help

ARMacleod says on Feb 8, 2005, 13:43:

My god that has to be a first! You have been a member for 17 minutes and 34 seconds and you are asking for financial assistance already.

You could be genuine, but, I am an old cynic, anyway I hope you do get some help.

How did you find out about this site, who gave you the money to get this massage across and the information about this site???

Sorry I am too far away to assist, but I would need a lot more information than you have given

Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

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lpdiver says on Feb 8, 2005, 14:16:

Contact your consulate .

T

"cook some rice!"

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Neonovo says on Feb 8, 2005, 14:29:

La primera noche.... I would just walk into any semi-decent looking hostel, or ask another tourist about a hostel, and plead my case with the management.

Paz

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ACBlessing says on Feb 8, 2005, 14:53:

? How are you on the Internet w/o money?

Alex Blessing, Spokane, WA USA
alex at acblessing.com
www.acblessing.com

Just plain poor

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adela says on Feb 8, 2005, 15:10:

Casa sobre la Roca (Church) Hi Bogotá, I don't know your name or location, but I can offer you this phones of a Church in Bogotá (Pastor Dario Silva)

634 61 11 y 634 61 15 ( Bogota )

bogotá at casaroca.org

Hey guys, why if this person is saying the truth?

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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bogotawithout says on Feb 8, 2005, 15:38:

bogotawithout its always nice to see how helpful people are with eachother, specially when you are in an emergency situacion

thanks to all of you

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adela says on Feb 8, 2005, 15:44:

bogotawithout

I will send you my cell phone by intern email, just if you need more info

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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Gary Hall says on Feb 8, 2005, 16:36:

bogotawithout My question is who let you use their computer, and cost if any? Can this or these people help you out. We do not know who you are and let me add that poor planning on your part does not constitute and emergency on our part. A lot of information about you would help.

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Gary Hall says on Feb 8, 2005, 16:42:

adela, but wh Adela, what if he is not telling the truth? Are you willing to send money to an unknown? Give your Credit card number to someone that is a stranger to give him money? Western Union is very costly. Be careful Adela. Better that the sorry.I helped a so called friend out in 1981 and it cost me $67,976.34. He bought a new Truck, and maxed out three of my cards withing three days from the information he was able to steal from. Use a great deal of caution is my suggestion.
I learned a great lesson and I caution anyone sending money to a stranger. No tears just caution

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adela says on Feb 8, 2005, 21:01:

Gary

Thanks Gary for your suggestion. If he is not telling the truth...I wouldn't miss nothing. My wallet is almost empty! I only try to imagine why he doesn't say more details about him, in case that he say the truth:
-. He is vulnerable now:easy to locate and to be kidnapped that is the most scare nightmare of any foreign.

-. Is a woman with a child and want to protect any help friend

If is not telling the truth:

-why say " hi" in that informal way? his situation is desperate,
-why he/she mention "money" to be send?

Just, in any case, I suppose that he/she could be at the airport and for example, somebody offered his internet conexion, so, the guy/girl had so few words and no handle the situation well.

But..I wonder how vulnerable we are on this site: most of us, talk about our lives, ideas, places,arrives, names...I am one of them !!

Why this person never called me, or sending me an email?.

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 8, 2005, 21:17:

Adela... He is not vulnerable....you are. If you lend whatever little money you had to him, you would be in even a worse situation. A con artist is a con artist. He may be in a nice hotel, going to shopping malls, casinos, and doing some other things that tourists do. You don't know this guy.

Look, it is dangerous to lend money to people that you DO know. Lending money to people that you don't know is even that much more dangerous. For God's sake, he joined this web site for the sole purpose of getting money....That point is NOT subject to debate. Look at his name "Bogotawithout".

Has Peter tossed anyone out of this forum lately? Maybe is someone who is angry and wants to get even with people here. Or maybe the person still is in the forum under a different name, and he want to stick it to certain people that he has had issues with? Do I bring up some valid points??????

Careful Adela, we have had some disagreements, but I do know your heart is is the right place, and I would not want to see you taken advantage of

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Lionheart says on Feb 8, 2005, 21:28:

it stinks Looks like he got help fairly fast and won't be back under that name again. Or it was just a fake request.

Concerning Gomezman's comment: several people have been banned, or their threads have been deleted. Even more initial posts were deleted before most could even see them. Almost all were undesired posts (content) by people who have just joined. There is a very high chance that several are disgruntled (ex-)members signing up with new names, since the frequency has drastically gone up in the past 2 weeks. I am just mentioning this so all can take new posts with a grain of salt and check how authentic they seem to be, including the poster.

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 8, 2005, 21:45:

Lionheart...I agree with you fully. When people are seeking revenge, no better way than to try and pull a scam on the people that you think have wronged you.

