S/O Beggars, Moochers and Scammers

[VorFemme]

I've recently joined an Internet dating site. I have been getting at least one message a day from different guys who are all around 19 or 20yo (I'm 40). I've got a reasonably healthy self-image but I really can't imagine I'm suddenly irrisistible to teenage boys. I feel like it must be a scam but I can't figure it out. They aren't especially hot guys or anything, just ordinary looking kids.

Any ideas, or are there really a seemingly endless supply of boys looking for Mrs Robinson?

Boys that age are probably just looking for willing partners and figure an older woman won't have strings.  And they believe that old study saying boys are at their sexual prime at 18-20 and women at 35-40.   

Also, it's well-known that older women are grateful!

After all, Ben Franklin wrote that in his letters.....

[Jones]

Apparently my best bud, Jennifer Aniston, can help me lose weight. Also got an email from Katy Perry about dating.
I must be in high demand socially.

[Shalamar]

Me too!  I seem to be BFFs with Jen, Angelina Jolie, Katy Perry, and Oprah now.  I'm sorry; I won't be able to hang out on these boards anymore - I'm moving up in the world! 

[GraceSullivan]

I usually say "yeah, sure", roll my eyes, and chuck the mail. But I'm not clear on what they're expecting to happen. Is it all a ploy to lure me to the dealership? Are they going to try and hook me with a new car and then give me a much lower trade-in on my car? I've always wondered what would happen if I walked into the dealership and tried to get the high cash amount they keep offering me, and refused to even look at other vehicles.

Yes, it's a ploy - and if you went in and didn't look at another car, they'd find a reason not to give you the deal. In many areas, used cars are holding their value so well, and are in such demand, that they are worth enough to justify that extra $$ from the dealer. Many folks are preferring used because of the economy, either not wanting to spend the money, not able to get financing, or don't want to drive something flashy when others can't.

I get them ALL THE TIME. Even since we moved. On my 2006 Kia van. If they're that desperate for a car that old, makes me wonder what they'd offer me for my 1997 Camry!

I got  that letter today.  They want to buy back my 2012 Rav 4.  The one I bought new 33 days ago. The stationary has my dealer's name on it, but the return address is a different state. I suspect it came from a corporate office.

Toyota is just great [sarcasm] with those.  Same thing happened when I bought my 4Runner back in 2006--I got them for years.  I don't get them anymore, though.  Apparently my car is now past its prime (but if they only knew about the dog fur and dog slobbery windows, I'm sure they'd want it then!).

I bought a MINI last August, and haven't seen anything similar from BMW--they must know that Miniacs would never sell their babies!

[Carotte]

Here's a sample of fake 'important' mail that some of you (I never did) might have received:
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/2013/envelopes/

[MommyPenguin]

I love the part about "nothing says important like "or current resident.""

[2littlemonkeys]

Here's a sample of fake 'important' mail that some of you (I never did) might have received:
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/2013/envelopes/

I think we've received a couple of those.  It's usually obvious once you open it that it's junk and not official business.

[jedikaiti]

I usually say "yeah, sure", roll my eyes, and chuck the mail. But I'm not clear on what they're expecting to happen. Is it all a ploy to lure me to the dealership? Are they going to try and hook me with a new car and then give me a much lower trade-in on my car? I've always wondered what would happen if I walked into the dealership and tried to get the high cash amount they keep offering me, and refused to even look at other vehicles.

Yes, it's a ploy - and if you went in and didn't look at another car, they'd find a reason not to give you the deal. In many areas, used cars are holding their value so well, and are in such demand, that they are worth enough to justify that extra $$ from the dealer. Many folks are preferring used because of the economy, either not wanting to spend the money, not able to get financing, or don't want to drive something flashy when others can't.

I get them ALL THE TIME. Even since we moved. On my 2006 Kia van. If they're that desperate for a car that old, makes me wonder what they'd offer me for my 1997 Camry!

I got  that letter today.  They want to buy back my 2012 Rav 4.  The one I bought new 33 days ago. The stationary has my dealer's name on it, but the return address is a different state. I suspect it came from a corporate office.

Toyota is just great [sarcasm] with those.  Same thing happened when I bought my 4Runner back in 2006--I got them for years.  I don't get them anymore, though.  Apparently my car is now past its prime (but if they only knew about the dog fur and dog slobbery windows, I'm sure they'd want it then!).

