People are deceived by cunning words…

Recently I was contacted online by a man who wanted to ask me a question. Similar to the image above, he presented himself as a priest, with the familiar collar.  I responded and it quickly became apparent the contact was phishing for information.  Here is what transpired. 

Larry - Hello, friend, can I ask you a question.

Me: Hi Larry, sure, happy to have a conversation.  I hope you are well.  What kind of question do you have for me?

Larry - Hello, thank you very much for contacting me, I am glad to hear from you and it's also a pleasure to meet you here How are you doing I hope you and the family are doing well?

Me: Thanks we are all well and hope you are too.

Larry - I'm glad everyone is fine over there, as for me we are all doing great here.  Please tell me what county do you live in?

               Me: I live in the United States, and you?

Larry - That's nice to know, you live in a beautiful country What city do you live in?

As for me, almost all my life I have lived in Houston Texas, but I'm currently working on a contract here at the American Hospital of Ukraine, I have one month and some weeks to complete my contract here and return back home

Things are not going well here due to the war between Ukraine and Russia

Hey, are you there my friend?

Me: Houston, you say?  Those cowboy boots must serve you well in the East.

Larry - Yes, you are right my friend, we are all safe here because we don't usually go outside the city we live under the hospital apartment here in Ukraine.

Larry - I will really like to know a little bit about you if you don't mind you seem like a nice lady to me here.

Me: Sorry, but I don't share personal details in online chats.

Larry - Yes I completely understand because I don't like doing online stuff, I am new to Facebook regarding some weeks back I have not come online since then just decided to give it a try and I contact you

Larry - please tell me are you married with children?

Larry - Hello, good morning my dear lovely beloved friend, how are you doing today I hope everything is fine with you

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A few things to note about this supposed person name Larry. 

·        His account was created November 3, 2025

·        He has two followers and is following three

·        His profile says he lives in Houston and that he is from London

·        His profile says he is an orthopedic surgeon.

In fact, searching for his full name, as a surgeon in Houston, there is no record of such a person.  For someone that has lived “almost my whole life in Houston”, I could find no supporting evidence.  The American Hospital of Ukraine, likewise, I am unable to find.

Note also, his persisent effort to gain personal details from me:

               What county / country do you live in?

               Are you married with children?

Also, note the lack of context in his responses – I mention cowboy boots, and his response: “yes, we are all safe because we don’t go outside the city, living under the hospital.”

And then, he says I’m a nice lady.  Nice, but I am a man.

Lastly, I am always his friend, until the last response, where I am his “dear, lovely, beloved friend.”

Cunning words often show up as flattery, deception and an attempt to play on emotions. In this case, by saying he is living underground at the hospital in the Ukraine, while things are not going well because of the war.

AI TruthTeller® indicated early in the conversation, this was AI generated.  Subsequently, I did the detail work to further validate that assessment and no surprise, given the absence of supporting evidence, tone, etc, that followed.  However, it’s also nice to know that our software picked up on the AI early, creating a cautionary posture from the very earliest points in the conversation.

Deception online is very real and sometimes it’s difficult to tell whether you’re interacting with AI or a live human.  This one was relatively easy because the words were out of step with my responses, his persistence to gain personal details, inconsistent information, etc..  As one example, Larry responds with, “thank you for contacting me”.  I didn’t contact him, he contacted me. 

AI TruthTeller was very helpful in detecting this conversation as GenAI.  Fortunately, I use it often, but I also pay attention to the feelings in my gut and exercise caution when the app or my gut says to be cautious.  When dealing with online contacts, it pays to remember an old saying:  an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.