Looking for Love ... in all the wrong places??
I had decided...many years ago... that I would not date, have a boyfriend, or consider remarrying until all of my children had left home. There were many reasons in my decision, one of them being that I did not want to put my children through the "step-parent/blended family" thing. Be it right, or be it wrong, it was a decision that I had made and one that I "stuck" to.
Now I am ready to embark on a new chapter in my life...
I have joined a few dating websites, read lots of profiles, chatted with quite a few men, and gone on some 'real life' dates. This process is quite interesting... to say the least.
Anyway... my main purpose in this post is not to talk about the "legitimate" men I have met... it is to shed light on an "illegitimate" man that struck up a conversation with me.
Super nice guy... personable... a good conversationalist... someone I would like to meet.
...but...
I couldn't find a trace about him on the internet. None of these websites do background checks on their "members", so you are left to your own resources to check these people out. I start with Google and the Department of Justice's Sex Offender Registry search engine. (By the way... I have been contacted by registered sex offenders as well.) In this case, the name that was given to me did not turn up ANY information... nothing. Not a blurb, not an inference, absolutely nothing.
That "non-finding" made me suspicious of this person. Plus... his syntax was 'different'. Thinking, thinking, thinking... that I should just drop the conversation completely...but curiosity in solving the mystery made me try to figure out who this person was. Finally, it dawned on me to check the header of his e-mails... and find out if they had come from the IP location he said he was at.
Voila! So he WAS lying to me! His IP address originated from Lagos, Nigeria. Yes... I had been targeted by a "Nigerian Romance Scammer".
C'est la vie ...
So... below I offer up his "introductory e-mail" which I am sure he uses over and over again and his e-mail address ... so that those who are trying to research this man's identity will find this information and be able to compare their notes. I am still considering whether or not I want to post the pictures that he provided. I am still undecided at this time on that matter as I am sure they belong to some unaware soul. I am positive that he will change his name/identity, but I trust that this information will continue to be useful to other online daters such as me.
Later...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Name used: Leonard Collins
E-mail used: leonardcollins47@yahoo.com
Location Reported: Houston, Texas
Dating Website: eHarmony
Labels: AAARRGH