If You’re On Instagram, Here’s Why You Should Take Florida Man’s Advice

If you're one of the more than 2 billion people worldwide who use Instagram at least once a month, there are a lot of reasons you should take Florida Man's advice.

In fact, this particular Florida Man has 42 thousand reasons why you should listen to him.

DATELINE - Miami and the Saga of a Florida Man-slash-victim who would prefer to remain anonymous and will tell you why momentarily.

I'm not on Instagram a lot.

When I am, I post maybe a picture of my guitars or picture of my dogs, maybe something baseball-related, but I do seem to get a lot of private messages from girls, women, early twenties, maybe mid twenties.

They are all smoking hot.

Not all of them have command of the English language, which is the first clue that, hmm, this person might not be real.

Every once in a while though, one of these messages gets your attention and you look at the account.

This one's from Anne.

Anne seems real and is really pretty. There's a lot of pictures...a lot of them.

There's only a couple pictures or their private accounts that you can't see.

Anyway, Anne reaches out to me, Hey, are you hiding all the joy somewhere?

Like what?

She came back with, I think you're hiding all your joy. Maybe you could share some of yours with me.

I said, I'll pass. Thanks.

Anne responded with, well, I just thought it would be fun to share each other's joy.

And I just let it go at that.

Lots of pictures. It looks like a real account. She's smoking hot.

And I think that's what happened with Florida Man who lost $42,000 in a cryptocurrency investment
scheme that was built on a relationship that started on Instagram.

It started back in December of last year. It ended abruptly last month.

The victim, we said he wants to remain anonymous, said she surprised me because when I asked
her to prove she was real, she agreed to a video call. And she looked pretty similar, but not exactly the same.

He thought, well, maybe it's due to photo filters.

Federal agents said it's likely the women, the women in the photos has no idea that she's
being used in romance schemes because these bots, they just grab pictures and they post
them.

You've probably seen this happens a lot on Twitter where one person's picture is used
for multiple accounts.

Well the victim said I became suspicious because she wasn't the exact girl, but he started
investing.

Her her suggestion first, it was small amounts of $500,000 in each instance.

He saw financial gain and he was able to get access to his money.

He's thinking, well, this sounds like a good deal.

Well, that's when things fell apart because that's when she suggested that he move his
money to a different site. She promised him gains of 1% a day.

The victim described this website as a sort of video game. He saw the numbers go up, but when he said I'd like to withdraw some of the money, he was told he would have to pay to withdraw the funds.

The victim said I saw my money going up and down, but it was a trap because my money was
already gone.

He'd been suspicious. He had even gone to Bank of America and the bank cautioned him, don't take the money out. It's a risky investment.

Well, because it seemed as if he was making profits, he transferred the funds and lost
$42,000 in the process.

By the way, according to the US Federal Trade Commission, reported losses from romance scams
totaled $1.14 billion in 2023 with median losses per person of about $2,000.

Romance scams are the highest reported losses for any form of imposter scam, according to
the US FTC.

So we can all take a lesson from Florida Man and save a lot of money in the process.

MORE EPISODES OF FLORIDA MAN STRIKES AGAIN

Dating is nothing like it was a few decades ago. Heck, dating isn't anything like it was even just a few years ago, with all the different dating apps and online ways to find love. But, one thing hasn't changed: People still want to be appealing. They want to put their best foot forward in the dating world. So, what are some ways to be more attractive and appealing when you're on a date?

Actually, this list works even if you're not looking to date or are already are in a long-term relationship. Why not be as attractive as possible just for yourself? I'm not just talking about the physical, either. There's so much more to being an appealing person than looks alone. Dictionary.com has some definitions of attractive that show the broadness of this term. They say the word means "providing pleasure or delight, especially in appearance or manner" and add that words such as "pleasing, charming and alluring" all apply. They also use the word in the context of having "an attractive personality" or "arousing interest or engaging one's thought" and "consideration."

Of course, not all definitions are so broad. Some do come down to appearance and vanity. Vocabulary.com defines it as, "Anybody or anything that's attractive is visually pleasing or draws you in." They add that it also has to deal with attracting others, of course, and that, "for people, being attractive usually means you're beautiful or handsome enough to pull in the attention of others."

That said, in this list, I'm really focusing on ways to be an all-around attractive person. This is largely not a list about how to be physically prettier or more handsome. Sure, some of these tips are physical. But, for the most part, these are ways to be instantly attractive in the dating game and a more appealing person overall.

This one might seem odd. If you're trying to attract someone, why would you try to focus on them? But, it works. People like to feeling like the person their with is actually interested in them. It helps you actually be an attractive person if it isn't always about you and if you focus on your partner, date or friend.

Sure, you want to look good on your date. But, if you're wearing heels that are too high or pants that look cool but just don't fit, you might be uncomfortable, and that will make the other person uncomfortable. "The most important thing is that you feel comfortable in what you are wearing. If you are not comfortable, it will show in your body language and your date will be able to tell," says Houseofcoco.net.

Everyone always talks about confidence being attractive, and they're not wrong. Being confident in yourself is a very attractive quality. You don't need to be an egomaniac or anything, though. No bragging fests on a first date. Just, be confident in who you are and in the spectacular, rock star of a person that God created you to be.

This goes along with confidence. Just be you, because nobody else can be you. "As cheesy as it sounds, the most important thing you can do on a date is to look and act like your authentic self," notes Southerntide.com.

This is a tricky one. I'm not a big fan of perfume. But, it's good to smell nice on a date. That said, do not - I repeat, to not - overdue it. There's really no bigger turnoff than someone who smells like they just took a dive into a pool of really strong perfume or cologne. Less is more.

Show off those pearly whites! Something as simple as smiling can make you instantly appear attractive, because it implies that you're happy on both the outside and inside. No RBF, please. Smiling is contiguous, too, in the best possible way.

Your mom was right when she told you to sit up straight. "Slouching makes you look unconfident and bored, neither of which are attractive qualities," notes Houseofcoco.net. "Sit up straight and make sure your shoulders are back. It will make you look more confident and alert, two qualities that are sure to impress your date."

Dating and socializing is supposed to be fun. Humans were meant to be together in a community, and that's a good thing. So, just have fun on your date. Be playful. Laugh. Flirt. Wink. Okay, maybe don't wink. That's creepy. But, you can send a wink emoji. Simply have fun.