A Dilema

[daveinspain]

Why is she doing this? That's what I want to know...

[SweetMarie]

Anyone offering expensive gifts to people they do not know are up to no good.

If you had twin daughters and an "internet friend" made them the same offer--would you even consider it?

I don't think so...

[FenderGuy1]

Meet her in a public place, ask her if the gifts are in the trunk of her car, open the trunk, if she says no, there is something fishy bout it

[J.R.M.30!]

First you hire a sniper that is perched in a position that survey's the entire scene. Second you wire tap yourself. Thirdly you meet in a place on your terms set out prior to contact. Prior to contact you buy a fake clone in case things get dicey. Be sure to have knowledge of counterfeit money. When things get dicey have your people contact my people. ;)

[manse]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but this is not legitimate.

Not. At. All.

At best, there is some fraudulent motive, at worst......I shudder to think.

No-one - absolutely no-one, gives away $000s of dollars worth of gifts to people they don't actually know.

I would go straight to the authorities before you or your kids get ripped off - or worse.

Best wishes,

Manse

[J.R.M.30!]

How about the local lottery.

[AlanH]

Yes, given your sons' age this is starting to look less like internet grooming and more like a con trick. I'll bet that she looks like a supermodel on her profile.

 

Do they already have their own guitars or can you lend them a couple of your less coveted ones? If they get themselves a band together then that's the way they'll get the women. Furthermore, your boys should be assured that the young ladies won't care whether they're playing pawn shop beaters or R9s.

[Namvet]

My gut says the "she" is probably a "he" predator

[rct]

Are people really this stupid? Is this what the internet hath actually wrought?

 

rct

[T Bone]

Another one hopping on dem00n's boat, I meant it to be implied that you should cut all contact but left it out for one reason or another.

 

 

Friend of mine did this a while back, he got really freaking paranoid... strange density of sex offenders in his area.

Interesting side note on that (and I've looked at our area, it is really spooky!). People get put on that list for some things IMO they should not. Public urination. Who here has not urinated in an "inappropriate" place (nothing public about it, say against a tree hidden from view of others, say at 2:00 AM)? Well, guess what. The wrong person DID see you, a Law Enforcement Officer. Runs you in on a charge of "public" urination. Yep, you're now on the list (no, I've not had this misfortune, but after hearing stories of some who did- once saw a man so charged in court while I was waiting my turn on a civil matter), it gets my goat that one is then hung with such a stigma, and it's for life!

 

Sorry to side track the thread, good to know your boys are 21, that does change things a bit. They are grown men (yes, I know they are still your kids!). Hopefully they can take care of themselves, but this still does smack of something untoward going on. Yes, it IS remotely possible that it's a she, she's wealthy and eccentric and likes to give gifts with no strings (no pun intended) to people she's friend-ed on the internet. Logic and common occurrence do seem to weigh heavily in favor of this not being the case, and there being something to this other than what's in the open for now. Caution (extreme caution) is still well advised.

[stein]

At the core, the point is you really DON'T know this person. It could be a genuine case of philanthropy, but sinse you don't know this person enough to know that for sure, you can only go on a "guess" or what seems likely.

 

If I was doing such a thing for strangers, I would EXPECT recipients to be cautious or thing something was up. So treating me with caution would not be rude. Treating someone you don't know with caution when presented with it is not rude. If they take offense to it or demand otherwise, THAT is rude.

 

Another subject about accepting "gifts": there is something about getting something for nothing. Just because you find a sack with a million dollars doesn't mean it is yours. A gift is a gift, but unless you know the reason behind it or the motivation of the one giving, it does not automatically give someone a right to it. Getting something for nothing does not make one a better person.

[Zeppelinguy]

Damn, this in entertaining.

[Versatile]

Excellent post and subsequent thread !!

 

What a world we live in...the last 10yrs or so have re-defined safety, making friends, trust, scams, fraud etc etc....

 

The twisty turny methods fraudsters use to trap their victims is a lesson in human psychology...and an education for young and old alike

 

Many people are becoming more and more concerned with public safety issues on Facebook...divulging names, addresses, ages, photos etc

 

It used to be (quite recently) Nigerian royalty asking for help looking after £1M if you please...very amusing, apart from the naive people who were caught...

 

People have, of necessity, re-learned the meaning of Common Sense in the internet, social networking world...

 

Personal 0.02 would be to block and ignore all further exchange...no reason given...

 

It can be satisfying to see how quickly the whole 'friendship' disappears as if it never existed....

 

V

 

[AXE®]

I am a hot chick.

 

And NO!!! Do. Not. Do. It!!!

[LPguitarman]

Let me add some more insight to the matter. Not that I am in full support of this yet. She is not a Super Model. She posted, IMO, a hideous picture of herself on facebook, so I don't think it is some child molester trying to do something. Anyway, they are 21 years old and I wouldn't think a molester would go after young men, they go after children.

 

I think she is a rebelious teenager/twenties girl who has trouble with her parents and probably not too may friends just looking for attention and friendship.

