FACEBOOK CASANOVAS WANTED TO CON MY DEAD MOTHER

A few years ago, I started a Facebook in memory my long dead mother and posted her old photos there in the hope that those photos would bring back lots of beautiful memories for our relatives / friends and her former students. Little did I know that her Facebook would attract so many casanovas that I got tired of replying their messages for my mom. These Facebook casanovas had no idea that my mom was already dead and that I was the one replying those messages. They kept trying to pester my mom which really annoyed me.

A handsome guy in his forties (or to be exact, an identity thief) who claimed to be a professional in the oil and gas industry seemed to have fallen head over heels in love with my mom and kept praising her saying she was very beautiful and that he knew she was a good person. He even tried to profess his love for her. As that was the first time I was dealing with a Facebook casanova, I did not want to offend him and told him (on behalf of my mom) that "I am a retired civil servant and married with grown-up children." I also told him that "my husband" (referring to my dad) "is still alive and we are still very much in love with each other in our golden years." However, that did not stop him from pestering my mom and it seemed that he was serious to start a relationship with my mom despite the fact that she was old and happily married with grown-up children. Can anyone imagine a handsome, well-educated and successful young man (based on the photos he posted on his Facebook) could be so cheap and desperately going after an old lady? Not wanting to reply anymore to his messages, I logged into my dad's Facebook account and sent him a friend request. Guess what he did? He accepted my dad's friend request and stopped pestering my mom. He disappeared from Facebook not long after that - but I had the feeling that he changed his identity and sent my mom another friend request. There were also a few more Facebook casanovas like him who tried to sweet talk my mom calling her all sorts of loving names but I was too busy to reply their messages. It seems that old ladies in their sixties and seventies can still be very popular at Facebook and are very much sought after by handsome, well-educated, and young professionals.

For a few months, I did not log into my mom's Facebook account. However, the casanova problem did not end there as these casanovas started to pester me instead. At least a dozen of them sent me friend requests and claimed to be professionals from the oil and gas industry. Why are there suddenly so many young and handsome professionals from the oil and gas industry without a wife or girlfriend and are so desperately looking for one at Facebook? I was very sure that these one dozen "oil and gas" casanovas were actually the same guy who tried to con my dead mother earlier. It wasn't difficult for him to find my Facebook from my mom's Facebook's family members section. He sent me one friend request after another - initially he "were" Americans, then he became Caucasians and later on evolved into Chinese men. There were also many other friend requests which I believed were sent by members of his syndicate - possibly unemployed Nigerian men who were trying to make a living by doing some kind of con jobs through Facebook. Knowing that many single women are willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of love, these Facebook casanovas are preying on their weaknesses (You may also like to read VICTIMS OF FACEBOOK LOVE SCAMS).

Initially, I ignored these friend requests but I was really annoyed when these Facebook casanovas kept sending me friend requests one after another. So I started to do something - what did I do? After accepting their friend requests, they would start calling me all kinds of loving names saying that I am very beautiful and that was when I sent a link about Facebook conmen to them. They said they didn't understand why I was doing that and when I asked them straight away whether they were Nigerians, they started to quarrel with me and blocked me after that. But they did not give up, changed their identity, started a new Facebook account and sent me another friend request. This explains why all their Facebook accounts were new with only a few stolen photos.

The next thing I did was, instead of sending them links about Facebook conmen, I posted these links on my Timeline and tagged them. After that, I sent these links to their Facebook friends and of course these Casanova conmen disappeared immediately after they found out what I did. Despite what I have done to them, they still did not give up and kept sending me friend requests using a different identity each time. I really salute them for doing their con job so persistently and being so unwilling to give up. Well, this is what we call survival - what else can they do to make a living? Con jobs are easy to do and can bring them millions.

My third tactic was to post their photos and messages on my timeline highlighting their fake identities / broken English and tagged them. How did I do it? I have shared a few examples below.

The Facebook Casanova who claimed to be Chao Kenny made use of the above photo for his con job. Anyone who knows the handsome guy in this photo please let him know that his photos are being stolen by Facebook Casanovas.

Chao Kenny's message: According to his FB profile, he is from Houston, Texas, and is staying in Uxbridge, England. But look at his broken English. If he typed "Nice meet you" for the first time, it could be a typing error. When he typed it for the second time, it is broken English. Must be a Nigerian trying to do some kind of con job using someone else's photo. (Why Nigerian? Cases of Nigerians taking on fake identities of white men to woo and persuade women to send them money are nothing new. There are many online articles about their internet love scams. Just google and you will find lots of them).

