The Creeps of Social Media

Yes, it’s not just men! I’m also getting chat requests from users who have attractive female pics as their profile. After the initial greeting, I state that if they have a question, they must first provide their answer to that question. I’ll be social up to a point. Then, I’ll ask a question and sometimes, they will through my response back. When I don’t respond, it seems to end the communication.
Another easy way to avoid these is not chat at all, people!

I have often wondered if its AI learning how to talk. Sometimes it just seems that way... phrasing and such.
Just a thought!

Its not just women targeted. Ive had half a dozen conversations initiated by "women" who may or not be actual women, and they ask my marital status or try to share info. They initiate a game, and start asking questions right out of the gate, I know where this is eventually going...... Money.. at some point.... Money. I block or call out their bluff... And then, suddenly, the account is deleted and the game is ended. I would suggest doing the same. It must take some mild effort to create bogus accounts. By confronting and threatening to report them, you force them to delete and start a new account all over.

Same thing you are all saying is happening to me on a daily basis what’s your name where are you from what kind of job do you do do you live alone how long are you playing words with friends then they tell you that they are a single father when is working in Afghanistan another one is in Tennessee another ones in the Baltic region who his wife got killed in a car crash and he’s raising a young girl and all of them wanna know if I have hang out I don’t even know what hang out is this is getting so annoying

I get them too.
They are so stupid too that they must be bots.
One asked me over and over for my hangout details (maybe 6 or 7 times) despite me saying no in various ways. When he asked again, because he wanted to get to know me better, after I said he was, 'really, really, really, very, very, very stupid' I gave up and blocked chat.

That happens frequently. This one guy said he was living in Houston So I go along replying only with “Ok” or👍 Tonight he wants me to go to a chat a app. I asked him if he should be preparing for Laura. He says he does not know who she is. Do I tell him that is the category 4 hurricane?

Yes! This happens to me daily. So instead of resigning, I just ignore the messages and play and very soon after ignoring these obvious scammers, THEY resign. Before I got a little more wise to the scam, I had one man say Hello Mate. I’m thinking , obviously he not from my state. He starting asking about how I was doing with the whole Covid situation. I thought, well maybe this is a real person. I’m very short with answers until I know it’s a scam. He then tells me he’s from California and where am I. Haha! I’m from CA too and knew immediately he was a scammer. I responded...”Since when do Californians use the word Mate?” He responded that he was sorry and didn’t understand my “phrase”. The immediate red flag is weird English words used that are not the norm. And like everyone else here is saying, the lack of skill because they are not on WWD to play. I always go with my gut instinct!! Just ignore them and they will eventually resign and don’t engage in length conversations at the begging.

This keeps happening to me on Scrabble Go! There's been three guys in a row who have asked me to migrate our social chat allowed on the game over to Hangouts or whatever it's called and when I very politely tell them that I don't have time for that (lie) but that we can chat here, every time I've said that they abandon our game!😡 I enjoy the casual chatting but why do men always have to try to escalate it??

Yes! This happens to me daily. So instead of resigning, I just ignore the messages and play and very soon after ignoring these obvious scammers, THEY resign. Before I got a little more wise to the scam, I had one man say Hello Mate. I’m thinking , obviously he not from my state. He starting asking about how I was doing with the whole Covid situation. I thought, well maybe this is a real person. I’m very short with answers until I know it’s a scam. He then tells me he’s from California and where am I. Haha! I’m from CA too and knew immediately he was a scammer. I responded...”Since when do Californians use the word Mate?” He responded that he was sorry and didn’t understand my “phrase”. The immediate red flag is weird English words used that are not the norm. And like everyone else here is saying, the lack of skill because they are not on WWD to play. I always go with my gut instinct!! Just ignore them and they will eventually resign and don’t engage in length conversations at the begging.

Yes! This happens to me daily. So instead of resigning, I just ignore the messages and play and very soon after ignoring these obvious scammers, THEY resign. Before I got a little more wise to the scam, I had one man say Hello Mate. I’m thinking , obviously he not from my state. He starting asking about how I was doing with the whole Covid situation. I thought, well maybe this is a real person. I’m very short with answers until I know it’s a scam. He then tells me he’s from California and where am I. Haha! I’m from CA too and knew immediately he was a scammer. I responded...”Since when do Californians use the word Mate?” He responded that he was sorry and didn’t understand my “phrase”. The immediate red flag is weird English words used that are not the norm. And like everyone else here is saying, the lack of skill because they are not on WWD to play. I always go with my gut instinct!! Just ignore them and they will eventually resign and don’t engage in length conversations at the begging.

