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
If they stole the addresses from inmates' letters and begin writing another person on the outside, the first inclination would be for that person to mention it to her guy on the inside, the one she is writing. Then her son or husband or whomever, once alerted, would confront the guy and the scheme would backfire.
But inmates are not stupid. They usually compile their 20 name list and then find a way to get shipped to another prison so they do not have to deal with the son or father or boyfriend there in prison. It is easier to claim that they found the name and address on a pen pal list that way also.
I have even seen inmates go to such extremes as to pick a fight with another inmate, knowing that he will get caught and shipped to another facility.
This is not called a CON game for nothing. The CON means it is a CONfidence game and it does work with enough planning if they find the right target.
rewdiazepam
I had a neighbor who stayed in the next cell from my cell---a young black guy---who was pulling these scams on young unsuspecting white girls---snowbunnies he called them. BTW, he was now a "preacher" because while in prison he got a mail order preachers license for ten dollars from some mail order house.
It was an actual license and looked very official.
So one day he come over and I said, "Tony, I hope to hell you are not just using these young women. I thought you were a preacher."
He said with a straight face, "Mr REW, even Gods messengers have to eat."
A true story.
rewdiazepam
Please let us know (if you can) if your friend gets restitution.
Rew I've seen this scam done before but hear one guy got the lady to come see had the whole relationship thing going even ask her to marry him, used her address as his and got paroled to it a week after he was out we herd he had moved out and they where no longer together....started with him writing to her.
It worked well for one guy I knew until two of the women-- who did not know each other and was unaware of each other's existence---- showed up at the prison to visit him on the same day. Scam got awry.
rewdiazepam
A few months later, he asked me if I would order some glasses for a fellow inmate, if the inmate sent me a check. I was happy to do so and went through the same process for his friend. We communicated back and forth through my son. The other inmate did send me a check, after deciding which frame style he preferred. I waited until I received the check before ordering the glasses. He was very happy with the glasses, after they arrived and that's the last I've heard from that inmate.
A few months after that, I did the same thing for yet another inmate and I don't feel that these guys were trying to scam me at all. I was happy to help. All it cost me was a little time on the computer and I was happy to help my son be a good friend to guys he has to live with 24/7.
I had an address at the time that was a mail forwarding service, so if anyone had tried to show up at my door, they would have ended up at a mail box store.
I have since moved and have been using my physical address when I write to my incarcerated sons. However, after reading these stories, I've decided to get myself a post office box tomorrow and use only that, when I write to my sons from now on.
Once again, my profound thanks to you, Rew, for all your wisdom.