Families of SOs Community Group
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To all my friends on the board, especially the mothers, wives, girlfriends, and daughters who have a loved one incarcerated---
Earlier this afternoon I received a message from a dear friend who I have been communicating with for over a year. I have helped her with her son several times and her friendship is precious to me. She is a member of this board and she has a loved one in prison on a sex offense. Her board name and any other information is not important for this story, so I will just leave it at that.
Before I begin with my story, everyone here knows all the other posters, myself included, try to look out for the other inexperienced posters especially the ladies who have a loved one in prison. On several occasions I have mentioned that whenever your guy receives a letter from you that he should tear the return address---your home address---off the envelope and flush it. Nosy inmates sometimes go through another inmate's letters and steal the addresses of those who write him. I don't want anyone here receiving any unexpected letters from prison, but that is what may have happened here.
Most of the ladies here have sons, husbands, or fathers in prison on sex charges who have made a terrible mistake which led to the charges. These men are many times decent guys who have always held a job, tried their best to provide and care for their family, and look like the normal guy you might see walking down the street.
Unfortunately, your loved ones are the exception and not the rule when it comes to many inmates. There are many inmates in prison who are pure, unadulterated trash with no regard for anyone else---and some even hate themselves. I tell you this because it ties in with my story and I want to emphasize that you have NO idea of the complete lack of character or morals of many inmates, especially those housed in a medium security prison. If you went to a medium security prison for a couple of days, you would be absolutely horrified at how some of these guys live and their complete lack of any conscience. Many would shoot their mothers in the back for a dollar.
My dear friend asked me to relate her story to others on this board so that what happened to her will serve as a warning and that hopefully, it will never happen to one of the ladies on this board.
I want to remind everyone that it took a tremendous amount of courage to admit that she had been duped. Yes, she realizes that she was stupid, but we all have done stupid things before. It is only because of the high regard for her fellow posters that she has come forward in the hopes that this story might help them someday.
Here is the story----
Her son met another inmate several months back. Soon this lady, my dear friend, began getting letters from this inmate (Remember? Have your guy tear those return addresses off the letters you write and flush them).
She enjoyed his conversation and humor and a few weeks later he asked her if he could email her on Corrilinks to "just keep in touch." Their letters had always been respectful, so she told him "yes" that he could email her.
Their email communication began soon after.
This all went well and in a few weeks this inmate asked her if he could call her and that he needed some help. She asked her son about this and he thought it would be OK.
When he called he explained that he had been in the banking industry and that at the moment his finances were all tied up until July 18th when they would be released but due to his situation most of his friends had walked away and his mother badly needed money for a hospital bill. My lady friend told me that his plea sounded so genuine and she even called his mother on the telephone to verify this. She said his mother did indeed sound very old and sick and that she could not thank my lady friend enough for helping her out of a tight situation.
So my lady friend sent $5,000 via Western Union to this lady.
This inmate continued to call and was always so very thankful for my lady friend's help and he said all would be paid by July 18th, as was originally agreed. They talked about different things and my lady friend mentioned that she knew how awful it must be in prison and how she knew how desperate he was to help his sickly mother.
About a week ago, this inmate called again with another personal request for the same amount of money---$5,000----with the excuse that he needed to give it to the IRS for a payment until his money came through. She explained that it was the last amount of money she had saved and she wanted to be sure he would pay it back. He assured her his money was "on the way."
She sent him another $5,000.
A few days ago, my beloved friend received a message form Corrlinks saying this inmate she had been corresponding with could no longer be in contact with her.
Last night she received a phone call from a lieutenant at the prison where her son is housed saying to please not send this inmate any more money, as they think this has been a scam and that the FBI is investigating.
So he scammed her out of $10,000. Her heart was so big and she was so compassionate that she thought his mother needed help. He played her kindness for weakness (which I have warned everyone about before). He was your typical con artist who knew her weaknesses and knew just what to say and when to say it to get her to send him money.
SO.......ladies, if you ever receive a letter from an inmate you do not know, put the letter in an envelope, send it back to the prison, call the Warden, and tell him in no uncertain terms that you do not want to correspond with this person. Unless you are related to an inmate or have known him for 20 years, under no circumstances should you EVER have any communication with him on a personal basis.
Many inmates are nothing but con artists. They do not give a damn about you. Even if your guy knows them well, stay away. Have your guy take every precaution I have mentioned to protect your identity out here.
The same goes for this forum. NEVER give your name, email address, or phone number to ANY member unless you have known them for a long time and completely trust them. Many trolls can read these boards and they would like nothing better than to learn your identity so keep ANY identifying information out of your posts.
