Michael Anderson contacted me on eHarmony. A match named “Steve” sent a note letting me know that he had a friend who really liked my profile. He went on to say that this was against the eHarmony rules, and he’d be kicked off, but it didn’t matter because he found his soulmate anyway. Steve gave me “Michael’s” email and phone numbers. Sadly, I took the bait and reached out to him.
Within hours I got a response.
I began to research Michael Lucas Anderson in Charlotte, North Carolina and found nothing. No obituary, no business license, no voter registration. Searched his phone numbers and nothing came up. I thought it meant he was “clean” by Internet standards. What I learned is that there are no records for Michael Lucas Anderson because he doesn’t exist.
Lesson One: Research is an excellent way to protect yourself from getting scammed. But be careful about making the wrong assumptions. Just because someone doesn’t show up in a Google or background search doesn’t mean they’re “clean.” Someone with no Internet footprint is almost certainly a ghost, especially someone who claims to be affluent, own a business, a widower, etc.