Eh?

Lozzy88

I agree with you steph internet romances are all the rage now.

I met my ex b/f on faceparty of all places when I was 16 and he was 18, we only exchanged pics, thinking about it now I was stupid but we were together 2 years and had a bloody good time his mam was weird tho.

Then on lycos chat of all places lol I met my current otherhalf we have been together 6 years now but we did chat on msn with webcams as he lived a little bit further away then my ex.

That makes me sound like a sad little weirdo...... am not........ honest lmao

sweetme

Claree__x wrote: »

Does the show "Catfish" spring to anyone elses mind?

First cynical thing I thought of. I hope it isn't though and that his trip is all he wants and more

Wyre

Calien27 and Mojisola: I just wanted to point out that not everyone has a webcam, not for nefarious reasons but for safety in our case.

I completely agree that more information needs to be sought. Definitely google her name, check out her high school and work. Speak to the parents/daughter and DEFINITELY don't get picked up at the airport by the mother.

Is it at all possible for the OP to have a holiday in the US at the same time - not together but at least so they can meet the family/mother? Once satisified OP and partner have their trip and son gets time with the girl.

Of course it would be simpler if she would get a webcam. What are her reasons for not?

Errata

It would be a darn sight simpler if the OP invited the girl to the UK for a week.

KiKi

Oh, for the good ol' days where meeting on the internet was so new that it wouldn't occur to anyone that the person wasn't really who they said they were. Oh for the days when you could meet other X-Files fans on a fan forum and travel to the states for a weekend to meet with other philes to watch the season finale without thinking.



OP, I'd be keen for him to go - but not until he's met her on webcam. And I wouldn't allow ANYONE to pick me up from the airport. He should take a cab to stay in a hotel, so he can be independent. Then meet this girl in a public place each day until he's sure of who she is. But he needs to be in control, not get into a car of someone he doesn't know. He wouldn't do it in the UK, surely? So definitely don't do it in America!

Whereabouts in America is he hoping to go?

Calien27

If it and she is completely genuine, does your son have a back up plan in case they don't get on as much in real life as they do via the internet? Not saying they won't get along, but staying with someone and seeing them daily (if only for a week) is a lot different from talking online

365days

Echoing everyone else's posts. This has RED FLAGS written all over it.

He has to see her on webcam or similar. If she is not willing to do this then I'm sorry but it's game over.

I went to the states to meet someone who I had spoken to for a while. I had seen him on webcam. He asked me over and over to come and meet him. As soon as I booked the tickets it went a bit cold. When I was there he made excuse after excuse not to meet me. Eventually he did meet me but admitted he was married and was just looking for a bit of fun. Luckily I had booked a hotel, was a lot older than your son and had already travelled a fair bit. I took the bullet and tried to enjoy my trip regardless.

If she does show herself on cam...and she is who she says she is, it is still a risk. There are some very strange people out there!!!

jaqui59

Errata wrote: »

It would be a darn sight simpler if the OP invited the girl to the UK for a week.

I begged my son a couple of hours ago to invite her over to the UK, he thought it was a good idea, and thankfully she agreed with him (he is paying for her ticket) .... So, she is coming over here, what a relief!! They will both be staying in a hotel for the week near London so that they can have good days out .. DS told me she hasn't had a holiday for 10 years so she is feeling quite excited about coming over.

He was very honest with me earlier when I asked about her, and it seems she certainly has a few problems, sadly to include two boys aged 5 and 7 that she cant deal with/doesn't want anymore, an uncaring mother who deals in drugs, and a very violent father, and from the sound of it she has some fairly serious mental health issues too, but he said he really wants to help her as he likes her so very much.

Anyway, I then began to realise that I shouldn't interfere anymore, and I just said im happy for him, and that I hope they both have a lovely time.

I think she is planning to be here in about a week or so.

totallybored

I'm with the majority of others and believe the lack of webcam is far too dodgy.

What sort of pics has he seen of her? Is it her complete online life on Facebook? Or just a few pics she's emailed? Your average 20 year old will have a Facebook profile full of pointless pics, 1000 friends and so on and you'll be able to tell from that if she's real.

Where does the girl live? What does she do? Why doesn't she want to come and visit him?

OP, you could always volunteer to go with him!

Mojisola

jaqui59 wrote: »

an uncaring mother who deals in drugs,

This is the mother who was going to pick him up from the airport?:eek: