This iReport is part of an assignment:
The ups and downs of online dating
About this iReport
- Posted January 17, 2013 by
- jdavid151974 Follow
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Assignment
 |
Online Dating Realities -- Positives/Negatives
I actually met my current wife from the online dating site Match.com. The thing that people have to worry about are the Russian and Nigerian false profiles that appear. These "ladies" fall in love real hard, real fast and do not provide specifics about the neighborhood they are in other than things that can be find on the Internet. This is because these are people not located in the United States but rather Russia or Nigeria. They steal and use different pictures of women and men from popular fashion or websites. You do not see local scenery in the pictures that these individuals use (i.e. a local street, city statue, or something else local to the area).
These individuals want to meet up with you real soon real fast and they use the "love" word way too soon too. One of the other common things is that after a week or two, you'll eventually receive some sort of hard luck story that either someone died, someone is sick, or money is lacking and they need your help really fast. If things are that desperate for them, they should be doing something with their time other than looking for love. They are looking to push the buttons of your weakness and have you send them money. Push it back on that person and tell them that since it seems they have a lot on their plate to work with, you don't want to get in their way and wish them well in working out the issue or dilemma they are currently in. This is tough after they sent you an e-mail address and are writing all of these lovey-dovey things. ***Note that you might just be corresponding these lovey-dovey things with someone of the same sex.***
It's important to ask questions and to get them to answer questions that only someone who has been to the city would know. For instance if you can tell from the name of their city that they are X number of minutes away from a certain location, write something outlandish that the locals would know is crazy.
Only do this if you suspect something is up. If you feel that someone is legit and the someone you are speaking with is not going ga-ga over you right away, than you can feel more comfortable with that.
If the person you are talking with has a difficult time talking about something other than their hard luck story or how much they love you/how wonderful you are, then beware. I remember one person wrote that they wanted me to meet them at the airport and/or even have me house them once they get into town. These are still strangers and more than likely, not real people. You'll find yourself alone in the airport everytime if someone agrees to meet with you. More than likely this Russia/Nigerian scam artist is working you over along with 10 other people at the same time getting money from them. These are pros and they have shops of people for this, much like AT&T have telephone operators. On one occassion, I even talked to the so-called person on the phone. The person looked like a Hawaiian model but sounded like an African who knew little English. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
The guy from Notre Dame, like many of us, probably fell in love real quick with all the lies he was told by this scam artist who used an innocent girl's picture in this scheme.
When I met my wife online, we talked about regular things like religion, talk shows, high school, college etc... We then talked on the phone before we met too and finally met somewhere local. If the individual cannot meet you at a local location because they "suddenly" had to fly out of the country and now can't come back because their passport was stolen etc... you know something is up and that the person was never in the country in the first place.
I'll admit, it can get pretty desperate at times, I felt it myself. Just trust your instincts and the warnings about the red flags you see and take heed.
These individuals want to meet up with you real soon real fast and they use the "love" word way too soon too. One of the other common things is that after a week or two, you'll eventually receive some sort of hard luck story that either someone died, someone is sick, or money is lacking and they need your help really fast. If things are that desperate for them, they should be doing something with their time other than looking for love. They are looking to push the buttons of your weakness and have you send them money. Push it back on that person and tell them that since it seems they have a lot on their plate to work with, you don't want to get in their way and wish them well in working out the issue or dilemma they are currently in. This is tough after they sent you an e-mail address and are writing all of these lovey-dovey things. ***Note that you might just be corresponding these lovey-dovey things with someone of the same sex.***
It's important to ask questions and to get them to answer questions that only someone who has been to the city would know. For instance if you can tell from the name of their city that they are X number of minutes away from a certain location, write something outlandish that the locals would know is crazy.
Only do this if you suspect something is up. If you feel that someone is legit and the someone you are speaking with is not going ga-ga over you right away, than you can feel more comfortable with that.
If the person you are talking with has a difficult time talking about something other than their hard luck story or how much they love you/how wonderful you are, then beware. I remember one person wrote that they wanted me to meet them at the airport and/or even have me house them once they get into town. These are still strangers and more than likely, not real people. You'll find yourself alone in the airport everytime if someone agrees to meet with you. More than likely this Russia/Nigerian scam artist is working you over along with 10 other people at the same time getting money from them. These are pros and they have shops of people for this, much like AT&T have telephone operators. On one occassion, I even talked to the so-called person on the phone. The person looked like a Hawaiian model but sounded like an African who knew little English. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
The guy from Notre Dame, like many of us, probably fell in love real quick with all the lies he was told by this scam artist who used an innocent girl's picture in this scheme.
When I met my wife online, we talked about regular things like religion, talk shows, high school, college etc... We then talked on the phone before we met too and finally met somewhere local. If the individual cannot meet you at a local location because they "suddenly" had to fly out of the country and now can't come back because their passport was stolen etc... you know something is up and that the person was never in the country in the first place.
I'll admit, it can get pretty desperate at times, I felt it myself. Just trust your instincts and the warnings about the red flags you see and take heed.
- TAGS:
- GROUPS:
What do you think of this story?
Select one of the options below. Your feedback will help tell CNN producers what to do with this iReport. If you'd like, you can explain your choice in the comments below.
Be and editor! Choose an option below:
More from this assignment - The ups and downs of online dating
iReport welcomes a lively discussion, so comments on iReports are not pre-screened before they post. See the iReport community guidelines for details about content that is not welcome on iReport.
© 2013 Cable News Network. 
Comments