It is proven that having friends can have a positive impact on health and well-being. Yet, sometimes, a person must be wary of how exactly these friends find their way into their lives.
Just like in today's story, where a woman is extremely suspicious of her parent's new friend. She is 26 years old, while they're in their 60s. And what's even more disturbing is that they all became so close that now, she calls them mom and dad. And they have been in each other's lives only for 6 months!
More info: mumsnet
What is there to do when you don't trust the person your parents trust so much?
Image credits: Hector Reyes (not the actual photo)
An author's elderly parents found a new friend, who is a similar age to their granddaughter
Image credits: Antoni Shkraba (not the actual photo)
This woman appeared in their lives seemingly out of nowhere, and now, she is such a big part of it that she calls them mom and dad
Image credits: Itllbealrightonthenight
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
In the update, the author also mentioned that this woman flirted with her 23-year-old daughter, which made her very uncomfortable
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
If this all wasn't enough, it turned out that the father was planning to rewrite his will to include this new friend!
Image credits: Itllbealrightonthenight
And so, with all these details, the author couldn't stop wondering what this woman's intentions were
Today’s main story focuses on a suspicious individual that appeared in the storyteller’s life. So, to talk about people like this from a legal perspective, Bored Panda contacted Judge’s Assistant Jurgita Kasinavičiūtė from the Kaunas chamber of the Kaunas district court.
The dubious individual in the OP’s life was her parents’ new friend, who she dubbed Tracey. And the woman had many reasons to be suspicious of her.
More than 30% of adults over 45 tend to experience loneliness. But the author’s parents, who are in their 60s, don’t fall into this statistic. They have plenty of friends and family around them. So, when a 26-year-old woman became their friend, it seemed kind of odd. Quite a big age difference, even for a friendship, isn’t it?
What was even more suspicious was how close they all became, seemingly overnight. Tracey said she has bad parents, and the OP’s ones took her under their wing. So, they started having dinners together several nights a week, as well as jointly going shopping and to the gym. She became a very present individual in their daily life.
Then, when the author met this woman, it became apparent that they wouldn’t become friends. To be more specific, Tracey was dismissive and made her feel like a stranger.
But what irked the woman the most about this friendship was that Tracey repeatedly called them mom and dad. She knew them for only 6 months and had her own parents, even if they weren’t very caring.
So, no wonder all of this made the author so suspicious. What could her motives be? This question led her to ask for advice on the Mumsnet forum. People there instantly raised the red flags about Tracey. They reassured her that these concerns were valid.
Our interviewee Jurgita said that when a person feels threatened by an iffy individual in their life, they should go to the police. In certain cases, depending on the connection’s dangerousness, finding a lawyer or going to court can be useful too.
If a person decides to go to the police to report a suspicious individual, Jurgita pointed out that they should be as detailed as possible. For instance, give the person’s name and surname and describe their looks. Describing the circumstances of their meeting and the event that caused the report is helpful too. Basically, report everything you know about the person so law enforcement can do their job more efficiently.
Also, quite a few people mentioned that the woman should do some research about her parents’ friend. Some suggested doing internet research. After all, nowadays, finding information about people online is easier than ever.
Jurgita agreed with this point. She said that when meeting new people, everyone should be wary: “Not disclosing too much personal information is important, especially if you don’t know if the person is trustworthy.”
Image credits: Lucia Macedo (not the actual photo)
And if they find anyone unsettling, they can simply do a Google or social media search to see if there isn't some information that could confirm the suspicions.
According to the updates written in the comments under the post, that’s what the OP ended up doing – research. But it didn’t turn out to be overly fruitful. The woman was able only to find the name of Tracey’s parents and her place of work.
Yet, she didn’t restrict herself only to the online world. She questioned her parents as well. That’s how she found out that this woman, who struggles with some mental issues, met her dad at the gym they both go to.
What she also found out was that Tracey was gay and was flirting with her 23-year-old daughter. This made the daughter so uncomfortable that she declared she wouldn’t be spending time with her grandparents as long as their friend was there.
If all of that wasn’t enough, it turned out that the OP’s father is changing his will to include her!
All of this made folks online even more suspicious of Tracey’s antics. Some suggested that maybe she’s cuckooing – trying to take over a home of vulnerable people to conduct illegal activities. This theory caught the OP’s eye, so she started to look into the possibilities of deeper research into this woman.
For example, hiring a private investigator. Getting a CRB check on her is also an option. During this screening, the person's criminal history is looked up to see if they have any convictions, warnings, or anything similar on their record. You can see how this would be useful here, right?
In the end, she ended up planning to observe and learn more information about Tracey. And then, if needed, confront her own parents, the woman’s dad, and maybe even the police, just as our interviewee recommended.
What can we say is that this story is quite an emotional rollercoaster, isn’t it? Well, let’s just wish that it won’t turn out to be the worst-case scenario of Tracey being a con artist. Maybe it’s just a couple of elders finding a genuine friendship with a woman of their granddaughter’s age. And even if she turns out to be a nefarious person, let’s hope they will be able to get her before too much damage is done.
People online were no less concerned than the author and suggested she research her online or even with the PI's help
