Finding Love Online

I know this subject is far removed from natural skin care. Still I had to share it with you because I'm the type of person who likes to look out for others and don't like to see people being taken advantage of.

Recently I had to change my Facebook profile picture because it seemed to be causing a stir with the single men on Facebook, sending messages "Are you single?", one even tried to talk to me about what sex is like with my husband after umpteen years of marriage. Um... sorry mate, you're out of line. I got a request to meet for coffee and when I said no he asks if we can meet at a hotel instead. NO!!!!

I had a friend who was part of an (official) online dating site and excitedly shared with me a new man she'd met online. He was remarkably handsome which instantly made me dubious. His messages to her were alarming to me, whereas she was positively smitten. Within two or three messages he was professing love and a desire to marry and have babies with her. He was moving way too fast which made me wonder why he's working so quickly. What does he hope to get out of this?

Ok, so you can tell I'm not like most people, not very trusting perhaps, in fact you could call me cynical.

He had sent her a picture of his passport and drivers license reassuring her he was who he says he was. Again this made me wonder. Why the need to prove who you are before anyone's questioned it? If I was online dating, the LAST thing I would do is share those two confidential forms of ID. My friend emailed me a copy of his passport and license and I began an all night campaign to find out all about this guy.

Did I mention I'm not like most people ;)

Hours of searching resulted in me finding out he was not who he said he was and his ID was a fake. I let my friend know and she told him what I'd found out and he never contacted her again. Guilty as charged!

Recently I received this message from a man via Facebook:

Hello,

How are you doing i was searching by when i came

across your profile i
must confess you look beautiful on your pictures i will like

to know
more about you i really hope we can have a chat

someday and get to
know more better. If knowing you is the last thing i really

think it
will be more appreciative,hope to read back from you

because your
beauty is appreciated and cherished.I'm very curious if

you will be
able to email me through my personal email

(hisname) at y a h o o dot com
because i don't come on here all the time hope to hear

from you soon.

kisses.

Seems harmless enough right, even flattering. If we delve further into it we find some suspicious signs.

His profile shows a white man in his 50's, well dressed and for all appearances well educated. Yet the above message is grammatically incorrect. The message was displayed as it appears above which, you will notice on Facebook, happens when you cut and paste. I asked a computer savvy friend why the email address was typed out like that and he said this is done when people try to avoid 'spam' folders and again shows this message is a cut and paste (sent to many) type of message. If he is genuine why the need to avoid spam filters?

I ignored the message. However I wanted to share it here because I want people looking for online love to beware of the pit falls. Not all is as it seems xo