I've been playing Scrabble since 2011.
Not once did I have a guy hit on me. I had some very nice games with very nice guys, and mostly just complimented each other on a great play. I started playing Scrabble Go in March and have been hit on by every guy who has started a game with me, except one! Just yesterday, some guy started a game with me, and as usual, his first question after "hello" was, "where are you playing from?" I told him I was only here to play Scrabble, but he insisted we could be friends. So I played along for a bit, and then, as usual, he started wanting to know what kind of work I did. So I turned the tables on him and started shooting the questions at him. First, I found out that he was from "Frisco" and he worked from home. I asked him if he is married, and he said he was widowed (of course) and was a "medical surgeon doctor" working for the UN as part of a peace-keeping force in Lebanon. I asked him if he needed money. He acted hurt. Then I told him I never knew a "medical surgeon doctor" who worked from home. He said "I am one", and then said he only wanted to be friendly and I didn't have to be brutal. 😂. I told him that I had informed him at the start than I only wanted to play Scrabble. Needless to say, after one or two more plays, he was gone. I HATE Scrabble Go! 😠

Oh my gosh! It just happened to me again! I play WWF with strangers who are women... no problem! There are several that I play on a regular basis. EVERY time I accept a game challenge from a male, he wants to CHAT! I have had them keep asking me, "Why you not talk to me?" And then they quit. What I don't understand is how they just disappear and do not show up as their "turn" or something!!!! It had been awhile... a nice long run of playing WWF with strangers and no incident, so today, when a male asked me to play, I accepted. Two words in, and he wanted to chat. I ignored him, played a fabulous word, and ..... whoosh! He's GONE! Annoying, but at least it did not affect my stats! Thanks for letting me know that it is happening to many!

OMG, I'm so glad it's not just me. I've recently started up WWF again after a small hiatus and in the last few days I've been getting messages. It's odd, to say the least. I play WWF to play the game, not get bombarded. I'm happily married and enjoying my life and I just want to play scrabble. My PFP is not even me, it's a random picture and I still get messages. Last night I got blocked because I wouldn't say what the other person wanted to hear apparently. I'm very married and very unavailable. Go away. Yeesh.

My wife fell for this shit. She liked that some Men took an interest in her was flattered. She’s an imbecile. Went from wet to texting yo phone calls.. 1 1/2 year party with many men. Dirty photos exchanged. After 30 years of her being a cold fish...At the time I was working 2 jobs. That’s my life now. Putting gun in mouth now.

I’ve gone through as well. A man requested a game with me and I excepted. As the game was going he decides to hit my inbox and say hi. I ignore the message. He messages again and I respectfully express to him that I play the game to only play, I don’t prefer to chat. If he prefers to chat he should resign. He proceeded to call me a black monkey. I reported him and his account was disabled. His name was charlesheny091. Hope this guy doesn’t duplicate his account account. I honestly feel as though it’s the easiest way to try to date instead of going on a dating site because they’re probably trying to hide that from a significant other. They can cheat right in their spouses faces and say babe I’m just playing a game! Smh

So glad its not just me! It's so aggravating! Stop asking me if I'm married! Hate it when they ask me what I do for a living. Stop asking me where I live. Hate it when they send me an invite to start a conversation. And let's not forget when they ask if I belong to Google Hangouts or if particularly brazen as for my app#. Had ine guy ask me if I wanted to learn about Forex trading as he was a Trader. I feel like their profile pic is the scan of a pic in a Department store picture frame! BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK!

Oh, thank you so much for writing this blog. Also thank you to everyone that has shared their stories. I used to enjoy playing WWF after a long day at work, it would relax me. These creeps have taken the joy and the relaxation out of WWF from me. As others have mentioned, they talk about being widowed, they talk about the children that they're raising, and the oil rig that they're working on. Usually the next part is talking about God and then asking to move the conversation to Hangouts. I wish they would just go away! :(

I also love playing WWF and get many requests from strangers. I always accept the game as I’m trying to improve my stats (competitive nature). And many of them will try to start a conversation by saying hello or how are you doing today. I’m sure most if not all are foreign scammers that want me to go to another site to chat and get to know each other better (like google hangouts or WhatsApp). But hell no I will never give them personal info like my phone number or email. Sometimes I’ll chat with them just to mess with them but then realize what a waste of my time it is. But I never decline the game or resign because I don’t want it to affect my stats. But I will instead play my move and just not respond to their messages. Eventually they resign or time out and I get the win!!

