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I'm a free man, having been released from City Data limbo/prison last night. I think I'm a 5 time loser now. I've been in stir so often I'm not sure how to function on the outside, so if I ask to use the restroom when that's clearly not necessary, please forgive me. Soon enough I'll be off to Zihuatenejo, where my good friend Andy, and hope, await me.
WTH? I never find you offensive enough to have violated the TOS. Probably says a little bit more about me than you though.
WTH? I never find you offensive enough to have violated the TOS. Probably says a little bit more about me than you though.
I know right? I thought, "homina? Really?" But I didn't want to get into talking in specifics about moderation which I know is against the rules so I didn't poke. I was definitely feeling the about it though.
I've got this mad craving for this simple lemon chicken that my boyfriend ordered at a Chinese place in Phoenix when we were there visiting. Thing is, I hate vegetables so my ability to enjoy Asian cuisine is limited and often unreliable, but when I can find something plain enough, like breaded chicken with a sauce and plain white rice, then it becomes something I obsessively crave. To the point it really, really digs at me sitting here leading up to lunch. Also I have leftovers in the breakroom fridge and I'm gonna eat that because it's free and it needs to get eaten. But I really want some of that lemon chicken right now dammit... *grumble*
I'm a free man, having been released from City Data limbo/prison last night. I think I'm a 5 time loser now. I've been in stir so often I'm not sure how to function on the outside, so if I ask to use the restroom when that's clearly not necessary, please forgive me. Soon enough I'll be off to Zihuatenejo, where my good friend Andy, and hope, await me.
Just avoided snarking when very tempted to snark. Following rules, being good. Givin' maself a gold star while trying to silently giggle at "brick walls are dumb." Dammit Chow that was funny as hell.
Just avoided snarking when very tempted to snark. Following rules, being good. Givin' maself a gold star while trying to silently giggle at "brick walls are dumb." Dammit Chow that was funny as hell.
The countdown clock on that one is going as we speak.
My older son has revealed to me that he's being extorted online. Apparently when he was underage, years ago when he was living with his Dad, someone online persuaded him to take a naughty video of himself. Now some person has this video and is threatening to post it all over his social media and send it to his friends and family, unless he pays them money. They have represented themselves as a person from outside of the US, and have laughingly taunted him to "go ahead and call the FBI."
I talked him out of sending money. I told him there is no amount of money that will satisfy a scammer like this, they'll take everything you've got and then some. Right now, the thing to do is to:
- Report it to the appropriate authorities
- Report and block this person on social media, and the phone numbers that have been texting him.
- Lock down his privacy settings on social media, everything to "friends only" and even put his phone on Do Not Disturb, especially when trying to sleep (this person has been harassing him with various phone numbers.)
- Let his social contacts know at least the basic facts of the situation, in case this man reaches out to them and/or targets them.
- Run various security software on his computer, and do a security checkup in general, as scammers often hit targets from different angles and I'm sure this person would not hesitate to go further into identity theft.
- Make sure that no instances of this video are saved anywhere on any of his machines.
I've told him that he is a human with a body like literally every other human, and although it is valid for him to feel violated and upset, and this person is a criminal...this is not his fault and he need feel no shame for anything.
I've said it before...I am SO glad that the internet, and cell phone cameras and webcams and all this business, wasn't even around when I was a teenager. I'm also really glad my kid is headed into the trades and not trying to be a teacher or politician or lawyer or celebrity or anything like that.
I read a story on Wired about a guy who targeted a teenage girl (and then a whole lot of other teenage girls) in a child-porn-extortion thing, and the authorities were actually able to track him down and arrest him. I told my son that this man has probably targeted others, and there is a chance that no matter what he says, he could be in the US and he could maybe get caught, and we've got to do all we can to help that happen, if it is possible. Having spoken to family and close friends, he's received a lot of support and compassion, and he is less upset now because his main fear would be that they would be sent this video and be hurt, angry, upset by it. He was tempted to just pay the guy, to spare THEM.
I guess the reason I'm sharing this, aside from just wanting to vent about how messed up these scammer dirtbags are...is to ask the people I consider to be friends here more or less, is there anything I'm forgetting in terms of steps to take (above)?
EDIT: I'm considering getting him a new phone number, forgot to mention that.
I went home on my lunch and talked to him. Things have been quiet so far today. He said that back when it happened, he thought he was video chatting with a girl. And then toward the end, this guy came on and said, "I got ya, I got all that on video" and it cut out. But then nothing really happened for years, and now this.
I guess this is relevant to the "Relationships" forums somewhat after all, as I can imagine people doing video chats thinking that they are either talking to a cam girl or building a long distance relationship online with someone...only to have them record video of whatever you were doing, and try to use it to blackmail you.
Predatory behavior is probably one of the most repulsive things that humans can do. These people that scam old ladies out of their homes and all the sick twisted human dumpters that work in human trafficking are just the lowest of the low. It can make ya really cynical if you let it.
Last edited by Chowhound; 10-22-2019 at 04:06 PM..
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Probably says a little bit more about me than you though.
about it though.
It can make ya really cynical if you let it.