I Get so Tired of Scammers

Scammers on free networking sites are big "time wasters" for regular users like you and me. And if we aren't cautious, they can become a source of heartbreak and monetary loss. I don't want to be politically incorrect or globally naive, and I sure don't want to be a prude. I do feel bad that I suggested one sweet, good-looking, young man might be a scammer when he wasn't, but I'm still hitting 99 out of 100!

Have you ever suspected that this latest breed of scammers has evolved into something more persistent and pernicious than ever before? Do you wonder what they are really like? And worry the are very hi-tech in their efforts to zero in on innocent folk like you and me? The constant barrage of scammer emails makes me feel like going to a pay site again, but scammers have slithered onto those too... and I refuse to pay to get ticked off!

When I am contacted by someone I suspect of being a scammer, I have this angry, almost-uncontrollable need to do more than just block or ignore them. I want to confront the offenders! Can't they tell from my profile that I am not that gullible?

In truth, scammers probably don't even read our profiles. When I respond with something like...
"SCAMMER, I think... I don't give out personal information on this site..." it usually reveals that some other-than-English-as-a-first-language individual far away is trying to lure me into "him webs cam". Or more likely his/her web scam! For as soon as I send that email, I get another one from their profile, more glowing than the first. And, though it may be more articulate as well, it is still dripping with clues that neither my profile or email were read.

I must fit some profile the scammers have developed to search for users who will believe anything! I know why they target me. They assume I am so old and/or so lonely and/or so needy, gullible, vulnerable, and (I'll add) very optimistic, that I'll fall for their approach. I'm convinced scammers send out one mass email saying what they think we want to hear in an attempt to stroke our egos and play on our weaknesses. I suspect they use pictures of men they think would be like me. BIG MISTAKE!

By now I'm really ticked. And when the old, fat, white guy's profile doesn't do the trick, they bring out the young, exotic, sexy, play-boy types just longing to be in the presence of my 50-year-old, breathtaking beaut and amazing wisdom. I have to work hard to resist these advances because they are so believable! Yeah, right!
Remember--being targeted by a scammer is not a compliment!

On the other hand, the typical scammer should consider hiring someone to do their profiles and write their scripts. I have to laugh when a gay male explains in the very first email that she is in love with me...but wants to meet on yahoo because he doesn't have much time left on this (free) site and what with her husband and his wife dying in a horrible auto accident, his amazingly profitable expedition in Africa will have to be bankrupted to pay medical bills because they now require extensive surgery in order to live...
after he raises him sum...(I mean son).

Sound familiar? Yes? So what can we do?

If you suspect your admirer is really a scammer, simply look for the clues and "just say no" if:

• • Their one and only profile picture is model quality, but may be uploaded multiple times.
  • They start with "Am (insert any name)" and continue using wrong verb tenses and pronouns.
  • They just got on the site today, found you, and wrote a 4-paragraph email professing adoration and love or at least a suspiciously strong interest level.
  • They have no widgets, gadgets, etc. and only minimal information filled in -or-
  • They are too good to be true! (you got that right)
  • YOU have a strange feeling about this one, which is sufficient reason to "just say no".

    AND THE #1 sign your admirer is a scammer....

• • They immediately ask you to go to Yahoo or MSN or provide your private email or other personal information. DON'T DO IT!

Scamming is rampant on free networking sites. Follow your instincts. Above all, protect yourself.
Don't worry that you will offend or insult or inadvertently misinterpret a simple cultural difference. If your admirer doesn't understand your being cautious, he/she is not the one for you, even if they are not a scammer. They may be a cheater, which is another unscrupulous type one has to be wary of on both free and pay sites.

(Feel free to add any insight or crazy stories you have from your experiences with the ever- present scammer on networking sites.)