PROTECT YOURSELF!!!! In a PM, I still would not give out ANY info at all. You can mention your first name or if someone is trying to help you, you can mention where your guy is incarcerated, but once someone starts asking for something or gets too personal, IT IS TIME TO BACK AWAY.
I have been on this forum for two years and I don't see anyone here that is the kind of con artist this inmate was, so I hope this story has not scared anyone to the point that they are afraid to post or send a PM to another poster. All the posters here are genuine, I am pretty sure. I know most of them well and the others I have spoken to several times, so I can attest that they are OK.
My lady friend sincerely hopes that this will be a lesson to everyone here. Bless her heart, she was just too good for her own good.
God Bless you all and STAY SAFE!!!
rewdiazepam
Earlier this afternoon I received a message from a dear friend who I have been communicating with for over a year. I have helped her with her son several times and her friendship is precious to me. She is a member of this board and she has a loved one in prison on a sex offense. Her board name and any other information is not important for this story, so I will just leave it at that.
Before I begin with my story, everyone here knows all the other posters, myself included, try to look out for the other inexperienced posters especially the ladies who have a loved one in prison. On several occasions I have mentioned that whenever your guy receives a letter from you that he should tear the return address---your home address---off the envelope and flush it. Nosy inmates sometimes go through another inmate's letters and steal the addresses of those who write him. I don't want anyone here receiving any unexpected letters from prison, but that is what may have happened here.
Most of the ladies here have sons, husbands, or fathers in prison on sex charges who have made a terrible mistake which led to the charges. These men are many times decent guys who have always held a job, tried their best to provide and care for their family, and look like the normal guy you might see walking down the street.
Unfortunately, your loved ones are the exception and not the rule when it comes to many inmates. There are many inmates in prison who are pure, unadulterated trash with no regard for anyone else---and some even hate themselves. I tell you this because it ties in with my story and I want to emphasize that you have NO idea of the complete lack of character or morals of many inmates, especially those housed in a medium security prison. If you went to a medium security prison for a couple of days, you would be absolutely horrified at how some of these guys live and their complete lack of any conscience. Many would shoot their mothers in the back for a dollar.
My dear friend asked me to relate her story to others on this board so that what happened to her will serve as a warning and that hopefully, it will never happen to one of the ladies on this board.
I want to remind everyone that it took a tremendous amount of courage to admit that she had been duped. Yes, she realizes that she was stupid, but we all have done stupid things before. It is only because of the high regard for her fellow posters that she has come forward in the hopes that this story might help them someday.
Here is the story----
Her son met another inmate several months back. Soon this lady, my dear friend, began getting letters from this inmate (Remember? Have your guy tear those return addresses off the letters you write and flush them).
She enjoyed his conversation and humor and a few weeks later he asked her if he could email her on Corrilinks to "just keep in touch." Their letters had always been respectful, so she told him "yes" that he could email her.
Their email communication began soon after.
This all went well and in a few weeks this inmate asked her if he could call her and that he needed some help. She asked her son about this and he thought it would be OK.
When he called he explained that he had been in the banking industry and that at the moment his finances were all tied up until July 18th when they would be released but due to his situation most of his friends had walked away and his mother badly needed money for a hospital bill. My lady friend told me that his plea sounded so genuine and she even called his mother on the telephone to verify this. She said his mother did indeed sound very old and sick and that she could not thank my lady friend enough for helping her out of a tight situation.
So my lady friend sent $5,000 via Western Union to this lady.
This inmate continued to call and was always so very thankful for my lady friend's help and he said all would be paid by July 18th, as was originally agreed. They talked about different things and my lady friend mentioned that she knew how awful it must be in prison and how she knew how desperate he was to help his sickly mother.
About a week ago, this inmate called again with another personal request for the same amount of money---$5,000----with the excuse that he needed to give it to the IRS for a payment until his money came through. She explained that it was the last amount of money she had saved and she wanted to be sure he would pay it back. He assured her his money was "on the way."
She sent him another $5,000.
A few days ago, my beloved friend received a message form Corrlinks saying this inmate she had been corresponding with could no longer be in contact with her.
Last night she received a phone call from a lieutenant at the prison where her son is housed saying to please not send this inmate any more money, as they think this has been a scam and that the FBI is investigating.
So he scammed her out of $10,000. Her heart was so big and she was so compassionate that she thought his mother needed help. He played her kindness for weakness (which I have warned everyone about before). He was your typical con artist who knew her weaknesses and knew just what to say and when to say it to get her to send him money.
