American surgeon working for UN peace keepers in Syria sent me face book friend request AIBU to start messaging and see where it goes?

[Nimbostratus100]

Not really, obviously, just gobsmacked at the brass neck. Who are these people? How do they get my name? How many friend requests do they send out in an average day? how many people respond to them? I thought I recognised him from a local hobby group, so accepted the request, but have unfriended him now.

Is this a full time job for some people?

Do they make a living out of it?

Should we all give it a go and stop worrying about UC, sick pay, salaries, and pay rises?

Who has contacted you? What became of it?

Is anyone on face book ever genuine?

I get loads of these. But the best one I ever got was a pic of a nude guy on satin sheets with some strategically scattered rose petals. 🤣

If she had said one word about the money requests to me, I would have severely warned her .... I've worked in IT, I've lived in West Africa and am very familiar with Western Union etc., I've watched cat fishing programmes .... If she'd let me listen in on any phone conversations I could have told her his accent (probably Nigerian) immediately; but she never said a word about it. She only told other members of the family after she started sending money and the requests kept coming.

This is a mature, professional woman with kids.

I think their target is newly single or widowed people, older so not quite so internet savvy, lonely and maybe not meeting someone easily because there are fewer single people in middle age than youth, vulnerable .... And of course they use people's "greed" against them ... Whether it's saying they'll get a return on their "loan" or using pics of someone more attractive than they would normally be able to have a relationship with.

I am unfortunate enough to have the same name as an Australian porn star
I even look a little like her (in a tiny profile thumbnail)
Oh the perverts I got messaging me. It was insane

Yes it will I'm going to buy it 😁

In an amusing opposite to these stories... I had a friend who once excitedly said that Justin Bieber had followed them on social media.

We all said, yeah, right, jog on.

Turns out it was actually Justin Bieber 😂

Oil rig one story before here but about three weeks ago on twitter one tried his luck saying he like Mathew Modine films as well so I laughed (let’s string it for a few weeks) the money requests money needed to get home treatments for his dog started I just said for three weeks “no money got none”
he finally said “you’d could me but you won’t’ replied “no can’t goodbye” blocked. I felt brilliant as I’ve really moved on from being scammed and yes I was very unhappy at the time.

Me to and followed on twitter.

I will tell you who falls for all this crap - my mother in law. Not the dating stuff, as she is 80 and still happily married, but she trusts everything she reads online. Mostly it is no more harmful than spreading probably virus laden links of the "say this seven times and Saint Mungo Mary and Midge will bless you with great fortune" type, which is bad enough, but recently she had a "very nice financial advisor man from Facebook who came round to the house and chatted for hours". I bet he did. Fortunately MIL did have enough common sense to phone my DH before signing anything or I hate to think what might have happened.
There must be enough gullible and vulnerable people out there who fall for this kind of stuff to make it worth the scammers' while I suppose but most of them are so obvious that you'd wonder how.

Growing up in 1980s Ireland I assure you it was. 😂

If he’s a surgeon could he possibly advise you on what to do about your chronic piles, because honestly, some days you can barely sit down, and you are not sure if it is related but you fart like an elephant who is living on a baked bean diet and can clear a room in seconds……….

That’s … odd

I'm short and female but also dark haired, light eyed and a travel writer.

May I scam you?

😂

In the US - I know of a guy that was talking to a beautiful African model online. Then he started accepting packages for “her” and mailing them along. It was cologne and perfume and he was told to keep some. She was reselling to help a sick family member. Then the Secret Service showed up, arrested him and confiscated his computer and whatever packages he still had. It was all credit card fraud. (Thus the SS who gets involved with some financial crimes here.)

Poor guy had given the scammers tons of money, too. He was so embarrassed and still couldn’t quite grasp that the woman he thought he’d formed a relationship with did not exist.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂brilliant oh yes mention any if applicable eye problems or lumps .

@IDontWantToBeAPie

Well maybe. The tall thing is quite important though. I am very shallow. Maybe the tiebreaker could be an acceptable list of countries you've written about.

France, Spain and Italy? Yawn.

Mongolia, Bhutan and Uzbekistan? Yes.

I was on a FB page for dull men in UK and their hobbies (for the humour).
A man popped up wanting to friend me, his name was Randy
Firstly, I wanted to point out that no-one in UK has the name “Randy” - alas the admins stepped in and terminated before I could “get to know him” 😂

I got my first of these requests the other day. Must be getting old, I never got them when I was a nubile young thing. Now I’m a 37 year old mum, I'm clearly fair game.