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N2Aquatix says on Feb 9, 2005, 06:10:

Airport Why didn't he just sleep in the airport until the next day. I did that and nobody even gave me a second glance. :-0

Jay

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Lionheart says on Feb 9, 2005, 14:08:

in support of GiB's warning Peter mentioned this warning a while back, maybe time to refresh it. You never know who is lurking here in PBH, or is actually actively taking part of discussions.

Chat rooms, forums and message boards have always been a great source for personal information, not just in Colombia. The list of people being taken advantage of or having damage done in the USA alone is endless. Please be cautious with all of your personal information. One simple no-no I have noticed here often - do not state here at which hotel you are staying at currently. It is the same as inviting everybody over to an open house party, and you pay all.

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adela says on Feb 9, 2005, 15:33:

I lost my looong replay again(Peter knows how to do it eh?), but in short words: I think that so many people here are a real commnuty. I have an image of Colombianox, Miguel, Salmon,Peter, Desi, Retirensa, Lionhearth, Umm,lpdiver, Mr and mrs gomez(gomezman?),gringoinbogota, kat1,Elmo!,Isaac, etc..eveyone of you, so I decided to share with you what bogotawithout asked me in some calls today:

if I knew somebody could facilitate him US 100. He is not at the airport he was in a hotel. I adviced him to call to the church, 'cause he didn't do it. Let's see...

Thanks for your advices...and Gomezman..you know I remember my brother because you: always pesimist...but I love you anyway, that's your way, isn't?

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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Lionheart says on Feb 9, 2005, 15:37:

congratulations to the new online couple Mr Gomezman and Mrs Gomez ...

Adele, very good that you did not offer any personal services ... you tried to be helpful, showing your big heart, but you stayed out of trouble. I do have a question though, what language did he speak and how good was it?

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kat1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Feb 9, 2005, 15:39:

You got a big heart Adela. Shame on me. at least you bother to enquiry. The first thing it came in to my mind was money. but you taugh me a lesson.

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babygirl says on Feb 9, 2005, 15:39:

Lionheart! That is a really good point about the hotel. I realized shortly after I first joined this forum that I just let all these strangers that cared to read my post know that I was female, travelling solo, when I was travelling and what hotel. How stupid can you get eh? Common sense kicked in and I actually changed my travel date. Paranoid? maybe but better to be safe than sorry.

cheers - babygirl

Canadian Girls Kick Ass!

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Lionheart says on Feb 9, 2005, 15:52:

better safe than sorry I am glad you noticed the risk, babygirl. It is all about common sense, and I think in Colombia you need it a lot. Think of the worst and enjoy the best ... nothing paranoid about that, or listening to GiB. I prefer proving him wrong in a few years and buying him a truckload of beer than having him read in the news that he was right. Gomezman is invited as well then, including whoever is his wife then, Mrs. Gomez would be a good choice.

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babygirl says on Feb 9, 2005, 16:09:

Great idea about scanning your docs, I've never thought of that. Thanks for the tip.

PS: Women should always hide money in their bra! Sounds cheesy but it's saved my butt a few times, even just for a cab ride home.

cheers - babygirl

Canadian Girls Kick Ass!

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eagle46 says on Feb 9, 2005, 16:17:

When Marrying in Colombia - Do you still need to keep proof of? Hi,

I don't think that I asked this before, but there has been a lot of info about marrying in Colombia vs the fiancee' visa. My question is this:

Do you still have to keep up with all the phone calls, e-mails, etc to validate your "marriage" in Colombia with the immigration service? Or is that only necessary for the Fiancee visa?

Thanks!

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eagle46 says on Feb 9, 2005, 16:24:

Oops! Sorry Sorry,

I thought that I was posting as a "new" topic, but make a mistake and posted here. Sorry for breaking the conversation.

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bogotawithout says on Feb 9, 2005, 17:33:

another example who people really are many thank for all this comments, but with exeption of adela it seems that on this board are only people who are afraid of living and helping people(bcs something could get wrong)
i realy think that for all of you(exeption adela) the board of a webside which is calle poorbuthappy isn´t the right one, i suggest you change to "i´m afraid of beeing human bcs something could get wrong¨" thanks again to all of you(exept adela) for showing the real side humans, which isn´t a nice one i think

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bogotawithout says on Feb 9, 2005, 17:34:

ah one thing more thank for all the tips what i could have done before that realy helped

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adela says on Feb 9, 2005, 20:53:

dear bogotawithout ...don't worry. We all show that part of us, and I understand that gringo people is paranoic. I am some paranoic too but for other reasons, well I am actually less paranoic than other time. I bet it is because this forum and the people here. I love them. How to express that? Imagine one per one every people here: even tinto, drinking coffe without sugar(tinto); Yep, my dear "monito lindo"; Desi, so delicate and pila of everything. Kat, I imagine Elmo totally crazy for you...

