The fake ones on the internet !

29. Desember 2021

Once upon a time people shared letters and became friends, sometimes even husbands and wives.

Now adays it’s the internet, and people meet there and become friends and even husbands and wives.

During Covid times, when people are stuck in their homes and have not seen their friends for months and months and are lacking all the normal life, the fakes appear and some fall for them.

Last year a group of friends did research on the dating Facebook page. We wanted to see how it worked and how the fakes managed to get to people and have them believe they were for real.

A lot interesting came up. Fake profiles, fake pictures, even the same pictures on different profiles and so on.

We also found out that these fake persons used similar words and expressions.

They lured into your life and then suddenly they wanted you to go to the supermarket and buy some cards for them, was one example. These cards were for computer gaming, I think. When you told them there was no Walmart where you lived, they did not believe you he he he.

These fraud ones want to know a lot about your life, your pictures, your family, your work and so on but they share very little about themselves.

Instagram was interesting. There you got friend requests or a message from someone that wanted to connect with you and after a short conversation they asked you to download hangout and talk to them there. These were the creepiest in my opinion and from all around the world.

One that connected with me was from Korea and I found that interesting because I don´t know anything about South Korea. He told me he was a famous actor and was going to Canada to make a movie.

I wanted a video call to see the person and talk to him!

I got the video!  Half a minute clip with the Korean actor where he smiled and said good morning!!!

I asked is this really the video call????

Yes, it is was!

Of course, I knew this was fake and I blocked the person, which I really don´t know if it was a man or a woman but I know for sure it was not the actor!

I could tell many stories about the strange HONEST men that connected with me during this research.

The doctor, who was in fact a picture of a famous actor who was in some series playing a doctor!

Some men from Africa connected through Instagram. One was a very angry young African man and I wonder if he was actually real but when he began to ask about my opinion about relationship, I blocked him.

We, the research group have been friends for a long time and live around the world but did meet on the internet once a week for a chat, talking about books, teaching, food, cooking, life in general and the Covid situation and how everything was changing. We decided to investigate how the dating system on Facebook worked and it took us few weeks to figure it out and then we finished the task.

We learned a lot. We learned how the internet can be destroying and we appreciated it in another way, helping us to keep in touch and share our interests, even though faraway.

There are signs you should be looking for if you are contacted by someone on the internet and you want to make sure you are talking to a real person just be careful.

Look for this:

Are they asking you for money?

Are they sharing with you or just asking you to share?

Do they use sweet talk on you?

Do they want you to talk just by messages or can you call them anytime you like by video calls?

If they ask you to go on hangout, please be careful.

There is a lot of information on the internet about the fakes. Just google it and you will find a lot.

There are honest people on the internet and you can find them, just keep your eyes open.

Decades ago, people found love through sharing letters. There are many beautiful stories about that and the love poems and letters are a treasure.

Nowadays we use the internet to connect with people, and even more during the Covid time.

Don´t let your prejudges hamper you.

Look for the best in people and you might even find your future love simply by talking through the internet.

Good friends are like a diamond shining in the water. Keep your good friends and leave the fake ones.

I hope you all have a wonderful new year and perhaps you will meet your destiny on the way and become even happier this coming year.

Hulda Björnsdóttir