Talking To Strangers Part 14

Hola Peeps and Peep-ettes. Yes, I’m still at it. Why? Because it’s fascinating. It’s also freaking exhausting; I don’t recommend this for anyone who is overly sensitive or fragile when it comes to matters of the heart.

So after my last post, things have cooled some between my online suitor and myself.  Seems love comes with a price tag, and if you can’t cough it up, you are yesterday’s news.

We were still checking in on the daily, but not a lot was being said. He’s been very “broody”. Apparently he hasn’t been going to work, trying to figure out a way to get the money he needs to get back to Copenhagen to get his paperwork done. He was hoping for some miracle. He’s feeling psychologically weak. His hands are shaking, he didn’t think he could type anymore.

I suggested talking over the phone, it would be easier. So of course he had to look around for his earpiece. So I beat him to the punch and I called him. Ring ring ring.  No answer.  It looks like Igor took it with him. Darn that Igor. Sidebar – sharing your earpiece with someone else is kinda gross.

Apparently he would be ashamed to let me hear some weakness in his voice.

Then he turned on me. “What is it you really want? Just tell me the truth.” Apparently I am very difficult to understand, I’m like a “course”. He’s surprised at some characteristics of mine.

Really?  I’m kind of surprised at some of yours too whoever you are.  So then he asks if it would be possible for me to be there in August.

Maybe I’ve got an over active imagination, but I really don’t feel like being kidnapped and held for ransom Mr. Scammer. Thanks though.

The next morning I received this message;

“I stayed awake all through the night wondering. And one of the things i find bothersome is why you just won’t assist me on this. if there is some proof you want from me please let me know. I could try all means to prove it to you if that would make you rescue me on this. ”

Said the guy who can never have a video or voice call.

My response “I can’t give you what i don’t have sweetie. I really am sorry I can’t help.”

You know what I find bothersome?  That you’re asking me for money. That I have never met you and can’t seem to have a voice conversation with you, but my bank account is supposedly up for grabs.  I also find it hard to believe that someone of your supposed stature doesn’t have two dimes to rub together.

Come back for Part 15. There’s so much more to this story.

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Talking To Strangers Part 13

Hola P & Ps.  Here’s the latest on my scammer.  I’m sure you’ve never watched any soap opera that has had this many twists and turns.

It’s been a week or so of bait and switch to see what my reaction would be. All his leading remarks had an agenda behind it. His stories have so many twists and turns and it’s always so dramatic.  If it were real, I’d probably have bitch slapped him into next year by now.  He is the victim on all fronts, it seems.

He starts a story to see if he can pique my interest and then when I ask questions, he has to go or the connection fails, or he doesn’t want to trouble me or worry me.

I’ll just spare you the bullshit stories and  fast forward to what we’ve all been expecting for some time now.

Last week I woke up to find this message from him.

“I got an email yesterday, and it said I will have to be in Copenhagen within the next 8 days for my paperwork and clearance as my issue with the government has been resolved.”

Wow that was quick.

“That means I will have to truncate and sever ties with this current company.”

Truncate? I actually had to look that one up.

“I’m happy about this because it means i will have to start making arrangement for two journeys. To be in Denmark and from there to Canada. I still would have been to Denmark first because I could not have flown to Canada directly from here.”

You’re a real jet setter, huh?

“And here is what i find bothersome. i don’t know how you would take this, but however you do, please don’t let it come between this beautiful relationship of ours.”

Wait for it…

“I will need a rough sum of about £2200 from you an  a loan to be paid back on or before my arrival to your land. I have tried to get through to my dad for this but can’t get him. This may sound funny to you but I will say it anyway, that you are the closest person to me right now.  Like I said honey, if will or won’t please don’t let it affect how we feel for each other. I’m 100% certain to pay back by 1st week of  August. I’m off to the waters now, may not be online for a while. Love you.”

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sure, you can have that money.  Better yet, let me send you my debit and credit cards and a box full of blank cheques.

So there we have it. Mr. “I’m NOT a scammer!” is desperate for money.

So I’m continuing to play dumb and it’s starting to frustrate him.  Here’s what I wrote back.

“Hi honey.  I’m glad your issue has been resolved. I’m really sortty but I’m afraid i can’t help you on this one. Love you too! But once you’re back home, we can have a video chat. Yay! Love you!”

So there we have it. But there’s more…stay tuned for the next post.

 

 

 

 

 

Talking To Strangers – Part 12

Are you still with me?  Let’s begin. Last week was touch and go with our conversations.  We both were sussing the other out, being uber cautious in our chats. Honestly, I had started moving away from this whole thing.  I’ve been on a couple dates with some fellas, nothing serious, but anything to get my mind off of this self imposed lunacy.

He reached out early last week with some small talk. He was more reserved and I asked him to tell me what was on his mind, how he was feeling following our blow out.  He said we will have to meet face to face before discussing that.

Ah, he’s still upset, but not with me, with life in general. He feels trapped in this contract, but it’s nothing I should worry about.

Fiiiiiine, I’ll take the bait once more. I asked if he preferred communication between us stopped. He said no, he knows he wants “this” more than ever and his feelings have not changed.

