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Catherine Townsend
A sex and dating columnist, Catherine Townsend published her first novel Sleeping Around: Secrets of a Sexual Adventuress in 2007, and followed up with Breaking The Rules: Confessions of a Bad Girl in 2008. She also appeared in How To Have Sex After Marriage on Five, and is now writing a third book. Born in Arkansas, Catherine was a gossip columnist for New York Magazine before moving to London in 2003, since when she has had a very interesting - and pretty public - private life...
I feel for Susanne Klatten, the BMW heiress who got taken for a ride by the so-called 'Swiss gigolo' Helg Sgarbi after meeting him at a health spa. But come on, couldn't she have seen this coming?
Scary to say, but I find myself agreeing with Jan Moir for once...though it's ridiculous for her to imply that falling for a con artist a totally female phenomenon. I have several male friends who have been taken for a ride by predatory women, and believe me, suckers come in all shapes and sizes.
Still, in this case the amount of red flags were ridiculous. First of all, she was reading a self help book, and he said that it was his favourite. Hello, red flag! Men who make a point of reading self-help books in public want you to know how sensitive and wonderful they are--until they hit you up for a loan. As for the 'spy' line, do people seriously still believe that one? He can't have been a very effective undercover operative if he plopped down next to a stranger in a health club and announced it.
Still, none of this would matter if everyone followed the most important rule: DON'T LOAN MONEY TO A NEW PARTNER. If the bank won't give them cash, there's probably a reason why.
Other warning sighs: If they claim to be 'on holiday in Paris' and you don't get a foreign ringtone (they are probably calling from their mum's basement and Photoshopping the Eiffel Tower in later!), they use the line 'I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you,' or claim to be living with a 'sister' or female roommate who you are never allowed to meet.
I feel for the victims, I really do. But we all have to have some basic common sense. A new relationship is like a job interview - don't be afraid to ask questions!
Scary to say, but I find myself agreeing with Jan Moir for once...though it's ridiculous for her to imply that falling for a con artist a totally female phenomenon. I have several male friends who have been taken for a ride by predatory women, and believe me, suckers come in all shapes and sizes.
Still, in this case the amount of red flags were ridiculous. First of all, she was reading a self help book, and he said that it was his favourite. Hello, red flag! Men who make a point of reading self-help books in public want you to know how sensitive and wonderful they are--until they hit you up for a loan. As for the 'spy' line, do people seriously still believe that one? He can't have been a very effective undercover operative if he plopped down next to a stranger in a health club and announced it.
Still, none of this would matter if everyone followed the most important rule: DON'T LOAN MONEY TO A NEW PARTNER. If the bank won't give them cash, there's probably a reason why.
Other warning sighs: If they claim to be 'on holiday in Paris' and you don't get a foreign ringtone (they are probably calling from their mum's basement and Photoshopping the Eiffel Tower in later!), they use the line 'I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you,' or claim to be living with a 'sister' or female roommate who you are never allowed to meet.
I feel for the victims, I really do. But we all have to have some basic common sense. A new relationship is like a job interview - don't be afraid to ask questions!
