There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce them.

Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I
was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things
are done.

"Hello Dave. I'm Jenny. When do you return to Scotland"
Me: I think you have the wrong number
"Oh sorry, maybe I was saved wrong number. Please forgive. If you don't
mind, may I know your name? Hope we can be friends"
Me: Tell me everything about yourself. Spare no detail.
"I'm Jenny, live in Chelsea, London. Where do you live?"
Me: What part of Nigeria are you from?
"My original friend Singapore"
Me: How much money are you hoping for?
"Fuck you. Fuck your mother".

On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
> approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce
> them.
>
> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I
> was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things
> are done.

Not SMS, but anyone on FB has had such messages, so it is common. I'm
with Giff Gaff who are good are cutting out spam texts before I receive
them, so there probably have been texts targeted at me (along with 10k
other users sent at the same time).
Its always best to just ignore such messages. The Sender now knows you
are a real person, so your number could be passed to others in the
future.There's no security threat, but just a tiny nuisance deleting the
messages.

On 13/04/2024 08:16, Alan Lee wrote:
> On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
>> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
>> approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce
>> them.
>>
>> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I
>> was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things
>> are done.
>
> Not SMS, but anyone on FB has had such messages, so it is common. I'm
> with Giff Gaff who are good are cutting out spam texts before I receive
> them, so there probably have been texts targeted at me (along with 10k
> other users sent at the same time).
> Its always best to just ignore such messages. The Sender now knows you
> are a real person, so your number could be passed to others in the
> future.There's no security threat, but just a tiny nuisance deleting the
> messages.

Agreed about replying. The number has a greater value with a verified reply.

On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being approached
> by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce them.
>
> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I was. By
> SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things are done.
>
> "Hello Dave. I'm Jenny. When do you return to Scotland"
> Me: I think you have the wrong number
> "Oh sorry, maybe I was saved wrong number. Please forgive. If you don't mind,
> may I know your name? Hope we can be friends"
> Me: Tell me everything about yourself. Spare no detail.
> "I'm Jenny, live in Chelsea, London.  Where do you live?"
> Me: What part of Nigeria are you from?
> "My original friend Singapore"
> Me: How much money are you hoping for?
> "Fuck you. Fuck your mother".
>

Last summer, I had some fun. Star trek buffs will understand, luckily this
Olivia didn't.

"Hey Max, this is Olivia, How's your vacation in Singapore and when did you get
back here in London?"
"Shaka when the walls fell"
"Haha really?"
"Sokath his eyes uncovered"
"oh sorry I rechecked the number and I fugured out that I mistyped last digit"
"Sokath his eyes opened"

She did talk a little more, she said Max is her cousin, and she assumes I am an
alien. ;-)

It could have been genuine, the messages are still there on whatsapp and my
"security code with Olivia XXXXXX has changed" ( name x'd out). Who knows, she
wasn't going to get anywhere with me!

--
kat
>^..^<

On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
> approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce
> them.

Unfortunately, a bit of common sense does not seem to be a requirement
for an MP. At least somebody at the LibDem Conference recognised it as a
trap and warned others about a suspected journalist fishing for information.

> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I
> was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things
> are done.
>
> "Hello Dave. I'm Jenny. When do you return to Scotland"

At that point, I would have blocked the number and reported it as spam.
Aside from the fact that the number is not on my contacts list, I would
expect anybody who actually knows me to say it's Jenny, which is an
identifier, rather than I'm Jenny, which is an introduction.

> Me: I think you have the wrong number
> "Oh sorry, maybe I was saved wrong number. Please forgive. If you don't
> mind, may I know your name? Hope we can be friends"
> Me: Tell me everything about yourself. Spare no detail.
> "I'm Jenny, live in Chelsea, London.  Where do you live?"
> Me: What part of Nigeria are you from?
> "My original friend Singapore"
> Me: How much money are you hoping for?
> "Fuck you. Fuck your mother".
>

--
Colin Bignell

On 13/04/2024 in message <uvdbgo$2spqf$2@dont-email.me> Alan Lee wrote:

>On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
>>There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
>>approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce
>>them.
>>
>>Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I
>>was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things
>>are done.
>
>Not SMS, but anyone on FB has had such messages, so it is common. I'm with
>Giff Gaff who are good are cutting out spam texts before I receive them,
>so there probably have been texts targeted at me (along with 10k other
>users sent at the same time).
>Its always best to just ignore such messages. The Sender now knows you are
>a real person, so your number could be passed to others in the
>future.There's no security threat, but just a tiny nuisance deleting the
>messages.

