Newbie help

[Gazza]

G'day all
Need a bit of advice.
The story goes something like this.
Wrote to girl 'A' and bombed out (story of my life)
Pity, girl 'A' is a 10+. I'm not a 10+. More like a minus 10. Probably why she dumped me :-(
Girl 'A' gives my details to girl 'B'
Girl 'B' writes to me. No photo or bio and launches into a big sob story. Please send money for postage I have no job, father have no job and mother very sick.
Didn't that get the alarm bells ringing.
A few $$ for stamps is not going to send me to the poor house but if she is going to put the bite on me in her first letter what other nasty little surprises has she got in store for me?
Now all of the above could be just a bad case of paranoia on my part but my gut feeling is to give this one a BIG miss.

Thanks
Gazza

[Gazza]

... in response to Newbie help, posted by Gazza on Nov 14, 2001

Thanks guys.
I'll take your advice and follow my gut and my gut is on it's way to the pub with me following close behind.
Gazza

[Willy]

... in response to Newbie help, posted by Gazza on Nov 14, 2001

nt

[Stephen]

... in response to Newbie help, posted by Gazza on Nov 14, 2001

You gotta go with your gut.  You're correct that a buck for postage is reasonable and is not going to break you.  On the other hand, the gal in Zamboanga City that asked me for $17,000 is probably unreasonable.  Even though she promised to repay ASAP.  Yep....I went with my gut and said "NO" to her.

Also....it's not that unusual for ladies to pass around names to other friends or relatives.  And you could get a good lady this "second-hand" way.

Best of luck to you.

Stephen

[donb2222]

... in response to Re: Newbie help, posted by Stephen on Nov 14, 2001

Is it possible she was asking for 17,000 pesos?
17,000 dollars would be about 17 years salary for
the average Filipina.
Pesos or dollars, that is still a giant red flag

[Ray]

... in response to Dollars?, posted by donb2222 on Nov 14, 2001

Don,

Maybe we should have some kind of award or recognition for the biggest red flag of all time.

This one is definitely in the running :-)

Ray

[donb2222]

... in response to Red Flag Award?, posted by Ray on Nov 14, 2001

I still remember very clearly the Filipina at Vilma's
birthday party that told me that she was marrying an older
American in the hopes that he would die soon after marriage so that she could marry someone that she truly loves.
She was a stupid gold-digger, she told everyone her plan,and thought that it would not get back to him.
She even brought her Filipino boyfriend to the party.
Fortunately one of her co-workers told the American, and he called off the wedding.

Since I never had penpals, I never received any of the red flag letters.  It might be interesting to hear some of the  more
outrageous stories.  Not sure what the prize could be.  Maybe a box full of durian and balut.

Don

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Red Flag Award?, posted by donb2222 on Nov 15, 2001

A box full of durian & balut? ROFL!

How about the “Golden Shovel Award” for the best gold digger story of the year? It looks like we have 2 nominees already.

Maybe Mr. Humabalaka would like to volunteer his services as the chief judge for the competition? He seems to have a nose for these things :-)

Ray

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Newbie help, posted by Stephen on Nov 14, 2001

Holy Cow! I guess if you're going to be a gold digger, you might as well be the best you can be (ROFL!)

So Stephen, how many nano-seconds did you have to listen to your gut on that one before you decided to bail out? :-)

Ray

[Jeff S]

... in response to Newbie help, posted by Gazza on Nov 14, 2001

Here's his conclusion:

http://www.planet-love.com/wwwboard/asian/messages/27351.html

-- Jeff S.

[tito]

... in response to Newbie help, posted by Gazza on Nov 14, 2001

tt

[Eman]

... in response to Newbie help, posted by Gazza on Nov 14, 2001

I'm just a relative newbie myself but I encountered a similiar situation once, where the correspondence turned to money requests very early on. I walked away from it even though the woman was otherwise very impressive. My sense is, and was, that there are plenty of ways for these relationships to go wrong, and if I smell even a hint of trouble I'm going to look elsewhere.
 Of course in your situation the risk is very small at this stage, but it sounds like you have virtually no info on this woman, so there is no particular reason to write to her. Why not go to other sources, get other addresses etc?. I'm not saying there's any harm in sending her a stamp, but at least don't limit your options.  
What I'm saying perhaps sounds a little harsh, but the most you can expect to do for all the poverty in the Philippines is to provide a little help for your eventual fiance/wife and her family. So you should set about finding her in the most efficient manner possible, staying clear of the numerous financial and emotional pitfalls that characterize the process.