Bogotawithout: It was nice to listening you: I did practice my english a little, then you showed me your perfect spanish.

Lionheart: Bwithout is german-in his words-but living in Venezuela an Spain. His spanish is so good, we talk in english during the first call. I guess his english is more understandable for me than yep's.

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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Lionheart says on Feb 9, 2005, 22:01:

I hope you understand the caution here Bogotawithout You couldn't know one situation ... a lot of people who cannot be taken serious post here and need to be removed or ignored. After a boom over the past few weeks your request for help was just another drop of water in a barrel full of unbelievable things.

A few people gave you tips, then you went silent for a long time ... typical for many posters who can't be taken serious. The internet is a wild and dangerous place, full of scams and worse. As moderator caution and distrust comes first ... observe then decide. You were lucky Adele was around, she was one of the few at that time actually living in Colombia. I hope your problems are taken care of now. Stick around here, you will learn a lot from people here, especially how to be careful in Colombia. How did you loose your stuff in the first place?

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goosekirk says on Feb 9, 2005, 23:48:

Duplicate cards GiB brings up what I think is a really critical travel tip. I did the same trick long ago and got myself a second ATM/debit card, and keep it stashed. You never know when your ATM card is going to get broken, lost, stolen, or otherwise FUBAR'd... and wouldn't it suck to be stuck in a foreign country and not be able to get cash? I really think people should do this.

Tinto's idea about scanning in your docs and emailing them to a Hotmail account or something is really cool, too. I wouldn't use Hotmail, though - if you don't access an account for a month, it'll get deleted. And you don't want to put this information into an email account that you use regularly, especially if you use it from an open wireless network or an internet cafe. Offhand, I'm not sure what the ideal solution is... maybe a Yahoo briefcase or something... but it's such a cool idea.

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lpdiver says on Feb 10, 2005, 04:34:

If it makes you feel good collect and save them. I brought tons of them...they weren't interested. Remember all of the evidence that you submit must be read and examined (by law). Pick you best and submit it. Of course you may offer that you have more. They did look at our wedding pictures and ask a few questions as to who was who etc.

If you submit ten thousand pages of e-mails it will probably be easier to find "something" do deny you on than read for weeks.

On another note it did validate to my wife that I did in fact spending thousands of dollars on telephone calls. She though I was BSing her until she saw the mountain of calling cards with each representing a ten dollar bill.


Tony

"cook some rice!"

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bogotawithout says on Feb 10, 2005, 08:58:

gringoinbogota gringobogtota i,m not in la, im in bog and it seems that our level of understanding of life and selfestimation are very different , bcs i never could imagine to make all this effort just to take advantege of 50 usd or some amount in this range.
but everybody sets his limits for himself, i.e you can imagine to to to this discussion for for 50 usd.

i,m not.

anyhow thanks to all of you

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 10, 2005, 09:47:

GIB....I'm with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think he is a Colombian in Bogota who speaks a little English.

Look at his word ussage, sentence structure, and grammer. He clearly does not have a firm grasp of the English language!! He is writing in English so he can pass himself off as a tourist.

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bogotawithout says on Feb 10, 2005, 09:58:

gib, and gomezman fyi there are many non native englishspeakers, so i,m one of them, whe can talk in german, spanish, portuguese,and bad english tell me what you prefer.

i will not answer anymore of yr st... comments, bcsa i just was desperate and had the stupid idea that this side could help me out.

thank to all of you for your great example of humanity

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caslug says on Feb 10, 2005, 10:02:

Gomez.. I think it has establish that Without is not an american tourist, but a european tourist. so his capacity for english is not handicaping him IF he was scamming.

Without..you would be amaze what people do for $1 USD in COL, let alone $50 or 100 USD. THey work those scams very agressively. Beside, if 12 hrs was the amount of time you will be without money, it's not a big deal. You said yourself that you will getting money from europe the next morning. So what can bunch of internet folks do for you in 12 hrs? If your friends or family, people who know and trust you, back in Europe cannot somehow wire you money(via western union, money gram, or other). Then how can you expect stranger to send you money $50 or not.

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ARMacleod says on Feb 10, 2005, 10:22:

Who? I am also still not convinced of his bona fides. A few minutes after his loss, he has registered and accessed this site.

Also, He is still there? He could have said his thanks and go on with his holiday or whatever. Why is he sitting here every day listening to all that is being said and when he responds it is very non definitive.

The style reminds me of someone or some people, who I still think are one and the same.

But then I am a cynic anyway

Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

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william_andrew_channell says on Feb 10, 2005, 16:59:

Sell something I imagine that you didn't come to Bogota empty handed. Anything can have cash value. Shoes, suitcase, clothes, watches, personal hygiene products... Just go downtown, find an empty spot on the sidewalk on K 10 (if you can), open your suitcase and watch the pesos come rolling in.

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