 

So the dilema is WHY would she do this, unless it is one of the reasons mentioned above? And...should they accept it?

 

They both have guitars now for more than 8 years. Epiphone LP and Thunderbird. The ones she has supposedly bought them are their dream guitars, which makes the issue even harder to resolve, because they are seeing it as someone who just wants to help them out, which is what she told them.

 

We could keep going on and on on this topic. I guess we'll just have to see if she really comes through when it gets closer to the time (end of July). If she starts acting suspicious, we can stop it immediately. I'm thinking I want to see how this plays out in the next couple of months, but not commit to anything yet. See what kind of additional conversations she has with them. Maybe even get them to ask for a phone number so I can actually talk to her rather than hear it second hand through Facebook chats.

 

Again thanks for all of the replies, this will really be interesting to see the outcome either way.

[Big Bill]

You have to keep us posted as it goes along. This is better than any movie that's out, the suspense is killing me.

[hellion102792]

Back when I started high school, after seeing To Catch a Predator a few times, some friends and I would occasionally copy it and go mess with people in chat rooms. We'd say we were 13 year old girls and get these disgusting people (always later admitted they were older) to call us and arrange something...little did they know, the numbers we gave them were to the police department of wherever they said they were from. Funny, but pathetic in the sense that it worked every time.

 

I only say this because having done that, I know that it is INCREDIBLY easy to deceive people on the internet. I'd say this should be the one you let get away, just my opinion. As people have said it's not always a liar at the other end, but this case just sounds so...strange. I'm glad to hear you didn't just let this happen though, keep us posted and good luck.

[Guest farnsbarns]

I can guess the end of this story and it goes like this...

 

"X,Y and Z outrageous thing has happened, I have these guitars but I need to borrow $X to drive/stay or ship etc to you."

 

I'd be prepared to put money on it.

[MissouriPicker]

I'd keep this person as far away from my family as possible. The good thing is that you are aware of it. The bad thing is that this person is out there.

[ChanMan]

Let me add some more insight to the matter. Not that I am in full support of this yet. She is not a Super Model. She posted, IMO, a hideous picture of herself on facebook, so I don't think it is some child molester trying to do something. Anyway, they are 21 years old and I wouldn't think a molester would go after young men, they go after children.

 

I think she is a rebelious teenager/twenties girl who has trouble with her parents and probably not too may friends just looking for attention and friendship.

 

So the dilema is WHY would she do this, unless it is one of the reasons mentioned above? And...should they accept it?

 

They both have guitars now for more than 8 years. Epiphone LP and Thunderbird. The ones she has supposedly bought them are their dream guitars, which makes the issue even harder to resolve, because they are seeing it as someone who just wants to help them out, which is what she told them.

 

We could keep going on and on on this topic. I guess we'll just have to see if she really comes through when it gets closer to the time (end of July). If she starts acting suspicious, we can stop it immediately. I'm thinking I want to see how this plays out in the next couple of months, but not commit to anything yet. See what kind of additional conversations she has with them. Maybe even get them to ask for a phone number so I can actually talk to her rather than hear it second hand through Facebook chats.

 

Again thanks for all of the replies, this will really be interesting to see the outcome either way.

 

 

If they are 21, they are adults. I have sons who are 20 and 22, I can empathise. Hopefully you have a respected opinion. No way in hell, though, we're letting ANY stranger come into our house. We've met folks we've only known over the web and they are some of the greatest folks you'd want to know. ( None of them brought us even token gifts.) We always met them out in public... typically at a restraunt. Dinner and conversation. Get to know them and decide if we like them.

 

Good luck in whatever decision y'all make. Oddly, if not for the far-too-extravagant gifts, I'd say go for it. As it stands, it smells too much like puppies-in-the-white-van to me. If you're gonna catch big fish, you gotta use big bait.

 

That's all I'm sayin'.

[Tman5293]

All I have to say on this subject is BAIL OUT NOW!!!!

 

I have thoroughly analyzed the data and have determined that there is no possibility of a positive outcome to this situation.

[bonzoboy]

This could be a prime chance to get another predatory pervert off the streets.Contact the authorities and see if they would be interested in doing a reverse "sting" operation and rather than have your sons meet "her" at a designated place get a couple of plainclothes policemen there to meet "her" as the chances of this being above board are astronomically slim.

[Zeppelinguy]

Why would a pedophile be going after 21-year-olds?

[bonzoboy]

@ Zepplinguy,one needn't be a "pedaphile" to be a predator as Jeff Dahmer so viciously proved when his victims were young men in the late teens and early 20s as did John Wayne Gacy.This could very well be someone of the same ilk,posing as a well-meaning young lady who is for some reason so smitten with the young men that she's willing to give them big money guitars.

[Zeppelinguy]

Bonzoboy, I agree that the individual in question almost surely has bad intentions, but I don't think it's an impostor. I think it's more likely to be a scam of sorts.