As You Get Older...

Older singles lose millions in online dating scams

screams the headline on CBS This Morning.

The story is about a 76-yr-old lady who is looking for love. She meets a guy online (on the very first day she goes on the site!) who "said sweet things and was very charming." She never meets him in person but they communicate by email and phone for four months. Then, all of a sudden he's stuck somewhere in Africa and becomes very ill and has to have a kidney transplant   that's costing $4000/month  and the next thing you know the sweet little old lady is out $300K.
Yes, I said THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
The lady is trying to get her money back from Match.com (good luck with that). She thinks they're responsible.
I might have some sympathy for her if she'd sent him $1,000 or $2,000, or even $10,000 before she realized it was a scam. But $300,000?

Barbara Hannah Grufferman

The news report's expert is Barbara Hannah Grufferman, who they say is "with" AARP. I can't find any indication that she does anything other than write for AARP. She's a journalist and wrote a book called The Best of Everything Over 50, but as far as I can tell she is not an expert on aging. On this report she makes this ridiculous and insulting statement:
"As we get older our ability to decipher deceit declines."
I'm not an expert on aging either (unless you count my firsthand experience) but my bullshit meter is working just fine. And, taking Alzheimer's or any other type of dementia out of the equation (because that's a whole other issue), my 'expert' opinion is: If you are this gullible when you're old, you were this gullible when you were young. Age has nothing to do with this kind of stupidity.