I have had a spate of friend requests on FB recently, some following posts
I made when I lived in Wiltshire over 2 years ago.

I must admit I do check their profiles and they all have one thing in
common, they are very poor, so poor they can't afford much in the way of
clothes. Presumably this is the start of some sort of con.

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
I take full responsibility for what happened - that is why the person that
was responsible went immediately.
(Gordon Brown, April 2009)

On 13/04/2024 14:56, Jeff Gaines wrote:
> On 13/04/2024 in message <uvdbgo$2spqf$2@dont-email.me> Alan Lee wrote:
>
>> On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
>>> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
>>> approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to
>>> seduce them.
>>>
>>> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago
>>> I was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these
>>> things are done.
>>
>> Not SMS, but anyone on FB has had such messages, so it is common. I'm
>> with Giff Gaff who are good are cutting out spam texts before I
>> receive them, so there probably have been texts targeted at me (along
>> with 10k other users sent at the same time).
>> Its always best to just ignore such messages. The Sender now knows you
>> are a real person, so your number could be passed to others in the
>> future.There's no security threat, but just a tiny nuisance deleting
>> the messages.
>
> I have had a spate of friend requests on FB recently, some following
> posts I made when I lived in Wiltshire over 2 years ago.
>
> I must admit I do check their profiles and they all have one thing in
> common, they are very poor, so poor they can't afford much in the way of
> clothes. Presumably this is the start of some sort of con.
>

Perhaps they are all members of a nudist colony? :-)

--
Colin Bignell

On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 15:41:35 +0100, Colin Bignell wrote:

> On 13/04/2024 14:56, Jeff Gaines wrote:
>> On 13/04/2024 in message <uvdbgo$2spqf$2@dont-email.me> Alan Lee wrote:
>>
>>> On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
>>>> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
>>>> approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to
>>>> seduce them.
>>>>
>>>> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago
>>>> I was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these
>>>> things are done.
>>>
>>> Not SMS, but anyone on FB has had such messages, so it is common. I'm
>>> with Giff Gaff who are good are cutting out spam texts before I
>>> receive them, so there probably have been texts targeted at me (along
>>> with 10k other users sent at the same time).
>>> Its always best to just ignore such messages. The Sender now knows you
>>> are a real person, so your number could be passed to others in the
>>> future.There's no security threat, but just a tiny nuisance deleting
>>> the messages.
>>
>> I have had a spate of friend requests on FB recently, some following
>> posts I made when I lived in Wiltshire over 2 years ago.
>>
>> I must admit I do check their profiles and they all have one thing in
>> common, they are very poor, so poor they can't afford much in the way
>> of clothes. Presumably this is the start of some sort of con.
>>
>>
> Perhaps they are all members of a nudist colony? :-)

Shit shovers by he look
s of it.

The Todal <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being
> approached by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce them.
>
> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I
> was. By SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things
> are done.

Send them a dick pic?

https://www.aph.gov.au/M_Dick_MP

(at present I don't think we have any Dicks in our lot)

On 2024-04-13, kat wrote:

> On 12/04/2024 23:59, The Todal wrote:
>> There are accounts in the news of politicians and journalists being approached
>> by strangers who pretend to know them and attempt to seduce them.
>>
>> Has anyone here been the target of such approaches? A few months ago I was. By
>> SMS text. I don't know if this was typical of how these things are done.
>>
>> "Hello Dave. I'm Jenny. When do you return to Scotland"
>> Me: I think you have the wrong number
>> "Oh sorry, maybe I was saved wrong number. Please forgive. If you don't mind,
>> may I know your name? Hope we can be friends"
>> Me: Tell me everything about yourself. Spare no detail.
>> "I'm Jenny, live in Chelsea, London.  Where do you live?"
>> Me: What part of Nigeria are you from?
>> "My original friend Singapore"
>> Me: How much money are you hoping for?
>> "Fuck you. Fuck your mother".
>>
>
> Last summer, I had some fun. Star trek buffs will understand, luckily this
> Olivia didn't.
>
> "Hey Max, this is Olivia, How's your vacation in Singapore and when did you get
> back here in London?"
> "Shaka when the walls fell"
> "Haha really?"
> "Sokath his eyes uncovered"
> "oh sorry I rechecked the number and I fugured out that I mistyped last digit"
> "Sokath his eyes opened"
>
> She did talk a little more, she said Max is her cousin, and she assumes I am an
> alien. ;-)

Well, you should have expected that! Brilliant.

