strange online contact

**applefat** · 04-01-11, 07:42 AM

First of all let me preface this with the fact that I am a 22yo male, but I do not particularly consider myself a naive person nor naive internet user. I am fully aware of the danger that online relationships with strangers can pose. But I know that we all get fooled in these matters at some time or another.

Now anyway a couple months back I got a message on Facebook from another user that basically looked like a piece of spam from an unknown 26 year old female user. It basically described herself and how she was looking for a long term relationship and gave her IM contact. I sent a reply basically saying that her account might have been hacked, since I cannot think of a reason somebody would want to solicit a random stranger in that way except if they are up to no good. Other than that I didn't think much of it until recently when I decided to IM this person out of curiosity. Maybe this was a mistake.

I IM her, and immediately she starts typing out her biography. Her mother is dead, then transferred to and was raised by aunt, later who died of cancer. Says she is an American in Nigeria working a nurse addressing AIDs/HIV, and has another year before she returns. Soon she starts telling me how she loves me and when her term is up she wants to relocate to where I am and marry me. I'm not kidding!! All of this comes from a total of maybe less than 2hrs total online contact! She claims that it was love at first sight, and I guess it must have been, since all she could have seen at the time on Facebook was my profile picture! Now I must add that while I do not consider myself ugly, I have NEVER felt that I was particularly good-looking and am in fact generally self-conscious about my appearance.

I do not react to any of this strange behavior. I'm not an asshole, but I promise nothing and I tell her up front that I don't trust people I meet online in the way that she apparently totally "trusts" me. Basically I was trying to find out what her game was.

So I look around her Facebook page. There's not much there at all, but almost all her friends at least appear to be African. He has what I can only assume to be pictures of herself on there too, and they are all basically glamor shots. She is honestly pretty, assuming it's actually her.

So today more in this vein. She is never on for more than about an hour, and only every few days. Her computer appears to disconnect every 30 minutes or so. She sends to me ("because she loves me") a couple of what are basically slutty pictures of her (I assume her!!) . Not nude, but clearly glamor shots bringing attention to her body. I must add that she has not asked any questions about myself. I could be an axe murderer for all she knows.

So these were my initial thoughts:
1) she's actually a man, or some kind of predator in general
2) she's trying to play some kind of nasty game, and possibly with more than one person
3) her story is true, but she's got some kind of personality disorder or emotional problem

At this point I should also mention that I'm wanting to be in a relationship. Not desperate exactly, but I am serious in my effort. So I guess that the only reason I'm even talking to her at this point is because I believe that (3) is at least semi-plausible.

Any thoughts in general? Should I just totally disengage and run for the hills???!

**Raze** · 04-01-11, 08:07 AM