SO.......ladies, if you ever receive a letter from an inmate you do not know, put the letter in an envelope, send it back to the prison, call the Warden, and tell him in no uncertain terms that you do not want to correspond with this person. Unless you are related to an inmate or have known him for 20 years, under no circumstances should you EVER have any communication with him on a personal basis.
Many inmates are nothing but con artists. They do not give a damn about you. Even if your guy knows them well, stay away. Have your guy take every precaution I have mentioned to protect your identity out here.
The same goes for this forum. NEVER give your name, email address, or phone number to ANY member unless you have known them for a long time and completely trust them. Many trolls can read these boards and they would like nothing better than to learn your identity so keep ANY identifying information out of your posts.
PROTECT YOURSELF!!!! In a PM, I still would not give out ANY info at all. You can mention your first name or if someone is trying to help you, you can mention where your guy is incarcerated, but once someone starts asking for something or gets too personal, IT IS TIME TO BACK AWAY.
I have been on this forum for two years and I don't see anyone here that is the kind of con artist this inmate was, so I hope this story has not scared anyone to the point that they are afraid to post or send a PM to another poster. All the posters here are genuine, I am pretty sure. I know most of them well and the others I have spoken to several times, so I can attest that they are OK.
My lady friend sincerely hopes that this will be a lesson to everyone here. Bless her heart, she was just too good for her own good.
God Bless you all and STAY SAFE!!!
rewdiazepam
Inmates love to run games on people.
rewdiazepam
I don't put my full address on just name and post code I also have a po box as well to reduce the risk of someone turning up on the doorstep.
My man still rips that bit off anyway!
People prey on us because they know how vulnerable we are at this stage of our lives. Always check with someone here on the board (they know what they are talking about) they will give you good advice. Nothing is too silly to ask. PM them if it's something private or sensitive. Don't assume professionals that come to this site are on the up and up either...check them out!
Hoping these inmates are arrested and she is able to get restitution. God Bless..
Debbieo403, my son is in a county facility right now and one of their rules, no return address on the envelope, letter gets tossed.
My bf has asked me if I knew of people that might be interested in writing to inmates that get no mail. I went to a friend of mine that I know has worked in prison ministry for over 20 years. I asked him what his thoughts were about "pen pals" - strangers writing to inmates. He paused for a second and then turned and told me a story very similar to what happened to your friend, Rew. That was just Friday morning that we had that conversation so I was really surprised to see this post - almost the exact same scam.
I hope your friend can recover her money. It is so sad to me that there are people who
do these kinds of things. I'm sure there are people in prison who would benefit from receiving letters and it is a shame that people have to be so cautious to show human kindness toward another person without worrying about something like this happening.
rewdiazepam
These inmates are very resourceful and have nothing better to do than sit around thinking how to put their scams into action. They are actually proud when they are successful, as they think it shows how smart they are.
One popular scam is this----
An inmate will steal addresses from about twenty other inmates by looking at the return addresses on the letters that YOU send in. They compile their list. They may have even read the letter to see if you are "deserving" of their time.
They write each and every one of these people and the mode of operation is basically the same----they are in there on trumped up charges or were completely innocent. As a result their entire family has deserted them. They know that you are a kindly soul and they shower you with praise. They then wonder if maybe they could start writing you "once in a while" to make "their undeserved miserable existence" more tolerable. They then mention that they are only looking for friendship and your letters will be a godsend to them. They continue to go on their "butter you up" campaign, telling you how your letters have made such a difference in their life. Then they almost always throw in the "I have reformed. I did get a bad break, but I have been a born again Christian and have given my life to the Lord, blah, blah, blah.
After a few weeks, they will tell ask you "if you would be so kind to send a little money for stamps and writing paper so we can continue to write." They will go on to say "I just hated to ask and debated about asking for a long time, but your friendship means so much to me, that I thought I would just ask."
Then it continues to proceed from there. You posters get the idea here.
Your first question might be "how did you get my name and address?" They will usually say that your address appeared on a "pen pal" list that a friend sent them. The inmate will say "I don't know how your name got there, but it was there."
They are such good con men that the unsuspecting family member he is writing is like the frog you put in water. If you slowly turn up the heat in the water, the frog will not notice the water slowly getting hotter and by the time he does, the water is boiling and it is too late for him to escape the water.
The con game is so well crafted and is so insidious that it works sometimes.
The game works better on younger women as they are more susceptible to an inmates overtures. A perfect "catch" is if the young lady is lonely herself and is maybe desperately looking to find the right man to get into a relationship with.
The inmate does this with every member on his original 20 member list. He loses a few, but hooks enough to make it profitable for him.
Just heed my warnings and you will be OK. Trust me, I know most of the tricks they pull in prison.
rewdiazepam