> It could have been genuine, the messages are still there on whatsapp and my
> "security code with Olivia XXXXXX has changed" ( name x'd out). Who knows, she
> wasn't going to get anywhere with me!
>

On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 13:15:43 +0100, Colin Bignell
<cpb@bignellREMOVETHIS.me.uk> wrote:

>At that point, I would have blocked the number and reported it as spam.
>Aside from the fact that the number is not on my contacts list, I would
>expect anybody who actually knows me to say it's Jenny, which is an
>identifier, rather than I'm Jenny, which is an introduction.

I had an SMS a few days ago which read

Hi its Sarah. Please can you give me a
quick text back if your not busy x

That would be fairly convincing for a lot of people, because it's a common
enough name that a lot of recipients would assume it's someone they know.
For me, it was pretty obvious that it was a scammer, because, although I do
know three Sarahs well enough for any of them to plausibly want to message
me informally like that, they would all do it via Facebook Messenger or
WhatsApp rather than SMS (and I was actually in the middle of an FBM
conversation with one of them when I got the spam). And, while I may well
have encountered other Sarahs in the past in a business or political
context, if one of them wanted to get in touch they'd explain who they are
and why they're messaging me as well as their name - eg, "It's Sarah from
Foo Ltd, following up on our conversation at the Vapourware convention" or
something like that.

The noteworthy aspect of the Westminster honeytrapper, though, is that they
seem to have done enough research on their targets to be able to fake that
more detailed kind of introduction. And politicians can't just ignore
plausible contacts from people who give the impression of knowing them,
because it could well be (and, of course, most of the time is) a constituent
or other contact who has a genuine reason for getting in touch. So you can't
just screen them out at first contact stage, you need to participate in the
conversation but bear in mind that it may not be what it seems. The MPs who
ended up as actual victims of the honeytrapper, as opposed to just targets
(which anyone in any reasonably high profile role can be), seem to have
relied too much on their ability to spot a scammer straight away and were
unwilling to revisit their opinion in the light of later evidence. And
that's always a dangerous position to be in.

Mark

On 13/04/2024 16:02, Mark Goodge wrote:
> On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 13:15:43 +0100, Colin Bignell
> <cpb@bignellREMOVETHIS.me.uk> wrote:
>
>> At that point, I would have blocked the number and reported it as spam.
>> Aside from the fact that the number is not on my contacts list, I would
>> expect anybody who actually knows me to say it's Jenny, which is an
>> identifier, rather than I'm Jenny, which is an introduction.
>
> I had an SMS a few days ago which read
>
> Hi its Sarah. Please can you give me a
> quick text back if your not busy x
>
> That would be fairly convincing for a lot of people, because it's a common
> enough name that a lot of recipients would assume it's someone they know.
> For me, it was pretty obvious that it was a scammer, because, although I do
> know three Sarahs well enough for any of them to plausibly want to message
> me informally like that, they would all do it via Facebook Messenger or
> WhatsApp rather than SMS (and I was actually in the middle of an FBM
> conversation with one of them when I got the spam). And, while I may well
> have encountered other Sarahs in the past in a business or political
> context, if one of them wanted to get in touch they'd explain who they are
> and why they're messaging me as well as their name - eg, "It's Sarah from
> Foo Ltd, following up on our conversation at the Vapourware convention" or
> something like that.

I don't recall ever meeting a Sarah.

>
> The noteworthy aspect of the Westminster honeytrapper, though, is that they
> seem to have done enough research on their targets to be able to fake that
> more detailed kind of introduction. And politicians can't just ignore
> plausible contacts from people who give the impression of knowing them,
> because it could well be (and, of course, most of the time is) a constituent
> or other contact who has a genuine reason for getting in touch.

I wonder if many constituents use Grindr to get in touch with their MP
though.

