New Spammer Joined DK, Already Reported

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Ignore and delete messages & comments  from this spammer "Ahuva Baginski":
https://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/profile/show?id=AhuvaBaginski...;

I've already reported her to Adina.

Here's the comment she left me: 

At 6:55am on August 11, 2018, Ahuva Baginski said…

Greeting to you my beloved one, I'm monica borwn Benedicte.a United State army general from the United States of America i have something to tell you just just contact me with my email [e-mail]

"Monica Brown" or "monica borwn Benedicte", which is it, Ahuva?

You're a general in the "United State army" and you're in Jerusalem? 

I hear the weather is great there.

Just a tip, most people feel uncomfortable when strangers call them "my beloved one". 

Don't you wish these people would put their time and talents to good use, i.e. some honest endeavor?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

She's all over the internet. Here's a comment she left on someone's page on another site, and this is only one of thousands. Now she's a soldier, must have been demoted:
At 7:25am on August 4, 2018, Ahuva Baginski said…

My name is Ahuva, I'm a Soldier from Israel. I picked interest on you after going through your short profile and demand it necessary to write you immediately. I have something very vital to disclose to you, but I found it difficult to express myself here, since it's a public site.Could you please get back to me on ([e-mail]) for the full details.
Have a nice day,
Ahuva.

Can anyone explain to me why people do this? What do they gain from it? 

[Richard Crowe]

Can anyone explain to me why people do this? What do they gain from it? 

Access to your email account!

[Stacy]

And I'm sure down the line they're looking for money in some way. But do people really fall for that sort of thing? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So it's like another one of those email scams where they tell you they are trying to get the $20 million dollars their husband left them and in return for your help, they will share it with you?
Seems like a lot of trouble to go to on the off chance that you will hit on someone stupid enough to believe your lies. 

But then, all it takes is one. Wasn't it PT Barnum who said "There's a sucker born every minute"?

[Stacy]

Yes, something like that. The something special they have to share is that there's so much money in some country that they're going to send you, you just have to send them all of your money first. 

I suspect it isn't that hard, just copy paste to every forum, group, email list they can get their hands on. And they probably only get one bite for every million + pieces of spam they send. But you're right, it just takes one. Usually some poor unsuspecting older person who doesn't realize that people lie - even more on the internet than in person.

What I seem to see people falling for right now is online dating scams where you "fall in love" with this person you've never met and they just need a little money to come to America, or buy a plane ticket to come visit you or... It's exceptionally easy to think you've fallen in love online. There's something about pouring your heart out to a computer screen that is so much easier than a real relationship, and people get sucked in.

Stuff like we see here should be very easy to spot and ignore. It's so old school and obvious that I'm surprised people are still doing it, but it must have worked at least once so they're going to keep trying. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can't imagine falling in love online. That doesn't seem easy to me at all. But I guess I'm in the minority. 

[Stacy]

Much to my chagrin, I did it once. A long time ago, when the internet was just becoming a thing. And he was the real deal, exactly who he said he was. We've hung out, he even came to visit and stayed at my place once after we were adults. He's still a good friend more than 20 years later. We had the most amazing email conversations. I tied up my parents phone line for days at a time.

Unfortunately in real life he is incredibly insecure and needy and despite our plans to go to college together and get married I can't handle more than a couple hours at a time with him. But the computer romance was wonderful.

In person I always feel shy and awkward. Online I can edit and delete and proofread to make sure that what I'm saying is really what I'm trying to convey. If I could just edit real life the same way... My words always come out wrong and I sound stupid. Too much eye contact becomes physically painful. The internet was made for people like me. I'm much better behind a computer.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I disagree. I've spoken to you.

I think that what comes across in real life that doesn't come across online, no matter how well we edit, is well, real. A real human being, uneditted. I really think that is who we fall in love with, or not. 

[Stacy]

And I think that's exactly the reason that for the most part online love only works online. It's a fantasy. When you add all the real stuff it changes everything, for better or worse.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I met my husband playing online computer games lol.  We met in person before we started dating though and we're we're from the same city :p. Very different from that long distance love thing which I also find weird.  I would say though that we were probably nearly in love before we officially started dating just from our platonic conversations online.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Maybe "in like", lol. "Nearly in love" seems like "a little bit pregnant" to me. Either you are or you aren't. I do think love grows out of like, though.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I think what I mean is that it took that in-person meeting to actually get things rolling but it really didn't take long after that.  If we never met in person it likely wouldn't have gone anywhere.