internet love scams

• internet love scams - see former post
  • If you are that concerned about a potential love interest - you can always do background checks - SM

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My dad passed away almost a year ago, and my mother was devastated.  They would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in a few more months.  Dad passed in April 2006 and their anniversary was in June.  My mom went through many emotions, understandably so, shock, anger, depression, anger, depression, anger....You get the picture.  Anyway, a few months ago she started playing around with online "dating" services where she met many people but how can you know anyone is who they say they are online?  Anyway, she "met" several men friends, and they were all younger.  My mother is almost 71 but she only goes for the younger men profiles.  I don't know why she won't be realistic and seek out someone closer to her age.  I've tried to tell her that she needs to be realistic and younger men (I'm talking men in their 40s and 50s) can only possibly want one thing from an older woman, and that would be money.  My mother has no money but she doesn't let these guys know this.  She has met many men, and during a "relationship" with each one she just knew "this was the one."  Then something would happen to "break them up."  I don't know what happens between them, and I don't see their conversations, but I do know that my mother takes everything for face value, i.e., when they tell her they love her, she believes them!  Now this is only 2 days of talking via IM that the guy says he loves my mother.  To make a long story short, her latest claimed to be only 47 years old.  After 2 days he told her he loved her.  He also told her he was German and needed American citizenship and asked her to marry him.  She was SO excited.  You can't believe how happy she was.  At that point my sister and I started doing some investigating and found out this guy has several different profiles using different names, different age, different height/weight, but was crazy enough to use the same picture for each one, the one he sent my mother, that's how we "caught" him.  He had her believing everything he said.  He promised her everything in the world.  But he would never give her his phone # or address.  He was very evasive, always avoiding giving any information.  My mother gave him her address though!  My sister and I couldn't believe she did that!  He sent her a pair of slippers, a size 10!!!  He didn't ask her size, just sent her some blue slippers, size 10.  She told him they were too big and he told her he would wear them, that she could just send them to him.  This is just all so bizarre to my sister and I, but my mother STILLdoesn't see the harm in it.  We finally told her the information we found and she was very upset, but still tending not to believe us.  But before this guy happened, actually there was one before him who wrote mom for about 2 weeks, then said he was going to take a business trip to Afica and taking his 6-year-old son with him.  After he was "gone" for about 3 days he IM'd my mother and told her he needed $600 to feed his child.  My mother refused (thank goodness) and he got angry and asked her if she wanted his child to starve in Africa.  He then told her if she would send him $2500 he could fly home to see her.  They'd never met. He claimed to live in NC.  This was before the one above who sent her the slippers.  You would have thought she would have learned her lesson with the 'africa' guy, but she didn't.  She STILL believes this guy's name was really what he said it was and she still believes he went to Africa on a business trip and that he has a 6-year-old son.  So I think she still believes this other guy is who he said he was, but she was so upset that she said she wasn't going to go near her computer for several days.  This was yesterday morning.  By yesterday afternoon she was back on and chatting with ANOTHER younger man who told her he lives in Pennsylvania.  He's in his 50s.  What can I do to help her understand that there are REAL scammers out there?  She gets very angry with me and my sister and tells us she's 70 years old, she thinks she can take care of herself.  But she is also very naive about worldly matters which is obvious because she believes everything these people are telling her.  I know i"ve jumped around and back and forth with this information, I'm just very frustrated and scared for my mother.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Does anyone else who works from home use the internet for most of their shopping or to surf the web during work?  I had a MT service owner who complained to me that he had a hard time getting his "girls" to work since implementing the internet - that they spent their work time on QVC or HSN.  I never thought about going to other sites (other than for references) while working, but apparently this is a big pull for some of us - I just can't imagine having time to shop while trying to work. 

and it will give you a daily update.  Nick will probably not show up for at least another week or so.  When they wrote in his death he hadn't resigned with the shot yet and they write most of the storylines about 4-6 week in advance.

Unless, of course, you're looking to maximally change your life after 41 years...........and all will be affected..........

Remember, it's a rarity about going backwards in life...and you *think* you're in love via the web........wait til you see him and nothing is as you were told..........

and why is he STAG now after 41 years?  hmmmm?  *curious question that requires no answer to me at least*

best of luck but don't hold your breath..........I HAVE met people from online...........tis really better in REAL TIME, ya know?!

I am lucky...I never thought I would use an internet site for dating but I was bored one day and tried it. I met someone by chance and never thought anything would come of it, he lived in the Northeast and I lived in the South so I thought it improbable....turns out we immediately it it off, had everything in common and it was like I couldnt have made a list of the things that I wanted that would fit more perfectly.  I'm happy to say we have been living together a year and a half and we both couldnt be happier.  There are a lot of crazy people out there so just be careful how you handle anything internet related. All stories arent as happy as mine!!

all I have is Google and mywebsearch.  Anybody know how to get it back?

Thanks

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/elephantpainting.asp

Or it could be titled...You know your addicted to the internet when.....

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3122258.html?menu=news.quirkies

Anyone know of a good Freeware (can't afford Cybersitter, Net Nanny etc.) application for a PC that can block websites and even set a schedule as to when the user can get online? Perhaps even when

they can access their profile (lock them out).

and they recommend putting in a temporary color that is close to your natural color.  i've been getting gray hair since my 20s (22 y/o first gray hair).  i'm going to be 36 next month and i have more gray hair than my 55 y/o mom.  i'm not ready to be gray, but i'm tired of keeping up with the color.  my hair grows fast (or at least it seems like it).  hubby likes the blonde look on me, but i'm just not crazy about it.

thanks for the advice!

contacted about excessive usage from Comcast.