It just had to. It was a matter of time. Sooner or later– and a wise person would bet on “sooner” rather than “later” the Internet being what it is– we would get hit with spam/scam.
Today, when I got home from one of my “runs” (a trip from Elk Grove Village, IL to Flora, IL) I opened my email and right on top was a note from Vivaldi that I had a message. From a woman. From the UK. Wanting romance, if the letter is any indication. See below:
Hello dear, My name is Gift, After seen your profile i became interested in you, so i decide to write you for we to build a good relationship if you don’t mind, Remember distance or color does not matter but true love matters a lot in life, meanwhile I like you to write me back through my email address************ for me to send you my pictures and to know each other very well
Now, as it happens I’ve been around the block a time or three. I know well enough that young women from overseas don’t try to set up relationships out of the blue with men old enough to be her father unless there’s something else going on. I had an experience with a Russian woman who tried this in 2009, it didn’t work then either.
As if that’s not enough, I find that s/he has written a similar letter to just about everybody with a Vivaldi box. Hmmmm….
So– in case y’all don’t know, let me tell you how this all works. She wrote out of the blue– I for one never heard of her before so I know that I never set anything up–and gets you to start thinking with the wrong end of your anatomy. You start getting romantic feeling for her, and as soon as she thinks she’s got you “hooked” she plans a trip to see you. In this case, moving across the UK shouldn’t be too formidable I should think– but maybe I’m wrong. In any case, she will start her trip with no planning and an equal amount of preparation, and if she gets to Heathrow, count on her not being able to get tickets or a passport without help. Could you please send $$$$?? If you do, you have just embarked on a “Perils of Pauline” story where she encounters problem after expensive problem, and of course you as the generous gentleman you are have to bail her out each time. Eventually, you either wise up or run out of money, and s/he goes on to the next “mark”.
The last time, the Russian babe set out on a trek across half of the continent. She got in trouble in Moscow, sent me the request for help along with her name, and a Google search of the name confirmed what I already had figured out from the first.
This is actually getting a bit tiring. I already have a low opinion about women having been through two divorces and a small number of not-great experiences, and these scams don’t improve matters much. I’d really like to think that I could find a woman who won’t use me, who won’t play with me as a means to get rich (won’t work anyway– I’m not rich) and who doesn’t use “love” as a means to deceive men. It seems I might as well wish for the winning lottery ticket since it appears I’m as likely to get one as the other.
I don’t fancy the idea of writing her. If she’s at all honest– something which I have reason to doubt– she can come out in the open and make it plain. If not– then fergidaboudit.
