Once bitten

There is this Web site called DeafConnect.com that was recently part of an online scam targeting the deaf community. http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2006/11/internet_scamme.html

As much as I have wanted to meet other people who are deaf (mostly in-real-life; it's not an issue with my online friends), I have not used DeafConnect.com. But I DID use a similar site: DeafSinglesConnection.com. http://www.soulmatesource.com/deafsingles.html I joined that site because I was hoping to find other deaf/HOH people in my area who I could meet up with. When I lived in the desert, I was a part of this "deaf club" that had "deaf coffee" and pizza gatherings and meeting for a bowling night, etc. It was really a fun thing to be a part of and it helped to be around others who were deaf/HOH, too. Though we DO have "deaf coffee" here in Oregon, the one closest one to me is about an hour away. (UGH.) So I joined DeafSinglesConnection.com to see if I could find any local deafies. I also used MySpace to find local deafies, but that didn't pan out. I HAVE met with other deafies through MySpace, but no one local. (Oddly enough, there is someone on there who is deaf yet CONSTANTLY advertising "free ringtone" bulletins. What the...?) And the same happened with the DeafSinglesConnection site, too.

Actually, something ELSE happened while I was a member of that site. Something similar to what happened at DeafConnect.com.

When I had a profile on there, I received many messages from people, mostly men, interested in getting to know me better. I kept things discreet and went through messages that just gave me bad vibes or had guys saying "I LOVE YOU! Let's meet!" LOL I ended up deciding to delete my account there because I just DID NOT feel comfortable being a part of it. I mean, one guy wanted to meet with me for sex! (OF COURSE I blew him off! Good grief!!) But I ended up choosing one person to communicate with by email who ended up doing something suspicious.

Before I deleted my account, I contacted 4 people on there and gave them my email address. One person ended up chatting with me frequently and I ended up no longer chatting with him after things got a little...scary. But there was one other person whose profile appeared shady to start with, but I figured he was nice enough to talk to so we sent emails back and forth. Supposedly, it was someone living in the UK. (I'm such a sucker for those British gentlemen. LOL) At one point after a few weeks of our emails, he asked for money.

No longer did I see this person as someone just interested in communicating with another deafie. Now I saw him (or HER??) as a possible scam artist. I mean, the first thing I thought after I read that was, 'Smooth.' (This person had been professing his love to me, even though I kept saying "I want to take things slow" and saying he wanted to fly out to meet me, etc.) It's not like I had any kind of emotional attachment to this person, or anything. So I told him I couldn't do it because my finances were strained.

Didn't expect to hear back from him after that -- but I DID, after a while. This time, he offered to send ME money!

OK. This was getting weird.

I told him "no thanks" and after that, never heard from him again.

So I guess something WAS up?? After hearing about that whole DeafConnect.com thing, there's a big chance that perhaps something WAS. I have talked with one other person who had joined that site, someone who is the sole survivor of my original list. LOL But he told me the same thing happened to him, too. There were people who befriended him through that site and acted all nice, even sent pictures, then asked for money.

I would NEVER give money to people I don't know over the Internet. Not people I don't know WELL, anyway. I LOVE!! my friends at the Absolute Write Water Cooler, and they HAVE helped out me and my daughter during the hard times. They are TRUE friends to me who I would gladly help in return (when I CAN!!). But other than that, no. Not complete strangers. Not people I don't trust. Not people I barely know. Stuff like that is just TOO risky. And, I have a child who depends on me; I can't compromise that sort of thing. Also, the same goes for RECEIVING money. Deaf or not deaf, if they're not family, if they're not people I trust or people I KNOW very well, then that is NOT gonna happen. There are just too many scams and too many scary people out there to let stuff like that go down....

Good thing I have learned to be more careful with people online, from now on. Deaf or not deaf, you just CAN'T lower your guard so easily.