I keep getting told I've been in a car accident that wasn't my fault.

I don't drive.

My dad: I thought we were on the do not call list?

Me: Apperently not...

I've had a few such calls but they are nothing compared to the scammers and con artists on dating sites. I've had to learn the hard way to be on the lookout for them. When I first decided to try online dating because there are few opportunities for a gay man in a small town to make connections I guess I was pretty naïve. I expected people to engage in puffery embellishing their profiles. But I never expected out and out fraud. The very first experience hit me hard. I was contacted by someone who said he was a US military officer stationed in the Middle East. He was nearing retirement and planned on returning to his home in California and reuniting with his 10 yr. old son who was being looked after by relatives. His wife, he said, had died in an automobile accident and he was "done with women," wanting to find a mature male partner and settle down for life. He sent attractive photos, talked in detail about his life and carried on a correspondence for several months taking the time each day to send a lengthy message. I always responded in kind and felt myself becoming emotionally entangled. He began to use the 4-letter "L" word and said his tour would end in a couple of months. He wanted to video chat which was forbidden "for security reasons" where he was stationed and asked me to send him a new I-Phone so that he could do it secretly. I was taken aback. I don't own a smart phone myself. I live on a subsistence budget and even if someone gave me one I could not afford the data plan. He knew this and I grew suspicious. I pretended I bought an I-Phone with a credit card and asked him for his APO address which, also suspiciously, he had artfully avoided. He said he had a friend who was a diplomat currently in Ghana but about to travel to Iraq where he was stationed and gave me an address in Ghana to which I was supposed to send the phone. I called his bluff and stopped communicating where upon he suddenly revealed his identity as a 22 yr. old kid in Ghana posing as a US military officer. He suddenly changed his plea, not to be my life partner, but to become his adopted son! Just what I wanted: a lying sack of shit for a son! I was actually hurt for a few days and looked at the pictures I had been sent wondering who the guy was whose identity had been stolen. And then I got mad. I called the FBI who, surprisingly, took me seriously because of the impersonation of an officer and I gave them what information I had including a picture of the scrawny kid sitting in the dust in front of a hut which supposedly was the con artist seeking adoption. There was an initial flurry of activity but then I have heard nothing since about the matter. But I have been approached innumerable times by guys working the same script. I'm furious with the dating sites who do not screen their members more carefully and at least verify their identities.

I don't answer the phone unless I know who is calling

I always treat the scammers the same as the unwanted sellers, as soon as they come on I just say "look you've caught me at a bit of an inconvenient time, I'm 20 odd nautical miles off where ever in my yacht, and can't contact anyone or get anything checked out or write anything down so if you like to ring me back in a couple of weeks when I get back to port I can attend to whatever you're looking for" it always works whether with scammers or sellers, the just say OK catch you later, and I never hear from them again.

For me the question is "Do I ever get normal calls?" I get as many scammers as normal calls. Fortunately my iPhone now says "Scammer Likely" when the annoying telesales people call, so this simple announcement has changed my life. Anyone who is misidentified will leave a voicemail so it is great.

Lol i havent had one in a while