was supposed to happen never ended up happening.

[GreenMeanie]

So the police are now involved, yes?

If you are referring to my post?

Yes. For about 24hrs. Long gone before by the time I got onto them. This episode took lace over about 18 months. Anne(hic) only asked for my advice late last year. I contacted some FPA department by email and about 24hrs later they contacted me with a "Sorry" email.
Maybe they thought I was aboriginal?

[upg]

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[GreenMeanie]

Why do old people instantly have the niavety and street-smarts of a 5 year old when the internet is involved?

I would like to see condescending tv commercials with messages similar to "SAY NO TO STRANGERS", but for old people.

I remember a couple of months ago that my mum was confused because every time she forwarded the emails her friends did, the thing that was supposed to happen never ended up happening.

There is a lot of "Bullshit" on here, but Sir, that is a bloody good idea.

Possibly warnings on the possibilities of NOT doubling your pension at the Casino may be applicable as well.

[The Saint]

There is no doubt in my mind that as soon as she arrived in Canada she would either have been kidnapped or extorted and held for money and/or murdered or forced into sexual slavery and committed to a psychiatric ward or framed for a crime she didn't commit and/or her bodily organs harvested for sale to rich Chinese.

Hmmm.

For someone who has no doubt in his mind as to her eventual fate you seem to have kept your options wide open as to her eventual fate.

[shmoo]

Old(er) people watch crap like TT and ACA, so they should be well aware that every second story on these god awful shows is a woe-is-me tale of yet another old person caught out by sinister dealings over the internet.

[Gippo]

erm erm, scuse me, but how do you know the guy is not genuine?

Sure does smell of a scam, but how would you feel if you are actually perverting the course of love?

What if she wants to go to Canada for the fun of it?

[shmoo]

What if she wants to go to Canada for the fun of it?

then good luck to her. you cant protect people from their own stupidity!

[okitoki]

erm erm, scuse me, but how do you know the guy is not genuine?

Sure does smell of a scam, but how would you feel if you are actually perverting the course of love?

What if she wants to go to Canada for the fun of it?

Well, if the love is legit, the "rich American from Singapore" should fly down to Perth to declare his intention first before asking a lady to fly to other end of world to meet his lawyer first?!?

we are too cynical in this age to be a romantic

[darkfibre]

I personally know of 4 people who have done the 'meet your love on the internet' thing, two were scammed and two are now married.

Both the ones that ended in marriage made no major commitments or promises until they met.

Buyer beware.

[Munkers]

Shmoo wrote:- then good luck to her. you cant protect people from their own stupidity!

A very true statement, you only have to look at some of the posts on here :-)