I have been on WWF for about 8 years and either play with family or against the computer. I don’t have a picture on my profile and there is no indication I am female and I never had a request to play up until 2 weeks ago. I have been bombarded with men sending game requests. I accepted and they all start out the same. A few words are played and a few days go by, then bam: “Hello”, “How are You”?. Or “I’d like to get to know you and I mean no harm”. Meanwhile, they have no idea who they are playing. I don’t have Facebook or other social media, so not connected to that. So strange. I was courteous at first, responding with short, polite answers, then it just seemed weird. One guy kept up with the “Hello”! when I didn’t respond and he ended the game. I never gave an indication of my gender at all. I will not accept games anymore and continue with people I know or against the computer. Too many creepers out there.

I fell for it he scam...well I didn't send the guy money but he eventually asked for it. I have myself and an older family friend in my photo, they never ask which one is me, just, "you're very beautiful." I knew it was a scam because sometimes people ask which one is me. It's most annoying when they get hostile if you don't want to chat.

Same exact thing is happening to me. I used to play with strangers all the time w/o incident. But now all these guys whose avg word score is about a third of mine are requesting games. Now I decline every one. What is up with them wanting to use the “hangout” app? I’d never even heard of it.

Thank you for writing this blog and also for everyone sharing their stories. I too love playing WWF. I don't mind chatting with NORMAL people about common interest etc. These scammers are from all over. 99% are from foreign countries. The one who really blew me away said his name was Clark Edward, of course his wife died, has twin girls Cindy and Linda age 9 who live in Brazil and go to,boarding school while he works on an oil rig of course also!! After chatting a while I ALMOST believed him. He was nice talked about God and praying etc. THEN all of a sudden I can't get any more internet he said, I can't because of being at sea. Please buy me a card I'll pay you back NO ABSOLUTELY NOT WAS MY ANSWER. Then I got really mad. Hadn't blocked yet and he apologized. And even sent pictures but unless you know who the person is it could be anyone. Has anyone done a background check on any of the names? Or just delete to simplify. Are they ever caught? I just block the creeps. Thanks everyone!

They are mostly scammers after your money .

As a man this is why I don't start conversations with anyone on WWF. I did twice, and one woman ended up blocking me and the other one said I was being too nice. Now I pretty much only play with women (not many men play this game) but I never have said a word to them because they'd think I'm a creeper. Some very attractive women have started games with me but I can't tell if they are waiting for me to "make a move."
So I just play, and I'm quite good I must say.

Thank you!
After scrolling through a number of "Creepy WWF" related articles and your blog, I realise I am not alone. I've been playing WWF since 2012, but in the last few months I've been inundated with game requests followed by inappropriate conversations, two of which have just reached the "can we continue on hangouts" stage. I love this game but it is being ruined by this behaviour. I'm in IT and consider myself IT savvy, but this has sideswiped me. I've basically been catfished - the backstories are so similar. I had been ignoring the chats up until the past few weeks, but felt bad as that behaviour is not in my nature, now I realise it was the best tactic which I will continue to adopt. They end the game if you ignore them after half a dozen or so messages and your stats don't dip unfairly.
I should have smelt a rat after they asked "where am I from" and "how long have I played for" both bits of information they can see from my profile.
Thank you Cynthia and other WWF players who responded here.

I have been bombarded by these guys! I notice the have 2 first names, and they always say ,"I want us to know ourselves " all widowers, work on oil rigs, one said his daughter need emergency surgery,and could I help? BLOCKED

It is a scam. They target women over 40. Eventually ask for money. Zynga has it on the website to beware of this.

I went on Google tonight to find out if there is some new trend with WWF as a "dating site," because I've had so many recent new games initiated by guys also trying to start convos. Great article. My profile resembles yours almost completely, down to finding x-mas well wishes and the occasional "nice play," appropriate dialogue. Otherwise, play the game and go back to your life. Thank you for the affirming post!

I found this by searching creeps on Words with friends and am so happy to find that this isn’t just happening with me! I started to play the game a month ago and have had to deal with 4 men who come to play with in my language (Portuguese) but keep asking weird things in a very bad English.
At first, I was trying to be nice, but now it’s just beginning to piss me off really. I just want to play the game, I don’t wanna date a guy who is old enough to be my father.

