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AT first, the constant attention seemed sweet and very special.
Janet N. Cook, a church secretary in the Tidewater, Va., area, had been a widow for a decade when she joined an Internet dating site and was quickly overcome by a rush of emails, phone calls and plans for a face-to-face visit.
As long as the link is related to the subject matter of the Retirement Forum, and this one is, I don't see any valid objection to someone posting links but not participating in the discussion himself. The original post of any thread is an invitation to discussion on that topic, not a promise to join in.
Now if the OP was asking for advice from people, but refused to come back and clarify things upon request, my opinion would be different.
I have to agree that a "discussion" has to start out with a participant. I don't come to CD to find lone links that take me to other websites. So, a thread started with a link and no explanation or opinion also irritates me, too. I didn't click on the link.
Wtf are these oldies-but-goodys THINKING? OF COURSE every drummer, shyster and two-bit hustler is going to be targeting old people who hang around on dating sites!
Every elderly person is well-advised to keep their wits about them, period - passing every "request" through the WIIFM (what's in it for me) filter. The internet is a platform for asymmetrical information - they know more about you than you know about them. If you're 70+ and on a dating site, they know a LOT about you.
In this instance, the lonely dude (or gal) advertises his/her desperation by going to the dating site. The hustler knows that if you (the elder) have a more-or-less fulfilled life, you expand outward beyond your four walls. There, you find communities of spirit, or communities of interest. Amazing how those work to quash loneliness! Even in small towns, there are niches for the elderly where they can socialize, even if it's in the seating area at public comments meetings held to provide a venue for citizens to discuss (protest) the latest zoning variance before it becomes cast in concrete.
E.g., you are NOT wasting your time trolling for "dates" on a dating site! You don't have time, energy, or inclination to do it!
Being asked for your hard-saved dough before the hustler has even gotten off his *ss to come up to Podunk (apologies to Podunk) to meet you and your circle of friends? Dead sure giveaway that the hustler is just that.
Even now, in this devolved society that is swirling down the bathtub drain, it is expected that a gentleman extends the first courtesy. Even I - the (former) hippie liberal - held to those criteria!
I'd like to extend a soothing cluck-cluck and say "there, there" - I just gag before I can do it.
I say again: WHAT were these people THINKING?
All that said, I hope the hustlers get theirs in this life rather than being permitted to wait till the next.
I would like to post the news article without the links but cann't because copyright laws and this forum will not allow me and also people want to know where the news came from.
Yeah I agree. For the most part there are no victims in these scams, only people who willingly agree to take part, and IMO that makes them willing accomplices.
That said, kudos to those who admit they fell for these scams. That takes guts. Interesting that for the most part it's women who are willing to do so, more than men.
oh jeez, I clicked on the links for these scams including romancescams.org, and honestly anyone who falls for it IMO deserves what he/she gets.
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