hey everyone. i'll cut to the chase:
be careful of users like https://lemmy.world/u/Sadbunny3. we met 18 days ago and privately messaged each other a few days before exchanging contact information. i thought her speaking style was "odd" but not off. conversations flowed logically, past texts were referenced and thread replied to.. everything seemed rather genuine. this person appealed to me as somebody wanting a friend. we shared interests and then our personal lives. over the next few days i was told that this person wanted to help me out of my financial predicament that i confessed i was in.
i pushed back. i brought up how i felt uncomfortable, how i was disbelieving in their kindness, and they reassured me every step of the way that there are good people out there and sometimes good things do happen. they agreed with me that there are tons of bad actors out there, but they wanted to convey their seriousness to me, and that they weren't pulling my leg.
it took me another day or so to be willing to have them walk the walk. they asked how much my expenses were and started adding up totals. again, i called attention to the fact this was very, very strange. i didn't understand why somebody who knew so little of me valued me so much. in a way, i wanted to believe this was possible. i wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, a new friend was that generous.
lol
lmao
guys
no
as they were setting things up today they told me they were going to ask their accountant to wire me money (this was supposedly a therapist which explained their gaps in responses). i said ok thinking still that this was not going to happen. then, they informed me they had to send a check and blah blahFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK...noooo i'm so dumb godddddd!!!!! i said nahhh, not comfortable giving out my address. then they hit me with a "ohhh it'll be an email that is quick, easy, and convenient!" y'know, the way people talk to each other?
18 days. they pursued me for two weeks. i called them out and dialed their number until they answered. silence on the other end; not a single sound other than breathing. i blocked them and came to Lemmy to see if they were trying to message me or others. nope! and guess what? they stopped making public posts 18 days ago. they got me. they didn't need the account anymore.
i was floored. i have avoided many, many scams online. i ultimately prevented my first but it got uncomfortably far. i trusted someone i shouldn't have when there were red flags early. however, i didn't know those were red flags now in 2025. somebody not having the most fluid way of texting can be explained, but now i have to consider that a tell if things don't add up. idk just make sure you are being more skeptical nowadays, please. don't get scammed like i almost did.
The check scam is ssooooooo old. It’s Venmo me that cash or no thanks lol
Anyway, your problem was talking to ANYONE on the internet privately whom you have not physically touched.
Glad you’re ok.
hah, aw.. nahhhh... one of my closest friends is like a sister to me and we've never physically met. we've been friends for over 20 years! but thanks lol. honestly, this really bothered me because i am usually very cautious and i know how to genuinely make friends online with actual, real life people who aren't trying to scam me. OR SO I THOUGHT!
If you want, I could send you a check to help you out? 🥰
wait a minute. something doesn't seem right here. 🤔 ..i better spend 18 days talking to you just to make sure.
If you can talk to me for 18 days without wanting to block me, I probably would want to send you money lol.
i accept the challenge. what's your favorite horror film?
So, I don’t have a favorite-favorite—I have a favorite per year? There are just so many good ones (and bad ones, but those are usually good enough for me anyway).
In 2025 I really liked Cuckoo and Dead Mail, but I make an effort to see every horror movie available.
What about you?
i haven't seen either but only know of Cuckoo. heard decent things too, some mixed but hey that's horror lol. The Substance was my favorite of 2024 and so far in 2025 it would be The Ugly Stepsister.
Dude, the user above might be a person, but that answer they gave you looked ai generated af. It even has the infamous long dash...
ahaha oh man, don't do that to me!!! emdashes are normal though. don't let LLMs ruin them for you. eventually they will learn how internet users actually type and stop using them.
Lol ok ok i might start being paranoid 😅
Sinners is also very good. It’s not going to make my favorite list, but it did inspire me to make my own three string cigarbox guitar to play the Delta blues
i liked Sinners but not as much as i wanted to. it was good.. but i was expecting greatness from all the rave reviews.
I was hoping it would be more of a blaxploitation film, black gangsters back from Chicago, etc. I knew there was a supernatural element, but I thought I had more to do with the younger guitar player channeling the undead or something. I was a bit disappointed when the genre switched. I won’t mention it, just in case someone else is reading this—I don’t want to ruin it. I hope you watched until after the credits. It was a really great solo, but then again – I really like Delta blues.
i felt the same tbh. i was hoping for something more akin to Django Unchained, but we still got something interesting and fun. it was worth the watch.
So one thing I have finally learned after decades is that no movie is perfect, even the perfect movies, and my mood when I watch it will have a huge impact. So I intentionally lower my expectations for films I do expect to be top notch so that I don't get disappointed, plus good movies still beat expectations!
Basically, I just assume it will be good, so it feels great if it actually is great.
I'm going to watch Sinners this weekend, knowing it got rave reviews, but just expecting it to be a little better than the average movie. Hopefully it is better than that, but if I expect it then I will probably be disappointed.