Born to Mistrust

I don't really believe I was born to mistrust, but when I watch the Dr. Phil show and see the lonely women  getting conned into believing that someone (who sounds too good to be true plus handsome) loves them it is difficult for me to understand.  Last week a woman had to have Dr. Phil prove that the man with the accent who was taking thousands of dollars from her was not real. She purchased a wedding dress because he proposed to her. Her excitement faded when she found out there was no "husband to be," only a scammer who had stolen her money.

Today, on the show, an attractive widow of sixty-five sent over 89,000 dollars to someone she had never met.  She sold her home, cashed in her retirement fund, and is fast running out of money. Her sons are afraid she may end up homeless. She has sent money to a man named "Eric" because she "loved him and felt bad for him." Besides," she said, "he says he will pay me back." The audience and I groaned and rolled our eyes.

The relationships begin on the Internet.  Gilda, the lady on the show today, was lonely and searching for love. She wanted to find someone to love and to be loved.  She went on dating sites and received fifty-eight responses and ended up picking Eric. They began texting and before the month was over, she had sent him $3,000 for something he needed. Now, I don't know, but that would have been a big, red flag for me. As the texting relationship continued, she kept on sending him money for hospital bills, (I would have wondered what kind of illness he had, maybe some sexually transmitted disease), for his rent, (how had he paid his rent before me?); or to buy his son a computer and latest phone, (that would have been enough to drop that "lover" when I found out that the fifty-two year old Dad was still helping his son. Eric kept telling her he loved her, called her "love", and she was swept off her feet when he proposed marriage. She accepted though all she had from him were texts and empty promises.


Gilda's two sons had been warning her and begging her to stop sending Eric money but she continued to mail him money. The sons were shocked when they found out how much she had actually (they thought it was around $50,000) sent to a man she had never met. Dr. Phil was their last hope to show her Eric was a Catfish. (Scammer)

Can someone be so vulnerable that she believes the scammer? Catfish seem to chose older women between ages of 50-60 because they seem to have money left to them by their deceased husbands and never having lived alone, appear more desperate in finding love. One thing women should be aware of is that if the scammer moves too fast by using expressions of love and passion soon after they begin their texting, calling or e-mailing, watch out!

Maybe I am different, but even after dating someone for a few months, and I am looking into his eyes, and he tells me he loves me, I question it. My suspicious nature may keep me safe, yet, I pray that I never fall into a scammer's tricks!

"By the time the fool

has learned the game,

the players have dispersed."

African Proverb