I have been plagued with men who all seem to have the same story being a widow, well-educated World traveled etcetera and of course they live 2500 miles away from me who want to talk and recently I had one who wanted me to set up Skype who wanted my phone number. I usually don't talk with them and some time ago I changed my picture to my two cats so they don't even know what I look like now, but I would really like to know what they really want. The same day I question one, another suspicious guy who had started a game with me and we had played a couple of rounds resigned. We both had approximately the same score I could not acertain any reason for it other than I was questioning this other guy. I cannot even imagine what these people are after. I guess the question is what can they do with your phone number which I would never give, by the way, and why are they doing this? I told the guy you don't even know what I look like! You are looking at my two cats and hitting on me! Why???
If anybody can tell me what this about, I would really like to know!

Lately I’ve been wondering if it’s some kind of bot and not real guys. Always starts with hi! Then where are you from? When I reply “where we are from is on our wwf profile page.” They’ll repeat the question.

It’s annoying because I just want to play the game. I don’t mind normal conversations but they’re aggressively creepy.

I’m a new played on WWF. Love the game. Love words! Love to read! A guy just blocked me because he asked me what I was looking for on WWF and I told him, just playin’ the game. He told me he’s widowed and looking for a good God fearing woman. I told him there’s dating sites for that. Guess he didn’t like my answer! LOL.

It’s not just men scamming on women in WWF. I’ve accepted game requests from players whose profile pictures show a beautiful 20-something and who quickly start flirtatious chats. I’m an overweight 50 year old and my profile picture is of me with my wife and children. Any chats beyond an introductory hello and where are you and I block them.

It is becoming so frustrating on Word as the level of harassment has increased. What can be done?

How do I check my word averages? It shows me other prospective player’s but not my own.

OMG, you made me feel much better about weirdo chatting while just trying to enjoy WWF. I am a newcomer to game and enjoy trying to improve. I accept games with strangers but was starting to wonder if I was being a prude. Twice (both men) wanted to message. Things like “what are you doing right now?” Maybe innocent but feels wierd. I love your comments. You made me laugh. I will continue to play and lose horribly—and block weirdos.

I was searching this topic because I just can’t believe how many do the same crap to me! I don’t get it! Sometimes they get mad when I don’t respond and will block me (don’t care). They’ll be pushy with two or three messages in a short amount of time. I’m as friendly as they come in real life, but to have at least one stranger a day start a convo with me just baffles me! Like you said a lot are ex military , recently divorced. It wasn’t always this way. I’ve felt that within the last five years , more men have been using that platform to meet people. They use it as a free dating site. Thanks for your post , it is refreshing to know that I’m not alone. Even more peculiar, i knew there had to be someone else out there who has experienced the same situation as me.

All you do is type “chat off” next to your username or real name. If they keep messaging you, ignore them til they resign. That’s the only way it will work. I have the same ongoing issue.

Yes! I get this all the time too! I’ll also notice that their English is not great. Then they’ll ask for a phone number, to talk on google hangout or WhatsApp. I chatted on WWF to try and see what they want and I keep it simple, but once they ask for another form of communication I say “No thank you.” Sometimes they will continue to play and other times they’ll block me. Interested to see other feedback. I found your blog when I googled “creeps on wwf”

If you ever figure it out, I’d like to know the answer, as well. I’ve had the same experience with numerous men — widowed, divorced, almost always working abroad, or traveling on business, want my email address and phone number, or want to connect on Hangout. When I quit chatting, they become irritated and persist in numerous “Hellos” “Are you there?” “Why aren’t you answering me?” Another thing they have in common is very poor writing skills and sentence structure. Always puzzling since they claim to be well-educated...strange.

Ahhh! I know that exact scenario. I hate hate hate when it’s someone I’ve had numerous good matches with and then out of nowhere they start sending, “your hair is sexy” kind of messages! Like, gees. Bums me out because i was really excited to find someone to have good matches with. Why must it be ruined?! :( people are creeps.

Dear Cynthia, I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog, if that's what this is. My username on WWF is ladypop. I have very similar experiences with these creeps as you have referred to them. I am always polite and never block them however. If you try this technique they will go away. Since I am smarter than the average fool, (or at least believe that I am) I've become quite good at detecting which ones are looking for a date etc. More interesting however is that their command of the English language doesn't match up to their photograph which doesn't belong to them. Many are foreign and sound like they belong to a Nigerian or other notorious scam operation.
Recently, I tried writing several guys back in Italian, Dutch, German etc. and stumped them in their own tracks. I just carry on like the old detective Peter Falk played in the tv show Colombo. I have many more thoughts and ideas about why this is happening but don't have time right now to punch this out with my finger on an IPhone. I could give you more of my thoughts later if you like, but in the meantime if you want a WWF's friend who loves to play I'd be happy to oblige.
Laura