You've likely heard about Munchausen's Disorder, but have you heard about Facticious Disorder, or sometimes called Munchausen's by Internet. I learned about this disorder while listening to an interesting podcast by AARP, call The Perfect Scam. The podcast's goal is to inform seniors to the many scams that are being perpetrated on them.
The scam I was listening to went as follows. A healthy middle aged man came home one day and told his fiancee he was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The couple were expecting their first child in a few months, and each had a child from a previous marriage. It was devastating news to everyone in their small, close knit community. One woman took it upon herself to start a Go Fund Me page for the couple, ultimately raising over $50,000 to help pay for bills, pay for a wedding, and pay for travel to events to make sure this man's last months were memorable. The woman who set up the Go Fund Me page started to get suspicious. Things didn't add up. This very sick man didn't look sick, didn't take any meds, and would not allow his now wife to go to doctor visits with him. The bottom line was he was not sick and never had been.
The scammer had facticious disorder, or what is sometimes called Munchausen's by Internet. It is a serious mental disorder in which someone deceives others by appearing sick, by purposely getting sick or by self injury.
Scammers are everywhere, as I have learned from this podcast. On the one hand I hate to be cynical, but on the other hand, I don't want to get taken. Please check out anyone or organization asking for money on the internet. It may be for real, it may not. Don't get taken.
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