Buyer Beware August 17, 2024 – Posted in: Red Flags, Relationship Dating Advice – Tags: , ,

Isn’t that what friends tell you when something looks too good to be true.  This blog post is about just that. I have stories to tell you. Some
believable; some not. I have run across several women that I’ve interviewed who have been sucked in and taken for several thousand dollars. Please read about my experiences and don’t let yourself get duped!

Here’s Maurice.  I found him on a different website than the others.  Plenty of Fish. He put his hometown the same as mine. I messaged him first. He picked right up on it and started messaging me. After a couple days he suggested we exchange phone numbers and talked on Whats App. I have found that it is safe and commonly used when out of the US and actually a good idea. So we started talking every day. He was from Ireland and Germany and had a thick accent. He sent me a picture every day.

He worked very hard on building my trust. He sent me a picture of his driver’s license and one of his passport. He’s a contractor and was bidding a job in Dubai. We planned to meet the following week on a Thursday.  He got the job in Dubai. He was happy and sent me a copy of the front page of the contract he was awarded. It looked too simple. We were going to spend Thursday together looking at houses and having a leisurely lunch.  The day before we were to meet, he had to go to Dubai right away. All we could do on Thursday is just meet for a coffee. He was so busy. Thursday morning he called and said the company sent him tickets and he had to leave early afternoon and couldn’t meet me for coffee. (Not surprised)

Red Flag #1

I was disappointed but understood; business comes first.  He sent me a picture from the plane and one of him walking down the street. Now comes all the lovey dovey emails. They suck you in and so endearing. I’m the same as every other single older woman. I’m rather lonely and would love some male attention.

Here are some examples of his emails.
Hey baby, I miss talking to you. Are you there?  Are you thinking about me? I think about you all the time. Send me a
picture.

You are the other half of my heart. I can’t wait to get back home to hold you in my arms. Give me a kiss. (He blew me kisses when we talked.)
I’m going to Dubai soon. What would you like me to bring you? And so on!
This went on for three weeks. He started calling me 3 times a day. I got the feeling he was checking up on me to see where I was.

Red Flag #2
He next insisted I get a Bitcoin account. He gave me all kinds of reasons why and how I would have extra money to spend. I didn’t want to but he insisted he would help me while we were on the phone. There was one that seemed same and in the US. I had to get tough and tell him I was not going to doit after I did some investigation. He backed off.  Another week and a half of the text messages and phone calls. Very sweet and caring about me.

The Zinger
He called early one morning much sooner than I normally wake up. This was after a barrage of very sweet and caring texts. He wanted me to call him. He had a big story about his supplier and had to get money to him immediately for some equipment needed for the machine he had on the oil rig. He was going to send me $2,000. I was to take it and go to the bitcoin machine near me and put it in his account. I needed to do it because his account was empty. I refused. He got all hurt. You think I’m a scammer.  You broke my heart thinking that of me and so forth. He then explained it again. Logic – If he could send me cash and go to the bitcoin machine why couldn’t he send a Zelle or Venmo to the supplier? He got frustrated with my logic. I refused again and told him he should have been more organized and what would only cost $2,000 on a huge new oil rig. Disappointed but I had to hang up on him. You can imagine the rest.

Ladies, I researched Bitcoin scammers. Please read below so you will be your smartest self about this type of scam. I found it on the Forbes Advisor.  The problem is that it’s easy to lose your skeptical faculties when you feel like you’ve met your future spouse, you’re chatting with who you think is a close partner or you believe you’ve found a sure thing. It’s easy to lose sight of red flags when these confounding factors cloud your judgment.  That’s why it’s important to keep a few rules of thumb in mind whenever someone you’ve never actually met comes to you with a chance to make money in Bitcoin.

 Don’t believe the hype. Any claim of a guaranteed return, especially a very sizable, guaranteed return, should always be treated as a scam.
There are practically no legitimate investments that can double your money in a week or a month, or even a year, as Bernie Madoff’s victims can attest. Likewise, ignore any claim that your Bitcoin investment can be “multiplied.”

 Bitcoin for Bitcoin’s sake. The reason why Bitcoin has risen so dramatically in value recently is because genuine investors believe they can sell it to someone else for a higher price at a future date.  That’s what makes crypto a highly speculative investment. Always ignore “investment opportunities” that claim to be helping you get in on special or rare deals that involve Bitcoin.

 Obsessed with Bitcoin. Let’s say you meet someone online, and they really want you to invest in Bitcoin. They’re almost certainly lying to
you. Meanwhile, the government–especially the Social Security Administration–doesn’t track you down and demand instant crypto payments. If you’re dealing with someone who is demanding that you adopt Bitcoin in some fashion, disengage and call the cops.
If you suspect that you’ve been the target of a crypto scam, file a report with the FTC. When you share information about Bitcoin scams, it can help the FTC investigate fraud methods and keep Americans aware of new scams.  Taken from Forbes Advisor
Final Words

Don’t send any information that gives your address, bank information, or Social Security number under any circumstances. Not all men are possible scammers, but you need to know how to look for the subtle red flags.