June 20, 20187 yr I thought about posting this in the Dad thread, but that's a happy place and this isn't a happy circumstance. I didn't really want to post this in the Help forum, because this is more a venting than a request for help, but it seems like the best place to put it. It will probably be tl;dr, but whatever. My youngest son just graduated from Junior High and is currently taking Health and Speech (high school courses) at summer school to get ahead (so he can take an extra elective during the year). Last night I go to his room at his bedtime to make sure he's going to bed and sure enough, I need to tell him to put the phone away (as usual - he loves watching YouTube)). I go on about my business for a while before I'm ready to go to bed myself. I go to check on him again before I head to bed and I see that he's still awake and on his phone, so I go in to take the phone from him. I make a comment about his addiction to YouTube and he says no, he was trying to do research for a legal problem. Uh what? He's very vague and a bit coy about telling me what the issue is. He says it's a long story. I don't press the issue at that time and tell him whatever the problem, it can wait the night and to get some sleep. So this morning, he gets ready for summer school and I get a chance to talk to him a bit more as I drive him to the school. He says that the legal problem isn't his problem (whew!). He's got a friend that he plays video games with on the XBOX who lives in Alabama that has a "sociopath" for a mother (his words). ~~~ Me: Uh... OK. How old is your Alabama friend? Son: Old enough to drive. Maybe 18. Me: If he's 18, he's a legal adult. He can move out assuming he can afford a place of his own or find friends to stay with. Son: No, I looked it up, you have to be 19 to do that in Alabama. Me: Uh, I really don't think so, I'm pretty sure 18 is a legal adult everywhere in the country. Son: It doesn't matter anyway, the mom just recently adopted a baby and if he leaves, the baby will have no one to take care of it. The mom denied medical care for his sister with diabetes and her teeth are falling out and she's dying at 20 years old. He doesn't even know what the roads look like outside of his neighborhood. Me: (WTF??????) ~~~ I realize that my son quite likely doesn't have a full (or unbiased) understanding of his friend's situation in Alabama, but if what he's told me has even a modicum of truth to it, it's not a good situation. My son is obviously upset about it. It's a hard lesson to learn that you are powerless to stop all the injustices in the world.
June 20, 20187 yr I'd be VERY leery about the level of truth in that story. Don't let your kid get played.
June 20, 20187 yr 1. That situation could be SOP for Alabama. 2. Or it could be a ruse to get your son to send money.
June 20, 20187 yr 1 minute ago, slorch said: This thread does NOT deliver... You're not getting pics of his son, TXTOW.
June 20, 20187 yr Author 13 minutes ago, slorch said: This thread does NOT deliver... Unlike your mom.
June 20, 20187 yr Get the names and addresses. Cheeseweasel and I will drive over there, tune up everybody's ass, and then send you photos. If we really don't like them, we'll send Bama Chick around for a second visit. This service is free to you, as our brother on the Surl. There are certain minor, unavoidable expenses that we will incur. I would never ask you to cover those, that's on us. But since we're all putting up our own money to help you, we thought as a good-faith gesture you could also kick in a nominal fee. Say, $800 in a money order, I'll pm you an address. We shouldn't even have to touch it, and if so I'll just send you the uncashed money order when we are done.
June 20, 20187 yr PS: When my son was about 11 he had an online girlfriend in California that he flirted with. I told him it was probably a 50-year-old guy in jail with trustee internet privileges. Kinda warped his mind, thinking about that. But later he started dating real girls, so all his problems of course were over.
June 20, 20187 yr 20 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said: Get the names and addresses. Cheeseweasel and I will drive over there, tune up everybody's ass, and then send you photos. If we really don't like them, we'll send Bama Chick around for a second visit. This service is free to you, as our brother on the Surl. There are certain minor, unavoidable expenses that we will incur. I would never ask you to cover those, that's on us. But since we're all putting up our own money to help you, we thought as a good-faith gesture you could also kick in a nominal fee. Say, $800 in a money order, I'll pm you an address. We shouldn't even have to touch it, and if so I'll just send you the uncashed money order when we are done. In. Just say the word and let me know if I need to bring my shovel.
