***WARNING*** "Am I being scammed" theme follows, I wont blame you if you grab a Horlicks and have a nap. but if you read on..this one gets tricky to identify, and I could use some fresh eyes on it.
There I was on the Instant Messenger happily fielding Ghanaian 419ers with the unlikely names of Demi Moore and Courtney Cox ( at least i hope it wasn't really them) and rapidly deflecting the amourous advances of nigerian princesses with oodles of loot just waiting to be shipped off to ME!!..if only I... and so it goes.
Then, out of the blue comes a "Hi" from a respectably good looking lass from the Philippines. Her name both first and last were plausible (of course you know where that got filed), her manner was polite and friendly (ever met a scammer who wasn't , to start with?), but as the conversation wore on and the obligatory dying university fees and unpaid aunt didn't appear, I began to warm to her.
The age difference, a quarter of a lifes worth, was duly pointed out and I moved inexorably to friendship but no romance mode. The economy size salt shaker was sprinkled liberally on the protestations (mild), that older men are appealing for their stability both familial and monetary( ah ha..new it I crowed).
but the conversation ambled on amiably and she told me about Lucena City (Quezon) where she lived and about her family and so it goes...Pleasant goodbyes and I enjoyed the chat etc etc amen.
Well this caper continues for a few more chats and Bugger me if i can't help liking the girl.
Here I digress.. I had a good friend of long standing, but alas now deceased, whose filipino wife had made it her lifes mission to get me hitched and fed and god knows what else whenever I tried to sneak into the house to chat with my mate Ken. Subsequently there is not an island, province, condominium, cave, hut or paddock in the Philippines from whence I have not at some time or other had an introduction. Pardon the analogy, but if being a prospective filipino bride was ebola, I'd be immune.
back to the story...
I hope you're still with me as it gets tricky from here on in.
The feeling of bon homi continues to grow and no six foot meat eating bouncers appeared to be coaching from the backstage of the webcam and the family waves and it's starting to look like an episode of the Waltons.
Well at this point the armour is starting to get a little loose around the chest, and, well, nevermind..
So being the former darling of my old C.O. I called in your tax dollars for a favour (please don't tell anyone, it's so secret i'd have to kill myself).
Here's the tricky bit.
1)She is who she says she is.
2)She does live where she's meant to (she doesn't know I know this as it hasn't been mentioned).
3)Didn't bat an eyelid when I said that if i come to visit I would stay at a hotel I know to be only two blocks from her home.
4) Has discussed her relatively low income in general conversation, but never hinted (that i can tell) of wanting some support.
5) has been quite up front and most of the information can be sort of evaluated to be approximating the truth (sheesh, even I tell social lies--whoppers too, but you didn't hear that from me and anyway the fish was only a shade under legal size.)
6)Her web prescence (again she doesn't know I know)as far as can be determined is inocuous bordering on boring.
So basically i'm the one with egg on my chin for being a dirty little spy.
Or am I?
She claims to have fallen in love with me. (and we aren't talking about years of chat here)
She will not let me reference the age difference again, although we had discussed it at length.
Is excited at the prospect that I may visit (and friends, I'm thinking about it)
Wants me to meet the family and all that that entails.
While being upfront she does say that if I come it must be my treat because of the income issue
Either she is genuine, and perhaps naive in her frankness, or the best of the breed of scammers.
I'm really stumped and in danger of becoming cynical to a detrimental degree, but I don't want to leap Lemming like, off the next cliff to quezon.
Am I being scammed?
fresh eyes and an insight would be nice please.
Thanks for hanging in until the end.
She might be attracted for now, in her mind love will come later..... And it will in abundance....
Originally Posted by pacificelectric
... I just sent her 3000php out of the blue, so we shall see what happens from here. I will either become a milking cow , an insult to her dignity or what I intended, a very small gesture of faith to show I am not stringing her along in a chat for fun.
