The Dump - "Whatif?" Questions Have Answers Here

[jakost]

I thought it wouldn't be possible for this to get worse, despite the fact I haven't been contacted since that night (8 days ago today), but I guess it is. The week after the traumatic event, a female colleague at work stopped me in the hallway and told me she feared something weird was happening to her online--this startled me so much that I shared my story with her. But her story was completely different: a guy she met on some dating app was shady, then she started thinking someone had hacked into her iphone and was literally intercepting messages between her and her new guy, and then the new guy became all weird again. The point is that after I told her my story--and assured her THERE IS NO WAY our two incidents are connected (and there isn't right? lol), since then she has gone all paranoid. Doesn't talk to many of her friends, and has gotten me so worried.

So here I was dealing with this massive crisis of my own and trying to confide in a friend only to execerbate her own fears. Now I feel so responsible for her situation (although she had met the guy weeks before my incident on a social media app and had already become paranoid before I told her about my experience). I feel if she, God forbid, does something to herself it will be my fault. Had I kept my mouth shut she wouldn't have been panicking so much. So know all I want to do is check on her, but she doesn't respond to my messages--I think she has gone all paranoid.

Has anything like this ever happened to any victims? For the fear and paranoia to bounce around a community like this? And nothing has happened--either to me or her. This is what I kept telling her, but then she would ramble about her texts and intercepted texts.

But I cannot take on this case as well--and she doesn't want me, she is obviously not responding. I know the best solution is to let it go and just stay back and deal with my own shit, but I feel so guilty. My blood pressure reading is now 200/110 almost every single day. If this keeps up, I ain't surviving this guys

[jakost]

Ok, I do think I am losing my mind. Can someone tell me if this is possible. Like I said in my previous post, a colleague thinks the guy she had met on a social dating app--and met in person only once--is not who he says he is. She had met him weeks before my own incident. But, it was a few days AFTER my incident that she came to me and said she felt like he either had multiple personality disorders or wasn't who he says he was....she kept showing me texts--through her iphone--between him and her, especially from him, that were kinda all over the place. So she has become convinced that either he isn't who he says he is and he is either setting her up or whatever else (in which case it is not related to my own catastrophe), or that someone is interfering with their texts.

So I am wondering if it is possible that during the day and a half I left my FB on after being scammed they got to her, then got to her social dating app, and someone have been interfering in her texts with her guy? Just writing this seems out there, but it is yet another of these thoughts stemming out of the fear that put my FB friends at risk.....

Sorry if I am being too crazy...

[Wayne]

Alright, time for a reality check. Your scammer was a Moroccan. They're the ones that are least likely to do anything and who move on the fastest. You dodged a bullet, but seem intent on shooting yourself in the foot just to prolong the agony. Everything that's going on now is in your head. We're not shrinks. All we can do is tell you how to deal with the scammer. For anything else you need professional help, and you need to do that away from here.

[jakost]

Dear all

You know I really thought this thing was going to get easier as time goes on. Today is exactly 2 weeks since my scam, no contact since then, but thoughts are racing. I keep going back to that night. I keep thinking if I will ever be able to get back on FB as myself and even when I do, and months go by without contact, I will be looking over my shoulder. Then I re-read what the wise folks on this forum have written and feel a bit better, but the thoughts come back roaring, especially at night. Anyone else experience this? I am getting therapy though so hopefully time will heal this....

[Wayne]

Today is exactly 2 weeks since my scam, no contact since then

After that, all I heard was "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah" Our steps did exactly what they're meant to do. Everything else is between you and your shrink. Keep it that way or you'll find yourself blocked from posting. Capiche?

[jakost]

Oh sorry. Absolutely, I agree--I just thought that we can post here about our recovery and dealing with the aftermath. Sorry again.

[Victim2017]

Hi everyone,

Just want to say I am recently a victim of Blackmail/Sextortion scam and obviously as you can imagine I am pretty distraught from this entire ordeal. I did pay the scammer in my moment on vulnerability and immediately blocked them and deactivated pretty much all my social media. My concern now is I see a Facebook profile made in my name with no pictures or any information yet and as you can imagine this has me worried sick. I raised a ticket with Facebook stating that this profile is potentially impersonating my deactivated account as it was made about 8 hours or so after followed the guildlines here to make a report and disable all social media effectively.

If anyone has any advice as such that would be most welcome.

[SlapHappy]

pretty much all my social media.

is not following all the steps, is it? All means all, not pretty much all.
Just follow the advice and begin to move on.

[Victim2017]

Just literally followed your advice there and disabled them all, thank you so much for running this site it is deeply appreciated here. I've donated to the cause.

Thanks again

[SlapHappy]

Thanks for the donation. We appreciate it.