I recently read a story online. It was such an incredulous story about cyber kidnapping.
Just when I thought I had heard it all with regards to the mischief humans make with social media, this one drops on me.
According to the story, a Chinese kid on an exchange program to the United States was coerced into kidnapping himself.
He was made to self isolate in the woods and send scary pictures to his ‘kidnappers’.
The ‘kidnappers’ used the pictures to extort $80,000 from the victim’s parents who then reported the matter to the police. Police rescued the kid from the woods.
This story triggered my memory of a real story I was remotely involved with.
This poor woman fell straight and hard into the net of a cyber criminal.
I’ve often heard people telling women that desperation can be smelt a mile away.
In this case, the woman’s desperation was smelt an ocean away.
Unfortunately Ch’s (I’ll call her Ch) desperation was off the charts. Not being gainfully employed nor particularly educated or skilled didn’t help matters at all.
I will restrain from making comments that a touchy person would interprete as body shaming. I will only say that she did let herself go.
With the above credentials, Ch could not believe her luck when a young handsome man living in the States picked interest in her.
She fell fast and hard.
Her entire world was consumed by her euphoric unbelievable good fortune.
Very quickly, the pair began to exchange declarations of love and spend extended periods chatting and talking.
One day, the ‘Bobo’ (let me call him that) made a poetic declaration of his undying love. He followed up with how much physical pain being separated from her was causing him. Bobo said he couldn’t wait to jump in a plane to come see her and instantly marry her.
Criminally skilled Bobo finished Ch off with a promise to whisk her away to the States where alongside himself, they would reign long and well as the ultimate monarchs of the United States of America.
Although Ch can’t quite be described as a young naive girl, you can’t describe her as the sharpest knife on the block either. A less charitable person would probably say that she’s a dumb as a doornail.
If poor Ch had fallen to the bottom of the well, the well caved in and she fell even further into a place beyond rescue.
Bobo sensing that he had broken her into a maleable pulp, went in for the kill.
He asked for her nude pictures.
She excitedly complied and sent several.
Shortly afterwards, Bobo ghosted for a few weeks.
When he returned, he had metamorphosed from Romeo pro max to Ted Bundy mega dose.
He asked Ch to send him a certain amount of money or he would release her nudes on social media.
The speed with which Ch surfaced from her love-drenched abyss would have filled Usain Bolt with envy as her eyes cleared instantly.
She went into full panic mode.
You see, Ch has grown kids. The thought of her nudes connecting with their eyeballs was absolutely and horrifyingly unthinkable.
Meanwhile, Ch was as broke as a rat that lives in a church. There was no way she could find that sort of money with the time frame Bobo had set.
Ch remembered an investigator from her hometown who lives in North America.
She contacted him and heart-wrenchingly told him her story.
The investigator immediately swung into action, finding out Bobo’s real name, his home address and even where he worked.
Impressive isn’t it?
Mr. Investigator contacted Bobo, gave him facts about himself, including some that are not actually public knowledge.
He assured Bobo that if he ever contacted Ch, even if it is to say hello, FBI would be knocking on his door before he writes the next sentence.
That was how Ch was saved.
There are countless Chs out there. Unfortunately, they don’t learn from the experience of others.
These things keep happening.
Some women have been totally destroyed by cyber criminals. Some have even been driven to suicide.
Ladies, I passionately appeal to you to quit sharing your nudes with anybody. Not even with a husband.
Don’t forget that today’s husband could become tomorrow’s bitter ex.
