Don’t fall prey to long-distance Lotharios online

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/06/2021 (1880 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: My mom got caught off-guard by an online romance scam. Perpetrators develop fake relationships with older men and women just to convince them to send money overseas.

I only found out when I casually mentioned the recent Bitcoin crash and my mom seemed to be too interested in knowing more about it. I did some digging and she finally confessed sending money to someone overseas!

When this “overseas friend” asked for more money, she finally realized something fake was going on. She is heartbroken, and out just under $1,000. It could have been a lot worse.

This is more of a word of warning to people out there. Don’t send money to people overseas, unless they’re family. New romantic partners should not be asking for cash!

When I told mom some of these guys are sitting in info-cafés with an overseer making them work these scams, she was saddened and shocked. —A Warning to All, Southdale

Dear Warning: Often the series of romantic messages is pre-scripted as the scam artists hook a lady (or a man) and reel them in with online compliments and a big sob story, and then ask for the money.

It is worth it for all people looking for remote love to study up on the different long-distance money scams that hinge on faked romance, as many of them are quite well-known.

 

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: My wife moved all her stuff to the upstairs bedroom because I snore so bad every night she claims she can’t sleep. She’s worn ear plugs for years and hates doing it.

My dad snored and my mom put up with it because she loved him!

My wife says it’s past time I got help for my snoring. She won’t listen to my pleas to stay in our bed. I’ve already tried all the non-invasive anti-snoring methods like sleeping on my side between pillows or wearing a tennis ball taped to my back.

Yesterday, we had it out and it got ugly. She said, “You’re 60 pounds overweight with a fat gut, and it’s no wonder you snore like a freight train.” She finished by saying, “You’ve gotten so overweight you could drop dead from a heart attack.”

She talked like I’m lucky she doesn’t leave me. I’m thinking she’s lucky I don’t leave her, because I pay for everything.

She has never worked outside the home a day in her life. Yet she runs, curls, plays poker with the girls and goes away to Mexico with those women — on my dime.

Our kids have been gone for six years and our marriage is in worse trouble than she knows because, actually, I don’t love her like I used to. I can’t remember the last time we had sex. —“Freight Train,” South Winnipeg

Dear Freight Train: Let’s talk about you. Why not talk to your doctor and get some help with your health?

As for the snoring, the overnight sleep test is painless and you may end up being prescribed a machine and mask for bedtime breathing which stops the snoring.

You can fix the problem, so why not get back to happiness in the bedroom, better sleeps and moods, and a good relationship with your wife?

As for losing some weight, you’ll become healthier and you’ll look better and feel sexier to your wife. That could help your marriage get back on track.

 

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: My wife and I disagree on when it is appropriate to get our kid a cellphone.

I say our boy can have one when he can pay for it himself! She thinks it’s important for safety living in the city, and says he should have one by the time he’s eight!

I think eight is absurd. She has offered to compromise at 10, but that still seems insanely young.

At 10, kids should be outside playing and scraping their knees and catching bugs, not beginning a lifelong addiction to electronics and social media.

Not to mention the internet is a scary place and it’d be nearly impossible to supervise his online activity with a smartphone.

Am I being unreasonable? Is she? We need an outside opinion. —Protecting His Childhood, South Osborne

Dear Protecting: Times have changed and young kids eight to 10 often have cellphones.

For the parent it’s an electronic connection if you need to locate him when he’s off somewhere. It’s also a safety line for him if he’s about to get beaten up or some stranger is trying to pick him up in a car.

Does he routinely walk home from things, or are you always picking him up? Safety is the important question, not so much his age.

 

Send questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.