False Online Relationship

I heard this story on the radio this morning on the way to class and thought it was a joke, so I had to investigate...

This story involves a 48 year old man (before the digital generation) from Illinios who invested two and half years of his life to an online girlfriend who was supposedly kidnapped in England on vacation. When the man called authorities to help investigate and return his girlfriend to safe keeping, he was then informed that his girlfriend was not real. He rebuted saying he wired over $200,000 to help her in times of need to accounts in Nigeria, Malaysia, US, and England. He provided identification of his 'lover' to the authorities just to be told it was a sample ID for the state of Florida.

I'm shocked that a man of mature age during a technological boom with known risks of identity theft or fallacy could be so blind and idiotic to the extent of sending $200,000 to a faceless person! This news article just goes to show one must be cautious about who you THINK you know and trust. Everyone should be aware of fallacy on the internet by now, especially a 48 year old. I believe the older generation is a little naiive when it pertains to the internet. They inform and moderate their kids' internet use to protect them but sometimes don't understand that age doesn't matter to someone like the one on the benefitting end in this article. Wake up parents, it can happen to you too!

-C

Here's the link to this ridiculour story: Fake Kidnapped Girlfriend