A Cautionary Tale......

[Mr. Bobo]

I am sure that this topic has been beaten like a dead horse in other threads and on other forums but I will post it anyway as it actually happened and it's not just something that I read on the internet . If there is a remote chance that it will help one person then it is worth the effort.

 

Every two months I travel to one of the satellite immigration offices in the provinces to renew my tourist visa. Since it is a four hour drive I always stay overnight at a hotel. On a recent trip I happened to stay at a hotel with a swimming pool. After settling in I wandered out to the pool area to check it out. The pool was deserted except for a Caucasian man sitting at the other end of the pool with his head down and his feet in the water. I don't see many expats where I live and rarely, if ever, do I see one on one of my visa runs. The man saw me when I walked into the pool area but didn't acknowledge me so I didn't attempt to strike up a conversation with him as he looked like he just wanted privacy. I later found out why he wanted privacy from my wife who had happened to strike up a conversation with one of the hotel employees. It turns out that the man was from Canada and had flown to the Philippines to surprise his fiance that he had met online. Well, it turns out that the surprise was on him. When he went to her house to surprise her he was met by her husband and children! I can only imagine how bad this guy must have felt, flying to the Philippines, traveling hours to one of the remote provinces while all jet lagged out, only to find out that he had been scammed. God knows how many other westerners this lowlife has been scamming. Gentlemen, do your due diligence when meeting a Filipina lady online. These girls are very good at what they do and will spend months cultivating a victim or victims. I was lucky as I met my Filipina wife while working abroad. I know that many westerners are meeting Filipina women online these days. I just want everyone to be on the lookout for these scammers. No matter how smart and streetwise you think you are believe me you can be had!

 

I would even recommend going so far as hiring a private investigator to travel to your “fiance's” hometown to snoop around to find out if she is on the up and up. It may be money well spent. There are people in the Philippines who do this type of work. I know that this sounds extreme but unfortunately in today's world it is a necessity.

[Jack Peterson]

No matter how smart and streetwise you think you are believe me you can be had!  

 

 Unfortunately this happens more than many realize, Good Topic and one that has in deed been spoken about before but as with many others, it is always good to bring up every now and then. Especially as there are more & more newcomers in the Pi or ready to make a move. :thumbsup:

 

Jack :)

Morning All :morning1:

[jpbago]

   Fortunately, he found out upon his arrival. It could have turned out much worse. She could have, as others have done, told him that the man there was her brother with his kids as his wife left him. Then she could have sucked him in for a few years all the while supporting her husband. The husbands don't mind if someone sleeps with their wife, as long as he is getting some money from it, something like a pimp.

  He will move on all the wiser and be more cautious in the future.

[mogo51]

Indeed a sad story that is virtually a daily occurrence.  But whilst there are many bad stories from web connections, there are just as 

many or more good ones.  So we maybe have to accept this happens and mainly because men don't take things slowly.

 

I consider myself to be quite 'street wise' but I have been snipped before, simply becasue IMO we want to be able to trust people.

 

However, my last venture into web connection has proven to be the best thing that I have ever done in my life.  So moral of the story, 

don't dismiss it, just apply some common sense.

That does not include using private investigators!  If you have to do that move onto the next choice.

[Dave Hounddriver]

. . . Well, it turns out that the surprise was on him. When he went to her house to surprise her he was met by her husband and children! . . . 

As jpbago said, he will move on all the wiser.

 

For the purpose of my next bit of reasoning I started thinking of all the filipinas who I know who have met someone online in the last 2 years.  I did a quick mental calculation of those filipinas I know who are currently scamming a foreigner while living with a husband or boyfriend and got 6.  Then I mentally added the filipinas I know who met someone online and that relationship is going well and got 2.  Then I mentally added the filipinas I know who are getting 'played' by a foreigner who they met online and I got 4.

 

Thus it is my experience that the large majority of online meetings end up with one or the other getting scammed or played and yet foreigners and filipinas continue to fight the odds

[robert k]

Some people think Facebook is the answer, advise that you check the girl's Facebook. I think it couldn't hurt. I have had women ask me for my Facebook and I tell them I don't have one...and if I did have one and was playing around, I could easily have two. Just as she could easily have two. Still, it might be smart to take a look at hers, maybe she is too lazy to have two accounts and you learn something. :rolleyes:

 

I don't think you need a private investigator, just a long engagement of about a year after you meet face to face, while keeping your guard up. Most people can't keep up a scam for more than 6 months. If they can keep a charade up for more than a year they might be worth marrying anyway if you could get them solidly on your side because that is TALENT! :thumbsup:

[Jack Peterson]

just a long engagement of about a year after you meet face to face, 

 

There my Friend, is a big Part of the Answer to all this, For me, Don't promise or do anything until you have met and had a chat and some Visits to Family and Close Friends. If they won't wait they are probably not worth the Trouble and anguish. But........ :89:

 

Jack :whistling:

[Mike S]

Indeed a sad story that is virtually a daily occurrence.  But whilst there are many bad stories from web connections, there are just as 

many or more good ones.  So we maybe have to accept this happens and mainly because men don't take things slowly.

 

I consider myself to be quite 'street wise' but I have been snipped before, simply becasue IMO we want to be able to trust people.

 

However, my last venture into web connection has proven to be the best thing that I have ever done in my life.  So moral of the story, 

don't dismiss it, just apply some common sense.

That does not include using private investigators!  If you have to do that move onto the next choice.

 

I agree and I am another satisfied customer ..... going on 10 years in our relationship .... but you have to approach it logically with you mind and not with your heart (or worst yet your titi) ..... love will come with an aging relationship ..... for the first 6 months it is just puppy-love ..... :hystery: ....... JMHO .... :mocking:

:cheersty:

Edited February 25, 2016 by Mike S

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I was retiring over here anyway - so meeting the girl I had been talking to was a plus, but not the reason I came.  Also, she never once asked for money, which is good because I would not have sent any.  I had nothing invested really.  (she turned out great and we got married a year and half later)

 

I hope that guy did not get scammed for too much, but he was lucky. The "brother/cousin/whatever" and "his kids" could have left the girl to meet her fiance...  and really taken him for some money!

[chris49]

I would even recommend going so far as hiring a private investigator to travel to your “fiance's” hometown to snoop around to find out if she is on the up and up. It may be money well spent. There are people in the Philippines who do this type of work. I know that this sounds extreme but unfortunately in today's world it is a necessity.

 

Absolute minefield. Most of  investigators are not located near the party they are investigating and fabricated reports are common.

 

Or they do make contact and file a favorable report anyway, Price of probably a dinner and a few drinks. A few pictures and a written report for $200-500. Or they reverse it and tell you they have negative information but will need additional fees to capture the evidence. Often stating the party has been tracked down in some hotel.

 

Caveat emptor.

Edited February 25, 2016 by chris49