According to Chao Kenny's FB profile, he is a ship marine engineer staying in England. Do ship marine engineers in England speak broken English? (He disappeared not long after I questioned him and tagged him with his broken English messages).

Another Facebook Casanova who claimed to be an American Chinese named Chin Alberto: Look at his broken English - every sentence is full of grammatical errors:

Thanks for been my friend. How are you? Sonate happy new year of success and unlimited blessings to you. I hope this marks a beginning of quality friendship for us.

Do Chinese Americans speak broken English? (Chin Alberto has also disappeared now and there is nothing left of him. When Facebook Casanovas sense that something is wrong, they would play their disappearing game).

The next example was a  Facebook Casanova who said that his name was Zheng Lee.

Another photo stolen by the Facebook Casanova to be used for his con jobs. Anyone who knows the handsome guy in this photo, please notify him. Looks like the Facebook Casanovas would only pick the handsome ones.

Zheng Lee claimed that he worked at Turner Construction Company and studied at New York University.

But look at his bad grammar. I had to correct him!

What is left of Zheng Lee now? According to Facebook Messenger, his messages have been temporarily removed because the sender's account requires verification.

Zheng Lee blocked me immediately after I questioned his bad grammar. I had to log into my mom's Facebook account to snap the above photo.

Perhaps these Nigerian Facebook Casanovas should brush up on their English before they go on doing anymore con jobs. Or maybe they should claim that they are from Thailand or Bhutan so as to make their broken English acceptable. However, sad to say, millions of Ringgit are lost in Facebook love scams in Malaysia every year. Wonder why these victims did not realize that their American / Caucasian lovers are speaking broken English? Or is love really so blind that they did not see anything at all?

Can anyone fall in love with a woman he has never met before? Would any guy in his right senses tell a woman that he wants her love when he chats with her for the first time at Facebook? If these Facebook Casanovas are really what they claimed to be, they can easily find a girlfriend through their social circle. There is no need to be so desperate. Why go after grandmothers? Sad to say, even grandmothers could fall in love easily and be cheated by this kind of men. Frankly speaking, I find their conversations very nauseating.

To all those who have started a relationship with Facebook Casanovas, do ask yourselves these questions:

1. Is his Facebook account brand new with just a few photos? If he is an identity thief, it is difficult for him to post more than a few photos at Facebook.
2. Can he speak fluent English if he says that he has a high education and is born and raised in countries like the US & UK,  Australia & New Zealand?
3. Does he sound too good to be true? For instance, if you are a 68 year-old grandmother, it does sound suspicious that a handsome, well-educated, and successful engineer/doctor in his forties would fall in love with you and profess his love for you during the first conversation or first few conversations.
4. Is he trying to get some cash from you by creating some kind of heart wrenching story or making you pay millions for the luxurious parcel that you have not received?
5. Is he trying to avoid meeting you or giving excuses that he cannot make / receive video calls? If he is a Nigerian claiming to be someone else, then of course he cannot show you his face. Even if he agrees to meet you, remember to take extra precautions - do not meet him alone.
6. Is he trying to profess his love for you as fast as he could and speed up the romance? Facebook Casanovas need to get your money fast and disappear as soon as possible so they don't like to waste time.

Whatever the situation may be, NEVER give your Facebook lover a single cent! Never fall in love until you are sure that he is real.

MIRACLES OF JESUS

Medjugorje's Risen Christ Statue with a miraculous healing liquid oozing from below the right knee

Jesus of Nazareth is probably the most important person in the history of the human race and the greatest miracle worker who has ever lived. His ministry began with His baptism on the banks of the Jordan River when he was approximately 30 years of age and ended with His Last Supper in Jerusalem. At the beginning of His earthly ministry, He delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7), performed miracles and recruited a team of disciples. He healed  many people with all kinds of diseases, cast out evil spirits, and raised a dead girl. As he traveled around the region of Galilee, Jesus encountered multitudes who followed Him because they have witnessed his miracles.

The first miracle of Jesus, the miracle of the virgin birth, was a sign from God - the bequeathing of His only son to mankind through the Immaculate Conception. His last miracle, the resurrection, was a sign of God's love and great power. It was a sign from heaven that all those who died in Christ will be resurrected at His second coming. Between these two miracles, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Jesus has performed more than 35 miracles. Only the "miracle of the five loaves and two fish" or the feeding of the 5000 by multiplying the five loaves of bread and two fish, is recorded in all the four Gospels. Three Gospels reported on a leper being cured, the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, the healing of a group of demon-possessed people, the calming of the storm, demons cast out and sent into a herd of swine, the healing of the paralysed man, the raising of Jairus's daughter, the healing of  the hemorrhaging woman, the healing of the man with a shriveled hand, the walking on water, a boy with epilepsy and a blind man being cured. Matthew and Luke both have accounts of a centurion's servant being healed whilst Matthew and Mark both write of the Canaanite woman's daughter's recovery, as well as the feeding of the 4000 and the withering of a fig tree after being cursed. Mark and Luke both tell of the spirit of an unclean devil being cast out in the synagogue.