When I asked what he meant by being upset with life in general, he blew it off, said he had to get ready to head out for work.

Frustrated yet?  Bait and switch, bait and switch. You know this is all leading to some type of announcement, right?

 

 

Talking To Strangers – Reboot

Hello P & Ps!  To my fellow Canucks…Happy Canada day!

Let’s get to it. In my last post, it looked like the end of my talking with strangers saga. Guess what? It’s not.

Following our little blow out last Saturday, we each retreated to our respective corners for a bit. However, I just wasn’t ready to shut the door to this story. So, on Sunday I reached out.

I said I would not try to change his decision on cutting ties, but just wanted to talk to him. (backstory – I know a woman who got a scammer to fess up). He responded by asking what decision I was referring to.  He seemed oblivious. Why did I think he decided to end things.

Cue the red flags. Guess the earlier script was not read?

He said I have no idea what I have put him through mentally and reminded me that he said he saw no point in trying to prove anything to me. He resigned himself to just being unlucky with women.

Ok, I’ll bite. Maybe you’re moving too fast? Things can’t always be on your terms only. How many times did I ask you not to send anything my way. Come for a visit first and we will see how things go. Have you looked at that awful website?  The email? Only a fool would not suspect anything. What he was asking was too much and overwhelming. He also seems to have some suspicions regarding my time and intentions.  All the more reason to slow things down a little.

Apparently he checked out the website and got confirmation that it’s been under maintenance for a while now. But it doesn’t matter anymore, he will listen to me and play by my rules. He tried to impress me and it backfired on him.  He apologized for his typos; he was a little drunk.  I have no idea how things have been in his world.

I know, this is crazy, but I’m fascinated by this whole thing, I want to see where this goes organically.  I know one of my fellow bloggers will caution me to be careful. I am, believe me.

So, I’m soldiering on, stepping back and taking a breather when I feel I’m settling into a comfort level. Let’s see what happens next, shall we?

 

Talking To Strangers…The End..Or Is It?

Hola Peeps and Peepettes!  So yes, I believe this story has come to an end as ofSaturday Night.  I wanted to drag this out a little longer, but honestly, it was taking up way too much energy and had me so confused at times.  I was walking around feeling exhausted from all the ideas rattling around in my head.

So, my previous post made mention of this courier website that I had to contact (like seriously, what do I even say?)  I told him that the emails bounce back and suggested that he just forward me their response and I could reply all.

He sends me a small snip of HIS email to them.  How am I to reply to all on this?

So I fire off the email to the bogus “customer001@consultant.com” address.

The next day I get this:

Well, Omar Adulla, apparently you are the Lucky Charms leprechaun. Are your treats magically delicious, mother effer? You’re going to wait a looong time for my “responds”

Oh, and there’s this piece of shiiite form I was supposed to fill out too…

The company is supposedly Skye Trust Security Company, but their footer reads Sky Trust Security Company.  Guess scammers don’t use spell check.

Anyhoo, I sat on this for a couple days.  When the scammer and I spoke yesterday, he said I had become a little distant.  Is there a new guy?   He then asked if I had completed the form for the courier. I played dumb and said I had not received anything.

He said they don’t usually get this slow on things. Oh really? You’ve done this before, have you? He then said I should check my email properly. Then he baited me by saying “Maybe I was too forward with something like this one”. Apparently my lack of interest is sending a shock down his spine.

You know what else is about to send a shock to the yellow line down your back?  My foot up your arse, that’s what.

So fast forward a couple hours later and we are chatting again. I asked if we could have a voice chat.  He says no. A few minutes later I say again that I really wish I could hear his voice, because there was something I wanted to tell him.

He: What’s that?

Me: I know.

He: “Know what?”

Me: “Seriously? The website is a fake. The email is a fake. And that means so are you.  Why do you do it?”.

H: “Seriously? Please hold on…let me see if i can go up and have a video call with you.”

So now I started panicking. Uh oh…did I make a mistake?

Me: “The email is so obviously fake it’s laughable”.

He: “And when I do, it will be the end of us. just can’t keep trying to convince a lady that can never be convinced. Just a few minutes please”.

All of two or three minutes go by and of course…

He: “Couldn’t get any means to.  But hopefully I will do that tomorrow.  So you think I don’t exist?”

Me: “That email is awful”

He: “I have received several mails from that one. I really do not know what you want me to say”.

Me: “Where exactly is this place located?”

He: “You weren’t even going to pay a dime.”

Hello. What? I never mentioned money. Interesting…

He: “I have been paying for demurrage. You only get this way when there is a scam alert. you think I want to scam you for something?  I am disgusted Chrissie”.

Me: “None of the links on that website work. the emails bounced back. the phone number is out of service. The email I did get is full of spelling errors. ”

He: “I’m done talking about this. Sometimes when things are translated to English, it appears that way. Goodnight”.

Me: “if you could have a video chat it will help. And i will apologize to you profusely if I made a mistake.”

He: “Don’t think there will be any need for that. Even if I do, there will be more scrutiny”

(Hmmmm….I wonder why?)

