Scamming at the Speed of Social Networking
Connie Reece effectively summed up a scam pulled off by someone who has been building up an internet “persona” for many years, and major KUDOS to Lizard for creating an archive that illustrates the extent of this falsehood.
Internet fraud and hoaxes are not new - remember Kaycee Nicole, a fictitious person created by a woman in Kansas.
I was late in LillyAnn gate, by that would be my good fortune, because I’d probably have jumped at donating $. But still, even if I got into the action as it unfolded, I’d be slapped in the face with too many red flags, for example:
- How can someone with a Ph.D. + other degrees, a life coach and appear so intelligent have no health insurance? I get the whole “health insurance is $$$” but come on….
- LillyAnn reports being 44 years old, and is credentialed through the roof. She has 2 masters degrees, a doctorate, and various spiritual certifications that she reports came about through various institutions. Her self reported “25+ years of Reiki” alone would see her start her healing work at age 19. Maybe the lady is a genius, but getting a doctorate is no small investment in time and resources.
- … which led to my surprise that someone who went through so much trouble at getting a Ph.D. would misspell it as “P.h.D.” on LinkedIn - a network specific for professionals. (at the risk of sounding arrogant, I agonized over how I’d write my doctorate - whether I’d use Ph.D. or PhD - but I have never made the mistake of writing P.h.D.)
This is not to mention the huge bull-inviting red flag of claiming denial of service for a life threatening condition at the ER! If a person may be denied service at the ER due to lack of insurance, then our many Southern California hospitals would remain open today, instead of going out of business for servicing the countless uninsured (illegal aliens) here.
I’ll save the rest of my rants, as you can learn more for yourself if you’re so inclined.
What is important to remember in this “LillyAnn-gate”, and what Connie Reece alluded to, is the power of social networking and what happens when it is used for good and evil.
This is why I firmly believe that as swiftly as we rally in helping someone in need, we must act as quickly in uncovering someone “in greed” and looking to fleece people who are too eager to help.
uff, i got a even more insane stories about that kind of thing i have seen in my 14 years online.. you would not believe them.
ooh yes i would indeed believe; been online since mid-90s and have seen my share of fake personas. there was one chatter who introduced us to his sister, later he “got sick and died”, and we found out YEARS LATER that this chatter never existed; was a figment of the “sister’s” imagination (the sister was real, though).
amen! the important thing here is, not to let this make us all bitter and jaded and refuse to help in the future, just realize that we have to be cautious. and if anyone needs help, they need to realize that they must present proof if asked. it’s not an insult, and we should never be afraid to ask for proof.
The P.H.D that you mention is a “doctor in metaphysics” which can be procured from ULC for 29$ : http://www.ulc.net/index.php?page=shop&cat=17 for moreinfo on ULC please see : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Life_Church
Ah. And to think I spent 7 years gettin’ mine. Could have just done it in 5 minutes and $29 (but if I “act now, for a limited time only…” would I have gotten an even more incredible offer? That is the question.