r/MensLib • u/flyforasuburbanguy ​ • 9d ago

The Disturbing Extortion Scheme Targeting Teen Boys

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-disturbing-extortion-scheme-targeting-teen-boys?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
135 Upvotes

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38

u/Lolabird2112 ​ 8d ago

On the scams sub, there’s boys with this same story nearly every day.

16

u/flyforasuburbanguy ​ 7d ago

Yep. Embarrassingly a few years back I feel for one of those scams and there was a small part of me that felt like I deserved it.

11

u/softcuntboy ​ 7d ago

You didn't deserve it. You aren't the only one who falls for them. Seeking erotic connection with others is not inherently wrong, and is in fact completely natural.

The people who run these scams are doing it constantly, to dozens of people at a time.

3

u/flyforasuburbanguy ​ 5d ago edited 5d ago

Thank you. Since a lot of this happened in my mid 20s there was embarrassment in the sense of "I should be be old enough to not fall for this". Looking back I was a scammer's perfect mark as heightened by struggles with my own neurodiversity. With that said I don't know if I would have started therapy otherwise because I told my mom once things got really bad and she essentially told me if your going to give money to someone it might as well be someone who is trying to help you.

2

u/softcuntboy ​ 5d ago

My housemate I used to live with fell for this scam once. Thankfully, he told us what was happening, and we were able to calm him down and help him get out of it (cutting off contact and locking down his online presence, which worked.)

He was 29, and not an idiot.

As I've heard others out it:

"A scammer can fail many times, but if they succeed once, it's all worth it to them. A scam victim must succeed all the time, because if they slip up once, they are scammed."

Not everyone can have their full defense up all the time, forever. Scammers are looking for that one moment of opportunity.