> So you can't
> just screen them out at first contact stage, you need to participate in the
> conversation but bear in mind that it may not be what it seems. The MPs who
> ended up as actual victims of the honeytrapper, as opposed to just targets
> (which anyone in any reasonably high profile role can be), seem to have
> relied too much on their ability to spot a scammer straight away and were
> unwilling to revisit their opinion in the light of later evidence.

Like asking for intimate photos, for example.

> And
> that's always a dangerous position to be in.
>
> Mark
>

--
Colin Bignell

On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 16:02:54 +0100, Mark Goodge wrote:

> The noteworthy aspect of the Westminster honeytrapper, though, is that
> they seem to have done enough research on their targets to be able to
> fake that more detailed kind of introduction. And politicians can't just
> ignore plausible contacts from people who give the impression of knowing
> them, because it could well be (and, of course, most of the time is) a
> constituent or other contact who has a genuine reason for getting in
> touch.

A lot of politicians have solved this by just ignoring constituents
anyway,

On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 21:39:04 +0100, Colin Bignell
<cpb@bignellREMOVETHIS.me.uk> wrote:

>On 13/04/2024 16:02, Mark Goodge wrote:
>> The noteworthy aspect of the Westminster honeytrapper, though, is that they
>> seem to have done enough research on their targets to be able to fake that
>> more detailed kind of introduction. And politicians can't just ignore
>> plausible contacts from people who give the impression of knowing them,
>> because it could well be (and, of course, most of the time is) a constituent
>> or other contact who has a genuine reason for getting in touch.
>
>I wonder if many constituents use Grindr to get in touch with their MP
>though.

Grindr and other dating apps are a somewhat different attack vector, because
there's an underlying assumption that people who are on them are,
essentially, after the same thing. So it wouldn't, at least initially, raise
suspicions if they give every impression of being in search of that thing.

However, while I appreciate that politicians, like everyone else, can be
single and entirely reasonably in search of a long-term or short-term
relationship, I do also think that the use of dating or hook-up apps by a
politician (or anyone else in the public eye) is probably unwise.

Mark

On Sun, 14 Apr 2024 20:37:42 +0100, Mark Goodge wrote:

> On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 21:39:04 +0100, Colin Bignell
> <cpb@bignellREMOVETHIS.me.uk> wrote:
>
>>On 13/04/2024 16:02, Mark Goodge wrote:
>
>>> The noteworthy aspect of the Westminster honeytrapper, though, is that
>>> they seem to have done enough research on their targets to be able to
>>> fake that more detailed kind of introduction. And politicians can't
>>> just ignore plausible contacts from people who give the impression of
>>> knowing them, because it could well be (and, of course, most of the
>>> time is) a constituent or other contact who has a genuine reason for
>>> getting in touch.
>>
>>I wonder if many constituents use Grindr to get in touch with their MP
>>though.
>
> Grindr and other dating apps are a somewhat different attack vector,
> because there's an underlying assumption that people who are on them
> are, essentially, after the same thing. So it wouldn't, at least
> initially, raise suspicions if they give every impression of being in
> search of that thing.
>
> However, while I appreciate that politicians, like everyone else, can be
> single and entirely reasonably in search of a long-term or short-term
> relationship, I do also think that the use of dating or hook-up apps by
> a politician (or anyone else in the public eye) is probably unwise.

On a "no names no pack drill" basis I have been assured in the past that
the risk of being caught is (or was) part of the thrill.

This includes politicians kerb crawling in red light districts (before the
Internet).

Cheers

Dave R

--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 10 x64

Mark Goodge <usenet@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:
> On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 21:39:04 +0100, Colin Bignell
> <cpb@bignellREMOVETHIS.me.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 13/04/2024 16:02, Mark Goodge wrote:
>
>>> The noteworthy aspect of the Westminster honeytrapper, though, is that they
>>> seem to have done enough research on their targets to be able to fake that
>>> more detailed kind of introduction. And politicians can't just ignore
>>> plausible contacts from people who give the impression of knowing them,
>>> because it could well be (and, of course, most of the time is) a constituent
>>> or other contact who has a genuine reason for getting in touch.
>>
>> I wonder if many constituents use Grindr to get in touch with their MP
>> though.
>
> Grindr and other dating apps are a somewhat different attack vector, because
> there's an underlying assumption that people who are on them are,
> essentially, after the same thing. So it wouldn't, at least initially, raise
> suspicions if they give every impression of being in search of that thing.
>
> However, while I appreciate that politicians, like everyone else, can be
> single and entirely reasonably in search of a long-term or short-term
> relationship, I do also think that the use of dating or hook-up apps by a
> politician (or anyone else in the public eye) is probably unwise.
>
> Mark
>
>

In fairness, politicians have a right to a private life. That includes
being homosexual etc. It should only be a matter of ‘public interest’ if
they are doing something illegal.

