I have debated whether to write about something that has been going on in my life because I feel like an idiot. But when I started this blog it was with the intention to write about everything - the good - the bad - the ugly - and yes even the embarrassing. So here it goes.
As most of you know I have been divorced for quite some time now. I have been on Internet dating sites off and on. Two weeks ago I got a communication request from a match on eHarmony. We went through the many steps eHarmony has set up for you to get to know each other and see whether or not you want to continue on to the next step. We made it to the Open Communication process and sent a couple of email messages through eHarmony. He then said he was going to cancel his membership and could we email outside of the site. No problem - it was still just emails - then he asked if we could chat through IM - which seemed like a good idea as he had told me he was doing contract work for a company in Scotland - we could IM during the day. Yes - there were red flags popping up in my head and I had a weird feeling in my gut - I just thought I was being paranoid. His IM messages started out OK - and then they accelerated to how much he was falling for me just off of my pic and our chats. I had started to feel a connection too because we seemed to have so much in common and we talked about setting up a meeting for when he got back in the states which was to be this week. Yesterday I got an email from eHarmony stating that they had terminated his account - did not provide the reason due to privacy. So I decided to Google "reasons eHarmony terminates account" let me tell you - learning how to use Google has been a wonderful perk of my job! All these links popped up which led me to sites talking about how these guys are scammers from Nigeria! They pull you in by telling you what you want to hear and then - when they are supposed to be coming home something happens and they need you to send them money. It didn't get to that point with me - I am sure if it did the alarm bells would have been loud and clear - for one thing I don't have any money to send and for another thing I think I am smart enough to recognize the scam at that point. Doesn't help me from thinking that I was an idiot to fall for it in the beginning. Even though these websites showed that it has happened to many people I still feel stupid and embarrassed - I have always prided myself on having good instincts for things like this - I just didn't listen to them this time.
The good thing is I was not a victim of this scam - I was just a target and I learned my lesson. The bad thing - it is going to be hard to trust anything on these sites anymore.
No change in my luck yet - it just keeps staying the same. Has anyone found a good gypsy or witch that can get this curse off of me yet!
De
PS - Please don't leave me any comments that will ridicule me. I already feel stupid enough.
1 comment:
Internet dating, where to start? I have my reservations about it, but that's neither here nor there. I have to say, my sister met her husband on the Internet and they seem to be doing fine. I've known plenty of others who've gone the same route, so it does work. I will say that they were using very specific niche sites though (specifically for those of our particular faith). Perhaps those sites have higher success rates than the big name players? I don't really know. Best of luck to you though. You deserve to be happy, that's for sure.
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