Need an Opinion on This One!

by Barb
(Montvale, NJ, USA)

Greetings! Ok, so I was legitimately scammed 3 times. Well, almost. They were all textbook cases so I didn’t really get conned out of anything except I was rather hurt emotionally with one. And it angers me that I keep being targeted.

Anyway...I’ve met someone new and it’s totally different this time but I am SO wary of things now!! No typical warning signs have shown up so I wanted an opinion. I am going to keep things vague though because I feel so silly and in case I’m just being paranoid.

I met this guy on Tinder first of all, which I have not seen people mention that scammers are using. I can see why, it’s complete luck of the draw - if you don’t both swipe you don’t get to chat. It’s not like other sites where you can message anyone you want. So he was visiting family in my state but not that close by and was heading back Home and we had a hard time coordinating meeting.

He lives across the country, literally. Is 32, also unusual for a scammer. Has a VERY good job that is absolutely nothing even close to being an oil rig guy or “businessman.”

We just hit it off right away. We chat every day and it was ME who suggested we chat off the app, not him. And he was the one who asked me to send him a pic to make sure I was real lol. I did the same with him. So I will admit it’s been really intense but I’m a pretty intense person. He doesn’t use weird phrases really. He even used the word “dope” yesterday describing something. We tried video chatting the other night but it seemed like my phone was having issues, hard to tell. I could hear him and not see him and he said the same for me and then it would disconnect.

We’ve totally gotten into a routine and I do love it. His job does call for strange hours. That is, if it’s real. That’s the thing. I can’t stop this nagging feeling. And I feel so guilty!!

The thing that bothers me the most is that I can’t find any evidence of him on the internet. BUT he said he wasn’t one for social media. I mean, is that weird??? I know plenty of people that don’t have Facebook. Also, he is not originally from the US. I won’t say where but it’s not Africa lol. It’s a safe European country and he came here for college. I also took all of the photos he’s sent me and put them through reverse image searches and nothing came up. That’s good, right????

So am I just being paranoid?? He is supposedly coming to visit me soon and we’re both super excited. He has NOT asked me for money, iTunes cards, nothing. And I’ve even casually mentioned I’m broke just to see how he reacts. lol. I feel like I’m crazy. And also feel like a jerk for doubting.

What do you guys think????