If an MP wants to use a dating app, including one for homosexuals, unless
they get ‘involved’ with someone under age or otherwise break the law, it
is no one else’s business.

True, it may not be sensible but more due to the fact we have a Media which
think they have a right to exposure such things and some people disapprove
of homosexuals etc. We also have bigots who don’t approve of ( insert
almost any religion or racial group).

The recent ‘problem’ became a matter of public concern not because of the
initial use but the ‘reaction’ when there was a threat of exposure.

Of course, especially with politicians and those in the Church ( and
probably other groups) who take it upon themselves to tell others how to
behave, there is the question of hypocrisy.

In message <zwednSKVSbDWcIf7nZ2dnZeNn_WdnZ2d@giganews.com>, at 21:39:04
on Sat, 13 Apr 2024, Colin Bignell <cpb@bignellREMOVETHIS.me.uk>
remarked:

>>"It's Sarah from Foo Ltd, following up on our conversation at the
>>Vapourware convention" or something like that.
>
>I don't recall ever meeting a Sarah.

In my whole life I've only met one other Roland, and that was a
put-up-job because he and I (also both Perrys) wrote occasional articles
for the same London newspaper, and I thought it would be fun on one of
his visits from Australia where he lives, writing books about spies and
cricketers.

Anyone who calls me Ronald (or less often Rowland) I know to be a fake.
--
Roland Perry

In message <uvg686$14dl3$3@dont-email.me>, at 09:05:11 on Sun, 14 Apr
2024, Jethro_uk <jethro_uk@hotmailbin.com> remarked:
>On Sat, 13 Apr 2024 16:02:54 +0100, Mark Goodge wrote:
>
>> The noteworthy aspect of the Westminster honeytrapper, though, is that
>> they seem to have done enough research on their targets to be able to
>> fake that more detailed kind of introduction. And politicians can't just
>> ignore plausible contacts from people who give the impression of knowing
>> them, because it could well be (and, of course, most of the time is) a
>> constituent or other contact who has a genuine reason for getting in
>> touch.
>
>A lot of politicians have solved this by just ignoring constituents
>anyway,

No MPs I know answer their own correspondence (some don't even sign the
replies). That's what their 2+ researchers are for, paid on expenses.

And it's not usually laziness, they simply don't have the time.
--
Roland Perry

On Tue, 16 Apr 2024 11:38:47 +0100, Roland Perry wrote...
>
> No MPs I know answer their own correspondence (some don't even sign the
> replies). That's what their 2+ researchers are for, paid on expenses.
>
> And it's not usually laziness, they simply don't have the time.

Many years ago I wrote to my MP, saying that if he continued with the
private member's bill he had put forward I would never vote for him
again. [1]

He replied thanking me for my support.

----------

[1] I forgot to mention that I had never voted for him previously
either.

--
Tim Jackson
news@timjackson.invalid
(Change '.invalid' to '.plus.com' to reply direct)

On 2024-04-15, David <wibble@btinternet.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 14 Apr 2024 20:37:42 +0100, Mark Goodge wrote:
>> Grindr and other dating apps are a somewhat different attack vector,
>> because there's an underlying assumption that people who are on them
>> are, essentially, after the same thing. So it wouldn't, at least
>> initially, raise suspicions if they give every impression of being in
>> search of that thing.
>>
>> However, while I appreciate that politicians, like everyone else, can be
>> single and entirely reasonably in search of a long-term or short-term
>> relationship, I do also think that the use of dating or hook-up apps by
>> a politician (or anyone else in the public eye) is probably unwise.
>
> On a "no names no pack drill" basis I have been assured in the past that
> the risk of being caught is (or was) part of the thrill.
>
> This includes politicians kerb crawling in red light districts (before the
> Internet).

I have always assumed that a certain subset of politicians voted against
legalising certain sexual activities because they like to feel "dirty"
when doing them - and are aware that, as people in positions of power,
they are unlikely to face consequences if caught.