"We're gonna hold a vote, a great vote, probably the greatest vote of all time. If they don't vote my way, I will impose tariffs on them.

And I will put tariffs on anyone voting against me, 100%, 2000% tariffs. Best tariffs ever.

Please excuse me because I just shit my pants again."

See the anger once they were asked basic questions? The reallocation of blame.

I asked them questions, and asked the not to do this any more. I was blocked instantly.

I am lucky to be educated in this kind of thing, but so many are not.

So now it was time to expose what I knew...

10/

On checking the LinkdIn account, and the photos of the victim that this scammer had copied, I could see there were other photos from about 10 years ago, confirming the victim's retirement from active duty, and her employment history.

All data was now available. 99% certain just became 100%.
9/

Notice the half hour gap between replies. I've had enough with this clown by this point. During this time, I took one of their photos and put it into a Reverse Lookup app and found a LinkdIn page for the ACTUAL person in the photo.

I've blanked out the name of where the victim works.

8/

Now they come in with the big guns. They have my age, so they can determine a desirable age range for that category.

Add in the instant unprompted messages stating that they're single and never been married. This is going in fast on romanticism, a big tactic for these con artists.
7/

They agree and respect, and want me to feel safe and understood.

Then the personal questions start. In a MySpace world this was normal, but this is very awkward, especially as I'm already 99% sure you're a fraud. But let's crack on, see where it goes.

6/

Wait

She" now wants to know what I do for a living. I'm already suspicious, so I made up a different job at a well known company (blanked out).

I have mentioned Iran twice in this exchange, with no come back. **This will be important later.
5/

This is now where I know it's probably a scam. I'm fortunate enough to know that the U.S have NEVER had a military base in Iran. Also, the first message sent to me, it said " Good morning", sent at 14:01 (UK time) It was 17:31 in Iran.

Nonetheless, I will continue and see where this goes...
4/

This all starts off with just very nice general chat. My nostalgia took me back to the times of the early Internet, where you could just chat to strangers and be friends with people across the globe.

But now I'm always very wary whenever someone DMs me.
3/

I created an account on Bluesky to read more than post. Therefore, I don't post often, and have few followers. So, when I had three notifications last week, I was surprised.

A reaction to a reply I'd posted, a follow, and a DM from the same person.

All of this seems normal behaviour.

2/

@mrjamesob.bsky.social This is like Lloyd and Harry at the end of Dumb and Dumber turning down a chance to be 'Oil Boys' for a coach of beautiful women.

Except they're still standing there 10 years later waiting for a bigger bus that will never arrive.

@mrjamesob.bsky.social It's important that we never EVER forget this. Especially as there will no doubt be another 7 things he will do/say in this next week to blur the memory of this utterly disgusting statement.