The LuLac Edition #1688, July 23rd, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: OUR "INTERVIEW" LOGO.

INTERVIEW

This week on WILK there was an ad for a company called AshleyMadison.com. The company promotes a website for people who want to have an affair. The slogan they use is, “Life is short, have an affair”. Callers to the station expressed dismay that there was an advertisement promoting adultery. I spoke with a local Attorney who is all too familiar with the subject of adultery in his practice.
Q: What do you think of the AshleyMadison ad?
A: I think that the ad is a way to promote the website. Moral qualms aside, I think the ad does a lot of harm but not in the way you would think.
Q: Okay, I’ll bite.
A: People are going to commit adultery, they always have, they always will. But I prefer they do it the old fashioned way, face to face, at work, in the neighborhood, etc. AshleyMadison is a scam plain and simple. They ask for $250.00 and guarantee you an affair. But they rarely deliver.
Q: So you’re saying you’re more concerned about the consumer issue than a moral one.
A: You bet. The internet has given us all a sort of anonymity. We can look at porn, whatever but these websites that promote any type of connections are just criminal. The photos of the women are rarely real and when you pay the fee by credit card, you get charged every month.
Q: So Ashley Madison is a fraud?
A: I’m not saying that but because there is no proof but things are sketchy. Look at this.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Attorney pulls up his laptop and tries to register with AshleyMadison.
A: Look, I’m entering my information but it says my e mail is not current. I can’t get in. But look at the photos on the side here. Do they look like models? I mean this reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza goes to a nightclub with a photo out of a magazine and tells the hot women that the picture he has of a gorgeous woman was his fiance. They fall for it.
Q: Any other ones people should watch out for?
A: Fling and Friend Finder are pretty bad. You enter into an agreement with them and it is almost impossible to get out of it. They keep charging your card every month no matter what. My advice is never, ever give your credit card to these people.
Q: You sound more like a credit counselor than a divorce lawyer.
A: The Internet preys on people who are lonely and lusting. Go to bar for heaven’s sake.
Q: Your worst horror story for a client?
A: Here’s one, Craig’s list in 2009. A fellow attorney I’m ashamed to say hooks up with a woman on Craig’s list. She tells him she is in a bad relationship in the Bahamas and needs $4,000 to get out of it. She tells him if he helps her with the money she’ll come to the U.S. to be with him. Told him to meet her in Miami on Thanksgiving.
Q: He didn’t!
A: The dumb ass sends her the 4 grand and goes to Miami on Thanksgiving to meet his new girlfriend. She sent him these photos right along. Long story made short, he was hoodwinked. No girl, no affair, no Thanksgiving meet up. Risked his money and his marriage. He lost on all counts.
Q: Was there a recourse to get his money back?
A: Nope they were in the wind. Craig’s List stopped doing those connections when it was revealed that some girls got killed. I can’t tell you the number of cases I personally heard about from men who were ripped off. Smart men with more money than brains. I don’t even deal with people saying they want to recoup damages from these charlatans because as I said earlier they are in the wind.
Q: So all this concern about the ad on WILK is misplaced?
A: Yeah, people worry about the morality of it but I’d worry about the criminality of it.
Q: What happened to the Thanksgiving guy?
A: I handled his divorce.