I bought a MINI last August, and haven't seen anything similar from BMW--they must know that Miniacs would never sell their babies!

I got a MINI back in 2007, and a few months later, I got a box in the mail "Essential Motoring Nonessentials" - things like a smiling antenna topper, a secret message decoder to use on MINI ads, a mousepad, a really nice pen, and other goodies. I think when BMW bought them, they gave the marketing department a blank check and told them to have fun.

Since then, I've gotten 1 call from the dealership - I think back in 2010? - seeing how the MINI was working for me. I think they were hoping I might trade it in for a new one, but were informed that it was going great and I was hoping to keep it for a few more years. :-)

[Iris]

Apparently my best bud, Jennifer Aniston, can help me lose weight. Also got an email from Katy Perry about dating.
I must be in high demand socially.

Gee, with her tremendous relationship track record, who WOULDN'T want advice from Katy Perry? 

[gramma dishes]

Last night I got a huge flashing red bar across the bottom of my screen inviting me to view my arrest record!!   

Uh, I've never been arrested (that I remember anyway) and I can't imagine what that was all about, but it was interesting.  My guess is that they figure people who have been might click on and then in order to show you your 'arrest record' you'd have to supply them with your name, address and other personal information.

Needless to say, I made the difficult decision to pass on that particular opportunity.   

[ACBNYC]

Here's one I am wondering about:

My Mom once got a spam that had been spoofed to look like it came from one of my e-mail addys - a rather old one on Yahoo!, actually, that I recently revived for wedding planning. I changed my password and didn't think too much on it.

However, she keeps occasionally getting spam/scam e-mails that say they're from my first & last name (say, Jedi Kaiti), but with a wholly different e-mail address - usually Yahoo! it seems, but I'm not 100% certain on that. The thing is, she is the ONLY person getting these (or at least to have mentioned it to me), and come to find out today, she's gotten some similar ones purporting to be from one of my cousins, as well!

I'm a little baffled - it can't be that someone got my contacts from that account, there are only 2 in there, neither of whom are Mom. Maybe they scraped info out of the sent mail folder, but then why haven't my DF, MOH, or officiant gotten these emails - to say nothing of photographers and other service providers I've been corresponding with.

I'm a little confoosled.

My mom's gotten two emails recently - one labeled to look like it came from my brother, and one labeled to look like it came from me. Thankfully mom noticed that the emails are different from the ones we use (and why on earth would we email her when we're both in the house with her?).

I've gotten a couple of these recently.  It does worry me a bit - they will be coming "from" my aunt or friend but with the wrong email address.  They ALSO use my first name in the email title.  And this has been to my work email no less.

I've noticed this recently, too. To Gmail's credit, they are going to spam. But here's the creepy thing. One of my brothers uses Facebook under a modified name--think John Smithers instead of John Smith. One of these spammy emails came from "John Smithers." He uses that name no where else. My Facebook hasn't been hacked but my friends list is public, so I think they're using software to crawl for names and then using the associated Facebook email address.

[gramma dishes]

^^^  That may be, but I've gotten a couple of emails from my own email address and I am NOT on Facebook (and never have been), so they're getting those addresses somewhere else too.

[wolfie]

Apparently my best bud, Jennifer Aniston, can help me lose weight. Also got an email from Katy Perry about dating.
I must be in high demand socially.

Gee, with her tremendous relationship track record, who WOULDN'T want advice from Katy Perry? 

Katy Perry is obviously asking Jones for dating advice!

[Where's the Quiet?]

I get scammy emails every day but today I got my first threatening charging me with money laundering and "smuggling of currencies." I have three business days to send them my ownership clearance certificate to claim my $10.5 million brought in by a "courier personal." I think my favorite line in the whole thing is this: "...if you forward the Ownership Clearance Certificate then we will release courier lady to come deliver to you your consignment box also gives you every back up on the money."

I'm quaking in my boots!

[Hillia]

I get scammy emails every day but today I got my first threatening charging me with money laundering and "smuggling of currencies." I have three business days to send them my ownership clearance certificate to claim my $10.5 million brought in by a "courier personal." I think my favorite line in the whole thing is this: "...if you forward the Ownership Clearance Certificate then we will release courier lady to come deliver to you your consignment box also gives you every back up on the money."

I'm quaking in my boots!

But don't you want them to release the poor courier lady?

Cry havoc, and release the couriers of spam!