The three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are also known as the synoptic Gospels because they share a similar approach to the life story of Jesus with lots of details and descriptions in common. The term "synoptic" is derived from the Greek word, syn-optic, which means "seen together" (syn can be translated as "together," and optic as "seen"). The synoptic Gospels tell the same basic story about Jesus. Matthew and Luke tell the story of Jesus from his birth to his resurrection while Mark begins with the story of the adult Jesus. In all three Gospels, the life story of Jesus is told as a series of events in almost the same order. Theologians believe that Matthew and Luke made direct use of the Gospel of Mark (written about 70AD), as their primary source of information when their accounts were written around 80 to 90 AD. 

The fourth gospel, John, tends to stand alone as it is unique from the synoptic gospels. Written around 90-110AD, it is so unique that 90% of its materials cannot be found in the synoptic Gospels. Also known as the spiritual Gospel, the Gospel of John does not include many of the stories told in the synoptic Gospels. There are not many miracles in the Gospel of John. In this Gospel, Jesus is said to have performed eight  miracles but they are more spectacular than the ones in the other three Gospels. Going beyond the life story of Jesus, the Gospel of John contemplates the miracle of His existence as the divine Son of God. As stated in John 1:14:

And the word was made flesh

and dwelt among us,

and we have seen His glory:

The glory of an only son coming

from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

Below is a complete list of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

               

                             

THE MIRACLES OF JESUS CHART

Miracles of Jesus	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
Healing of physical and mental illnesses
the leper	8:1-4	1:40-45	5:12-14
the centurion’s servant	8:5-13		7:1-10
Peter’s mother-in-law	8:14-15	1:29-31	4:38-39
many who were demon-possessed	8:16-17	1:32-34	4:40-41
two Gadarenes possessed by demons	8:28-34	5:1-20	8:26-39
paralyzed man	9:1-8	2:1-12	5:17-26
woman who had suffered from hemorrhages	9:20-22	5:25-34	8:43-48
two blind men	9:27-31
a possessed mute	9:32-34
man with a shriveled hand	12:9-14	3:1-6	6:6-11
a blind and mute possessed man	12:22-23		11:14
Canaanite woman’s daughter	15:21-28	7:24-30
the possessed boy	17:14-20	9:14-29	9:37-43
two blind men at Jericho	20:29-34	10:46-52	18:35-43
a demoniac		1:23-28	4:33-37
deaf and mute man	.	7:31-37
blind man at Bethsaida		8:22-26
badly stooped woman possessed by a spirit			13:10-17
man who suffered from dropsy			14:1-6
ten lepers			17:11-19
Malchus’s ear			22:50-51
royal official’s son at Capernaum				4:46-54
sick man at the pool of Bethesda				5:1-15
the man born blind				9:1-41
Authority over the Forces of Nature
calming the violent  storm on the lake	8:23-27	4:35-41	8:22-25
walking on the water	14:22-33	6:45-52		6:16-21
feeding 5000 people	14:13-21	6:34-44	9:10-17	6:1-15
feeding 4000 people	15:32-39	8:1-13
coin in the fish’s mouth	17:24-27
fig-tree withered up	21:18-22	11:12-14
the miraculous catch of fish			5:1-11
water turned into wine				2:1-11
another miraculous catch of fish				21:1-14
Raising the dead
the daughter of Jairus	9:18-26	5:21-43	8:40-56
the widow’s son			7:11-17
Lazarus				11:1-44

You may also like to read THE MIRACLES OF MEDJUGORJE; THE WONDERS OF LOURDES: 150 MIRACULOUS STORIES; and LOURDES: MIRACLES AND THE MIRACULOUSLY HEALED. To view the content page of this blog, please click here.

References:

1.  Reid, Debra K. & Manser, Martin. (2010). The Compact Guide to the Bible. Oxford: Lion Hudson plc.
2.  The Mysteries of Miracles. Time Life Books.
3.  Miracles: The Presence of God in Our Lives. LIFE Books.
4.  The New American Bible. New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers.