by rc2467
Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:37 pm
I've been looking at the 419eater site and been creasing up with laughter at some of the 'names' and baiter stories 
and this brought me here.
However, laughing and joking aside, this doesn't detract from my own single experience of a friend who, last year was almost, perhaps, sucked into a scam. I'd be interested in what you think because other than being a complete waste of time and upsetting my friend, unless it was just 'hooking' someone for something later, I fail to see the purpose of this whole thing.
The friend in particular is Thai, female, single and late-twenties and is a colleague of my girl-friends (we'll call her Noi for this story).
Around late-October 2009 she started an MSN type-chat with this guy who said he was English. They communicated via MSN typing most days and very often more than once per day (given time difference and all).
After a short while, he was telling her he loved her, etc., and was coming out to meet her just before Christmas, etc., for a 10-day holiday.
Anyway, the first I heard of this was when it came through to me via my girlfriend with a genuine 'what do you think?' kind of question.
Not having encountered this before I said that safety and security is the key thing here and what has 'Noi' told him.
I was assured [by Noi herself] that she hadn't given anything away (home or work address, her phone number, etc.) and it was purely on MSN that she had type-chatted with him: no web-cam, no VOIP chats, just typing.
He'd sent her a photo, she'd sent him a photo but that was all.
Anyway, the next thing is, approximately three weeks before he was due to come to Thailand, he said he was going to send her a package with some gifts in: a toy (with a LOT of money stuffed in it); a rolex, a few other things and, with this money, she was to book a hotel for him (for the duration of the holiday) and to organise a rental car.
Now this all seemed a bit strange as when he said he'd sent it, I asked Noi to ask him for a copy of the delivery note...
He emailed it and then she emailed it to me and that was where the entire story fell apart for him.
At first glance the note didn't look too untoward but delving into it, it was an obvious concoction (but my own feelings on this are that he's perhaps done this before and is on, let's say, version 3 of his fictitious delivery note and is getting better), copied and pasted, etc., but, I guess to the uneducated/uninitiated or, even, a non-English [as a first language] speaking person, this would not be seen – and wasn't.
I pointed all the errors out to Noi and told her not to contact him at all, to delete him from her MSN, block him, etc., and then gave her a word or two of warnings about all this. She was of course, VERY worried about all of this. As it turns out, nothing further has come of this and there has been no contact, or attempt to contact from 'him' again.
The problem I have though is even though he's supposedly sent this package, it would never actually turn up (it doesn't exist). His address details given (don't exist); he told Noi he lived in the North-West of England yet the postcode given was for a hotel in London; the phone number was bollocks, the business address didn't exist, the business name wasn't in the list of companies...the list goes on.
So what was the point of it? There was no package, I doubt he'd turn up on vacation, is he just a sad twat with a lot of time on his hands or would he be trying to draw her into something else?
I'd be interested in your thoughts.
Thank,s
rc2467
and this brought me here. However, laughing and joking aside, this doesn't detract from my own single experience of a friend who, last year was almost, perhaps, sucked into a scam. I'd be interested in what you think because other than being a complete waste of time and upsetting my friend, unless it was just 'hooking' someone for something later, I fail to see the purpose of this whole thing.
The friend in particular is Thai, female, single and late-twenties and is a colleague of my girl-friends (we'll call her Noi for this story).
Around late-October 2009 she started an MSN type-chat with this guy who said he was English. They communicated via MSN typing most days and very often more than once per day (given time difference and all).
After a short while, he was telling her he loved her, etc., and was coming out to meet her just before Christmas, etc., for a 10-day holiday.
Anyway, the first I heard of this was when it came through to me via my girlfriend with a genuine 'what do you think?' kind of question.
Not having encountered this before I said that safety and security is the key thing here and what has 'Noi' told him.
I was assured [by Noi herself] that she hadn't given anything away (home or work address, her phone number, etc.) and it was purely on MSN that she had type-chatted with him: no web-cam, no VOIP chats, just typing.
He'd sent her a photo, she'd sent him a photo but that was all.
Anyway, the next thing is, approximately three weeks before he was due to come to Thailand, he said he was going to send her a package with some gifts in: a toy (with a LOT of money stuffed in it); a rolex, a few other things and, with this money, she was to book a hotel for him (for the duration of the holiday) and to organise a rental car.
Now this all seemed a bit strange as when he said he'd sent it, I asked Noi to ask him for a copy of the delivery note...
He emailed it and then she emailed it to me and that was where the entire story fell apart for him.
At first glance the note didn't look too untoward but delving into it, it was an obvious concoction (but my own feelings on this are that he's perhaps done this before and is on, let's say, version 3 of his fictitious delivery note and is getting better), copied and pasted, etc., but, I guess to the uneducated/uninitiated or, even, a non-English [as a first language] speaking person, this would not be seen – and wasn't.
I pointed all the errors out to Noi and told her not to contact him at all, to delete him from her MSN, block him, etc., and then gave her a word or two of warnings about all this. She was of course, VERY worried about all of this. As it turns out, nothing further has come of this and there has been no contact, or attempt to contact from 'him' again.
The problem I have though is even though he's supposedly sent this package, it would never actually turn up (it doesn't exist). His address details given (don't exist); he told Noi he lived in the North-West of England yet the postcode given was for a hotel in London; the phone number was bollocks, the business address didn't exist, the business name wasn't in the list of companies...the list goes on.
So what was the point of it? There was no package, I doubt he'd turn up on vacation, is he just a sad twat with a lot of time on his hands or would he be trying to draw her into something else?
I'd be interested in your thoughts.
Thank,s
rc2467