Me: “How so?  You’re the one who said you’d have a video call and now you say you won’t. Help me through this.”

He: “The other day when we spoke, you said you wanted to hear me speak Deutsch. Just because you only wanted to put me through a test. Even thought I earlier told you Deutsch is not my first language. You keep demanding for voice calls not because you find it lovely, but because it is always for fault finding. Baby, I had met a woman like you in the past. Nothing will ever satisfy you even if i have been with you physically. You will keep digging to see if I’m 100% perfect. If you have a problem with the website, all you had to do was tell me so I could find out. Not to question my authenticity. I have been through enough in life. I don’t think I deserve this. Goodbye”.

Oh the drama!  I go from being someone who gives him a new reason to love life again to a demanding shrew. My how the tides have turned. You can bet your bottom dollar I will keep digging.

But…there might be more to this story.  Stay tuned.

What are your thoughts on all of this?

Talking to Strangers Part 9

Hola Peeps!  The saga continuuuuuuues. Ok. things are still weird.  That has not changed. Honestly, I have no freaking clue anymore.

Why? Because he does not fit the profile.  Or maybe he’s just that good.

Some of the stuff we have spoken of, some of the stuff he references, it just is way too “human”, if you know what I mean.

I could be way off here, but I have a feeling he’s just a guy who is a few bricks short of a full load.

When I did manage to speak to him, he sounded absolutely Dutch, and also like a very shy, socially awkward man.

I think of some of the stuff he’s said in the past two months; he lost his virginity at the age of 31. Hello? What?

He has no friends, only work acquaintances.

He has admitted to being an introvert.

When speaking of coming here and introducing him to people, he says he has to let me know that he is very shy.

He noted that I was very busy; would I have time for him if/when he moves here.

The pictures  I have seen of him, he has this very guarded look in his eyes. I don’t know…

When I was chatting on Hangouts with him this weekend, he asked what my email address was.  I knew very well why he was asking.  It was for that package he supposedly wants to send me.

I gave it to him and played dumb. Were we not going to communicate via hangouts anymore?  He fessed up and admitted that it was for the courier company so that they can get contact me.   He then said he asked because he knew if I would not agree otherwise.

Already two steps ahead of you Mr. Man.

So, today, I mentioned that the courier company had not contacted me.  What courier company?  he says.

Whaaat? I remind him and then he says “oooh, I forgot to tell you. You have to contact them. They are expecting to hear from you”.

Well, the phone number and email are both bogus, so how exactly is that going to work? He said I sounded “different” and I shouldn’t work myself up so much over these things. It’s not a big deal.

So, stay tuned for what comes next.

 

 

Talking to Strangers Part 8 – continued

Allright, as promised. I’m flossing over a lot of our ongoing conversation because it really isn’t all that relevant.

So, Mr. Man started had officially tendered his request for retirement and started a side contract, still in Germany.  He has to be quiet about it as he might lose his pension as a result.

He stayed back while the rest of his crew returned to Denmark. He started the new contract with the other company today.

On Wednesday we were chatting (again, still only on Google Hangouts DM), and I mentioned that the new company that has acquired my company has started making cuts on a very high level. He was concerned and asked if that meant I would be losing my job.  I might, eventually, but since I got my payout from my stock options, I’m really not all that concerned. I’m debt free, have no car or mortgage payments, and when I return from my trip to Italy in October, my plan is to start making offers on a condo.

I’m just waiting for my second payout once we’ve met a certain milestone. What ever happens after that is just fine by me.

So as we’re chatting yesterday, he tells me that he’s been thinking about something all day, but not sure how I would take it.  He came up with an idea.  He wants to know if it’s possible that we buy a house sooner than I had planned? He is planning on sending me something. Did I go to the gym today?

WHAT? That is the biggest pivot I’ve ever seen. What is he sending me?

He asked that I don’t judge him when he tells me.  Oh fuck, here we go….

He has had a consignment afloat since 2011. (ok, right out of the gate and I’m lost already). It is his share of gifts and rewards during his time in Lybia. the whole country was in turmoil and there was too much to share. (I feel like I’m in a movie, this is so not part of my every day life that I have no clue how to react to this).

What’s a consignment? Apparently it’s a box with a 6 digit password to open it. He emailed the courier company earlier today but hasn’t gotten a reply yet. When he does, he will let me know.

Uhm…what? What does this have to do with buying a house earlier.

He wants to send the box to me.  He was keeping it should he retire and not get paid on time. It contains a few sets of gold jewelry and money.

Honestly, all I could think of was me showing up to pick up this parcel, and a bunch of immigration folks swarming me. Scenario #2 is having this thing delivered to my home, then someone breaking in to my place in the middle of the night and stealing it and putting a bullet through my skull. How do I know what’s really in this box.  What’s the freaking rush?

So, I did what I do best. I panicked. I said I did not think that was a good idea as sending that stuff would be under scrutiny at customs. He said they would do a thorough check for drugs and illicit items. If I’m not cool with the idea, it’s ok.

More to follow tomorrow, I’m exhausted.  Feel free to leave your coments