Trump’s America just got even more surreal.
A Tempe, Arizona man claims his identity was stolen by a sugar daddy, but he can’t get the help he desperately needs because of the government shutdown.
23-year-old Dalton Tannehill met “James” via Grindr back in November. The two hit it off when James offered Dalton a $1,000 a month allowance. James also included a picture of a man in his 50s with greying blond hair.
James earned Dalton’s trust by wiring him $2,480 to cover his credit card bills. At that point, Tannehill felt more confident about James’ intentions.
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“Before the payment was processed, I was obviously suspicious,” Tannehill said. “When it processed, I felt, ‘Okay, good. This is legit. I actually have a real and legitimate sugar daddy!”
Tannehill didn’t think it at all suspicious when James began asking about some of Dalton’s vital information, like his credit card and social security numbers.
He went on to spend another $1,000 on gift cards at James’ insistence, anticipating that the sugar daddy would pay him again. Around the same time, James became more and more aggressive, demanding that Dalton respond to his messages with more immediacy. When he couldn’t, James blocked Dalton on all forms of communication and retracted his payments.
Following the drama, Dalton tried to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission, fearing that his identity had been compromised. Unfortunately, the government shutdown prevented him from doing so.
The two web pages for identity theft that the agency maintains have gone offline as part of the suspension of government services initiated by Donald Trump over his pet project: an unnecessary wall between Mexico and the United States.
Note to all the sugar daddies and sugar babes of the world: Only do business in cash during a government crisis. Also, never give out your vital information to anyone, ever.
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Vince
If I was the little gold digger I’d just be happy someone just paid my bills.
Creamsicle
Yeah it sounds like he came out ahead on this one. He should call it a win and move on while monitoring his credit score. I’m not going to suggest one because I’m not a bot or a shill, but there’s a bunch of them now and a lot of them are free or very reasonably priced.
taylor94
Umm, totally fake story. If someone steals your identity, you go to the police. Not the FTC. Call the FTC for “do not call” violations. Of course even without the shutdown, the FTC will do nothing.
Itsonlythetruth
My identity was stolen about 8 or 9 years ago and the NYPD advised me to report it to the FTC.
WSnyder
Who the hell goes to the Federal Government first for Identity Theft? You go to the local police to start with, get a Police Report Number than call any financial institutions that were or may have been compromised. Give them the Report #. Get a Credit Report [you can get them free w/o impacting your score for situations like this]. Follow up with the police with any new information. This happens SO often, every bank and credit card company has procedures to deal with it, just follow their rules. Yes, it’s annoying, yes, it’s a pain in the ass. Been there, got the Tee shirt [but not in a circumstance like this]. The author did not do their homework writing this story and Queerty* went for a BS Headline for a factually compromised story.
Invalid
I’ve read through the article more times than I care to admit, but haven’t found any indication that a crime was committed. Was the article poorly edited, omitting details of fraudulent use of credit information? The “victim” was asked for personal information, which he apparently gave freely, thinking he’d receive some unearned financial compensation.
Toofie
Where was the identity theft? He was foolish enough to give out his info. But from the article there’s no indication the sugar daddy stole his ID.
GayEGO
Interesting article, I am curious to see if the sugar baby will get back his identity.
winemaker
I can’t believe anyone today would give out personal information to someone they met on ‘grinder’ or online or whatever. Sad to say, this lad’s our of luck. It was an expensive yet valuable lesson to not trust anyone you just met on line and unfortunately in person until rou know them farly well, and even then be cautious and have reservations. sad to say! If you still feel compelled to loan money, get a signed promissory note or no deal