Scammer, con artists, and fake people

10/4/2022

I was cleaning up my Instagram account recently and realized that I am still getting a lot of scammer accounts trying to message or follow me.

After 5 years of this, I still do not understand why?

When I was friends with the young Nigerian man, he said he had friends who were running scam accounts on the social media platforms. He stated that sometimes if you make them mad, then they send your profile out to other scammers. I guess that should have been my big red flag to end the friendship with him but I was still trying to believe in the goodness of others.

Until I finally had to face the realization that he never was a friend, his true colors came out when the pandemic hit. That friendship ended along with other people that I talked to online. Everyone went their own way.

Fast forward to over two years later and I am still trying to find inspiration on the social media platforms. I am also still being inundated with scam account activity on a weekly basis. I finally made the decision and unfollowed well over 900 accounts and turned my profile private. I only have 220 followers; most I have been there over 5 years. I was up to 1500 followers in the beginning but it became crazy with messages and I had to drop that down as well.

I now look very thoroughly over the accounts that want to follow and if their account is private or not. I sometimes will run a check on the profile pics and see if anything comes up. Half the time, I already recognize the photos from previous scam accounts.

I posted today on Instagram the things that I have noticed over the years.

The accounts that try to follow are usually in these same categories:

Old, grey or white haired, Caucasian male.
Young or bald, bearded, Caucasian male.
Divorced or widowed with kids, Caucasian male.
Doctor, pilot, engineer, or military, Caucasian male.
Sometimes a combination of all of these categories.

I do not know where in my profile someone out there is getting the idea that any of these qualities are attractive to me, whatsoever. Me, an Indigenous aka person of color, retired military veteran, who is an empty nester. I know times are tough but I am definitely do not have that “White Savior” complex and that has never been a part of my genetic makeup. I know how to save myself.

I also find it humorous that the profiles are usually, 10 years older or younger than me. That age range will never do because I have been there and done that before. It was too much of a hassle and a headache to deal with other people’s egos much less my own.

Also, I always check the pics, look at how old the accounts are, if they are not private, and see if they are tagged by anyone. I will look at who they follow and who was the first to follow them. If any of it does not match up with the profile or pics then I just block them automatically.

I had one recently that was funny to me because the accounts that tagged it. This person’s profile was an older, Caucasian male, engineer and former veteran, widowed with kids. The trifecta of categories as mentioned before. His first three pics were of patriotism and the American way. Guns, beer, barbecues, and grandchildren playing with pets. Then I went to the tagged portion. The first 5 posts were of green tea, flowers, poetry, the outdoors, cute little goats, and Buddhist teachings. It may be an assumption on my part but pretty certain those do not match up. Then I found a pic of a young man from definitely not the United States and he had commented about finding true love in the world. That whole account was all sorts of craziness.

The other things that usually occur right away is someone trying to message me the first thing if I follow it back. Most of the time it is someone trying to sell something, get me to do a reading, or trying to pitch a brand ambassador product. I have had few that outright asked for college tuition.

The scammer or fake people accounts always start with “I saw your picture and was so attracted to you, I had to write to you…” That always makes me laugh. Yeah, no, that did not happen and no that does not work on me. I know who I am and love at first sight does not exist, my young friend. Nice try though.

It has been a rollercoaster of a ride the last 5 years on social media that is for certain.

I have not given up on it just yet though. I still find good accounts with honest people that are doing their own thing. I am still finding inspiration in other artists, musicians, actors, creative types, public speakers, and people honestly trying to make a change or difference in the world.

The scammer and fake people accounts are just a small nuisance to deal with overall. I just find it humorous.

I will keep moving forward, staying motivated, and staying positive.

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a wonderful week!

Peace, love, happiness, and good vibes, always.

Suzanne