BigBrother66

I was contacted this morning by "Cameron" through an email address I send to houseboys I'm interested in. When I told him I hadn't written to anyone in the Canary Islands and asked how he had gotten my address, he said he was using the screen name moondoll21 with a the location of Manchester England UK.

Michael, It's not the $50 (hell, I spend more than that when I buy birdseed). The issue is that Chris was scamming VBdude4u and myself at the same time (we compared our experiences via email). Chris had a profile on HB for over a year so I have to believe that there are other victims out there. Unlike other scammers who try for a couple of big scores, Chris went for small amounts that people would easily write off. Chris is very personable and takes his time. You get emotionally invested in him and he plays you right until the end, sending you emails pretending to be on his way to meet you, then nothing. At first you are left devastated thinking something may have happened to him, then the sad truth sets in. At that point you are both embarrassed and angry that he has taken you in. He is counting on that embarrassment and the small amount of money you sent him to keep you from posting a warning like I did. That way he can continue to defraud employers. I urge every employer (or houseboy for that matter) to report anyone who is using this site in a dishonest manner, even if no money is involved.

Chris isn't a scammer (I couldn't see how to remove that from my original post). I want to be fair to Chris. After this was posted he emailed me to explain that he was stopped by TSA security at the airport because he didn't have his birth certificate and then he got sick. He said he was too embarrassed to call and tell me what happened. He offered to return what was left of the travel money I had sent him. He didn't explain why he had pretended to text me from Philadelphia. He had told me when I bought the ticket that he had never flown before. I tried to warn him about TSA and what he needed to get through security, I don't know why he didn't listen.

If you're so interested then why don't you reply to a legitimate offer?

After over 500 texts and hours talking to him, I bought a non-refundable airline ticket so he could come and visit. He asked for $50 to cover some travel expenses and I sent it to him thinking if he was a scammer he would have asked for more. On the day he was supposed to fly to meet me, he texted me several times about the trip; going through security, stop over in Philadelphia, etc. When he didn't contact me to pick him up at the airport after the plane landed here, I called the airline and found out he had never boarded the plane in Atlanta. He goes by the name Chris but that is his middle name (or that's what he told me). When I wired him the money, he had me use the name Eric (last name removed by admin) because he said that's what was on his driver's license (said they left off his middle name when he got his license).

Thanks for the confirmation. Even though I was almost positive he was a scammer, he sounded so convincing I had a nagging thought he might really be in dire straights. Now I know without any doubt that I did the right thing.

Last night, tinder14u called me with a sob story (hasn't eaten in days, living in car, etc.) and wanted me to send him money right away via Western Union so he could drive to my place. I said I would think about it and call him back. I Googled the name he gave me, Derrick Odear, and it came back with a link to a Houseboy forum from a few years ago where someone reported that name as a scammer. When I called him back and told him what I found, I was surprised when he didn't try to deny that he was the person in question. Instead he said, "Are you going to believe those guys?". When I said "yes" he hung up on me.