June 20, 20187 yr 1 minute ago, Cheeseweasel said: In. Just say the word and let me know if I need to bring my shovel. We always take our shovel, Cheese. They stop you with a gun, a knife, an axe, a machete? They can call that a weapon. But a shovel? That's not a weapon. It's not a weapon.
June 20, 20187 yr 9 minutes ago, Dewey said: I know its Alabama, but those are still extremely low standards for adoption. Assuming that any of these people actually exist, and that OP's son is communicating with someone inside the US, my bet is that Mama is raising 20-year-old Sister's new baby. I totally believe that an 18-year-old would not know streets outside his neighborhood. That would require looking up from a screen.
June 20, 20187 yr 4 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said: I like the way you think, brother. Might need the chisels too.
June 20, 20187 yr OP, if you can get hold of a block of text written by Despondent Alabama Teen, and run it through the Googles, it might turn out to be boilerplate sob story. That is how I found out I was not Olga from Pskov's one true love.
June 20, 20187 yr Author I will definitely investigate further when my son is done with school for the day, but his communications with this guy are via party chat on xbox, not via text messaging.
June 20, 20187 yr Seriously, if the kid has an Alabama address within my court-ordered allowed-to-wander zone, I'll nose around. I love spying. I was born to spy. My great-great-grandaddy was a spy.
June 20, 20187 yr The age of majority is 19 in Alabama (and Nebraska). 21 in Mississippi. 18 everywhere else.
June 21, 20187 yr 13 hours ago, deft said: That seems like an elaborate ruse to cover up looking at porn 9 hours ago, OatmealRaisinCookie said: Son is getting catfished by a pedo, is that what we are thinking? 31 minutes ago, Bill Brasky said: Sounds like a long game for a money scam Any of these 3 seem like the most probable explanation.
June 21, 20187 yr 4 hours ago, Paper_jam said: Oh, you do know Betty Blackwell? I’ve seen her daughter’s tits
June 21, 20187 yr Any of these 3 seem like the most probable explanation.This.And it’s uncanny how much this F250 fella thinks like me.I don’t think that speaks well of him.
June 21, 20187 yr 14 hours ago, RDCanecutter said: PS: When my son was about 11 he had an online girlfriend in California that he flirted with. I told him it was probably a 50-year-old guy in jail with trustee internet privileges. Kinda warped his mind, thinking about that. But later he started dating real girls, so all his problems of course were over. began. Edited for clarity.
June 21, 20187 yr Author So I talked to my son a bit more yesterday. I think the more interest I expressed in the subject, the more he (my son) wants to just forget about it. Teenagers, lulz. Anyway, this is what I learned: Son doesn't know the 'bama boy's real name. He says he asked once, but 'bama boy had to run and didn't answer. (very fishy) Son was introduced to 'bama boy by one of his current classmates (Jacob). Jacob apparently has known 'bama boy for 6 years. What's not clear is whether "known for 6 years" means "played video games online with him for 6 years" or "he used to live down the street before they moved to Alabama". But, if 'bama boy is playing a long game scam, he hatched the plan when he was 12 or so. That's some long game thinking for a young kid and not very likely. (lends some credibility) Son exchanged phone numbers with 'bama boy so they could exchange memes/jokes. I was quite upset about this and had a long talk with my son about not giving out his phone number to anyone he "meets" in xbox party chats. And the difference between a friend and an acquaintance. Dad Rage. 'bama boy apparently has sent some texts to my son and I will review them later, but I don't think any of them were related to the OP (mostly memes/jokes I expect). 'bama boy did not ask my son for any help. He apparently was just venting about his situation and he's done it in party chats indiscriminately of who's in the chat. Son says 'bama boy's situation is public knowledge among his (xbox) peer group. All in all, it looks like 'bama boy has been dealt a shit sandwich.
June 21, 20187 yr 23 hours ago, RDCanecutter said: OP, if you can get hold of a block of text written by Despondent Alabama Teen, and run it through the Googles, it might turn out to be boilerplate sob story. That is how I found out I was not Olga from Pskov's one true love. I encountered a cat Fisher so lazy he tried to pass off pics of a porn star as his own. I was like dude, do you even know your demographic? Lonely depressed middle aged men are gonna know a porn star.
