# I think I'm chatting with a spammer. I am so embarrassed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963 "2011-09-20T16:48:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/1 "2011-09-20T16:48:37Z")
This facebook ‘person’ who kept popping up in chat. I enabled her because I thought that she was another Esperanto person. Nope. French only. Improbably-gorgeous picture. Starts out with ‘tu’ instead of ‘vous’, and comes on in about the third reply with ‘I want to remake my life with a man’, this after I’d said I was looking for work! :rolleyes: But hey, the chat is in French. So, useful purpose anyways. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/2 "2011-09-20T16:51:14Z")
Great, you can learn all of the smutty French first 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/3 "2011-09-20T16:58:54Z")
Gauge her level of seriousness by insisting she has to learn Esperanto. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/4 "2011-09-20T17:01:26Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I enabled her because I thought that she was another Esperanto person. > [@Sunspace](#): > > Improbably-gorgeous picture. Mmm hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/5 "2011-09-20T17:02:17Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Gauge her level of seriousness by insisting she has to learn Esperanto. I already asked. ‘She’ doesn’t know a word of it. 🙂 :: returns to filling out job applications :: ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/6 "2011-09-20T17:13:18Z")
At least you didn’t send her any money via Western Union. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/7 "2011-09-20T18:55:34Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > At least you didn’t send her any money via Western Union. Now, wait, we can’t just _assume_ that… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/8 "2011-09-20T18:59:39Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Now, wait, we can’t just _assume_ that… One of the ‘features’ of being underemployed is that one doesn’t _have_ much money as a rule… ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/9 "2011-09-20T23:07:43Z")
I usually point them at [cleverbot.com](http://cleverbot.com) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/10 "2011-09-21T02:10:24Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > I usually point them at [cleverbot.com](http://cleverbot.com) Yeah, maybe we can get some bot feedback going! [Quasi-obligatory XKCD link](http://xkcd.com/350/) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/11 "2011-09-21T04:20:56Z")
Did I mention the phone number from Côte D’Ivoire? ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/12 "2011-09-21T13:17:43Z")
Gee, nothing suspicious about THAT! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/13 "2011-09-21T15:08:40Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Did I mention the phone number from Côte D’Ivoire? Hey, dont pass on this opportunity. I got plenty rich from that bank rescuing job in Nigeria. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/14 "2011-09-21T17:16:26Z")
Well, starting out with “tu” on Facebook isn’t, in itself, all that weird. It’s an incredibly informal medium. As for the rest… yeah, possible spammer. Have fun with practicing your French, though! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/15 "2011-09-21T22:47:45Z")
I think I’ll ask her what the weather’s like in Abidjan. 🙂 It’s not that the Côte d’Ivoire number in itself is suspicious, but combine it with the French email account, and the too-rapid escalation of the conversational intimacy… it’s suspicious as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/16 "2011-09-22T05:14:47Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > It’s not that the Côte d’Ivoire number in itself is suspicious, but combine it with the French email account, and the too-rapid escalation of the conversational intimacy… it’s suspicious as a whole. Interestingly, francophone Africans often have .fr email addresses. I think it’s the case with pretty much all African students in my department (those whose email address I know, anyway). But otherwise, yes, there are many West African women who look for men on the internet, establish some sort of relationship with them, and eventually ask for money. So “scammer” more than “spammer”, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-chatting-with-a-spammer-i-am-so-embarrassed/596963/17 "2011-10-12T02:50:30Z")
Well, I hadn’t seen her around lately; I suppose she’s moved on to easier pickings. I joined LiveMocha, which advertises itself as a language-learning exchange site. this actually works quite well. But. I’ve gotten six spammy messages, all along the same lines: “I read your profile, you seem attractive, want to wind your life together with mine?” Um, no. You don’t know me. I filled out no profile. Go away, scammer. It’s getting to the point where I think I’m going to try a real-life language chat in Toronto.