The online predators who tried to make me a target.

I’d like to say I’m able to see the good in people. But in recent times I’ve discovered new depths that a predator will turn to. Back in February I lost my wife to cancer, and since her passing I’ve now twice become a target on social media, from scumbags posing as young women who want to, “get to know me more”.

The first was obvious and I could smell a rat within five minutes. “She” had only two photos on her Facebook profile. The images showing a curvaceous young girl probably in her twenties wearing skimpy clothes that barely touched the edges. She said she was a hairdresser from Texas who claimed to have lost both parents at the age of four. And the only thing that would make her happy was “a real man to make her feel like a queen”.

Now I may be vulnerable right now, but I’m not stupid; so, decided to play along and waste their time. For the next hour we chatted, and I fed her a pack of lies saying I was 98 years old, live in a straw house on Bodmin moor and take my annual holiday in Azerbaijan. But no matter what I threw her way, she still came back professing my profile photos made her have special feelings towards me. It was a complete crock of s**t!

However, this was a children’s playground compared to my next stalker. Here, with just a single photo on their LinkedIn profile they amassed over 500 connections. This one was more subtle than the last and the conversation was slower. They initiated the dialogue stating they were bored due to lockdown and just fancied a chat. I’m far from looking for a new partner but I am lonely, especially in this wretched lockdown. So a chat with a connection on a professional business platform was a welcome relief. Over the next few days, we would each leave the occasional message as they tried to gain my trust. But when I started to ask more about them, I began to get suspicious with their answers, and it wasn’t long before the same pattern started to emerge.

The person in question went by the name of Malissa, and said they were a 33-year-old travelling nurse from Canada. However, a quick search of their profile photo revealed two interesting things. “Malissa’s” LinkedIn photo is identical to a Facebook profile under the name of Alia dating back to 2016. Further research however reveals the actual person in the profile photo is 36-year-old American born Playboy model, Sara Jean Underwood.

I’ve notified both LinkedIn and Facebook that this photograph is being used on these popular platforms so hopefully they will take appropriate action. As for “Malissa”, I told her I was going to write this article and asked why she had made a fake profile. Within minutes, it was amusing to see her side of the conversation had disappeared, and the profile was instantly deleted. In the meantime, for anyone else who thinks they can take advantage of someone who is recently widowed, my advice to you, is don’t waste your time with me!

I’m now having to readjust back into the single life once more and deal with my loss. My wife was the most wonderful person you could ever meet. She was kind, funny, warm hearted and generous. Now I have a massive hole in my heart that will never properly heal. She may not physically be with me, but I will still always love her, until the end of time.

To see more about how cancer in the family really affects your life, click on the link below to follow my wife’s journey as she dealt with dealing with this wretched disease.

https://davidwalkerfj.blogspot.com/2019/10/cancer-is-hell-documenting-lauras.html