June 21, 20187 yr 13 hours ago, Chuychanga said: 14 year olds befriending strangers online... what could go wrong? Ask TOR.
June 22, 20187 yr On 6/21/2018 at 3:16 PM, bernorange said: So I talked to my son a bit more yesterday. I think the more interest I expressed in the subject, the more he (my son) wants to just forget about it. Teenagers, lulz. Anyway, this is what I learned: Son doesn't know the 'bama boy's real name. He says he asked once, but 'bama boy had to run and didn't answer. (very fishy) Son was introduced to 'bama boy by one of his current classmates (Jacob). Jacob apparently has known 'bama boy for 6 years. What's not clear is whether "known for 6 years" means "played video games online with him for 6 years" or "he used to live down the street before they moved to Alabama". But, if 'bama boy is playing a long game scam, he hatched the plan when he was 12 or so. That's some long game thinking for a young kid and not very likely. (lends some credibility) Son exchanged phone numbers with 'bama boy so they could exchange memes/jokes. I was quite upset about this and had a long talk with my son about not giving out his phone number to anyone he "meets" in xbox party chats. And the difference between a friend and an acquaintance. Dad Rage. 'bama boy apparently has sent some texts to my son and I will review them later, but I don't think any of them were related to the OP (mostly memes/jokes I expect). 'bama boy did not ask my son for any help. He apparently was just venting about his situation and he's done it in party chats indiscriminately of who's in the chat. Son says 'bama boy's situation is public knowledge among his (xbox) peer group. All in all, it looks like 'bama boy has been dealt a shit sandwich. he got catfished by a diddler.
June 22, 20187 yr On 6/20/2018 at 12:18 PM, RDCanecutter said: PS: When my son was about 11 he had an online girlfriend in California that he flirted with. I told him it was probably a 50-year-old guy in jail with trustee internet privileges. Kinda warped his mind, thinking about that. But later he started dating real girls, so all his problems of course were over. I'm sorry, started dating real girls so all his problems are over ? You've obviously never dated a "real" girl...
June 22, 20187 yr 2 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said: I'm sorry, started dating real girls so all his problems are over ? You've obviously never dated a "real" girl... Imagine a world, where irony shoots over everyone's head.
June 22, 20187 yr On 6/21/2018 at 8:16 AM, bernorange said: Son doesn't know the 'bama boy's real name. He says he asked once, but 'bama boy had to run and didn't answer. (very fishy) Hmm. Dude told me once that smart people were easier to scam than dumb people. Dumb people will go "I know you must be trying to scam me, Your ass probably doesn't even live in the US". Smart people will keep on coming up with reasons why they are so smart that they can't be scammed. Would love to know what town this "boy" lives in.
June 22, 20187 yr Author Some people definitely need to calibrate their meters. ~~~ I had a look through my son's text message thread with this guy. It's a long and disturbing read. This 'bama boy appears to be borderline suicidal. I understand now why my son was so upset about this. So, I had my son contact Jacob and I learned a couple of things: 'bama boy's name is Lucas (don't know last name) Jacob knows Lucas as a xbox gaming friend. Jacob has never met Lucas IRL. Lucas mentioned he lives near (in?) Tuscaloosa. Lucas describes his dad as a violent tempered tyrant, so he apparently does have both parents at home. Lucas texts his friends from Church. I would think if things were really as bad as Lucas claims, someone at his church might have noticed something amiss (especially about a diabetic sister that isn't getting medical treatment)? Lucas claims his parents have locked down his phone with some child OS/apps that prevent him from making any calls or browsing the web without parental permission. He has limited use of the phone (but apparently they don't read through his text messages or he wouldn't be typing the stuff he's typed to my son). Son has Lucas' cell phone number. Maybe there is a way some Surly sleuth can track down an address for the owner of a cell phone number? Edited June 22, 20187 yr by bernorange
June 22, 20187 yr I wouldn't post any more details here. There could be an xbox gamer Lucas in Tuscaloosa with a phone # etc, who is not the same person claiming to be this xbox gamer Lucas from Tuscaloosa. Also, if this kid is real, I wouldn't be shocked if he turns out to be younger than 18, know'm sayin'. Edited June 22, 20187 yr by RDCanecutter
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