A lot of people watched Dateline this weekend, and the special had hip hop fans talking. The hour focused on Timothy Blair, better known as 90s rapper Tim Dog, and accusations that he scammed women he met online.
According to the women who spoke to Dateline, the pattern was the same. Tim would treat them to expensive dinners, show off his lifestyle and talk up his music career. Then he would start talking business, pitching investments and deals with a big payoff promised. One woman said she handed over $10,000 after being told she would see a $1 million return, and ended up around $32,000 in the hole. Others told similar stories.
The special also raises a question worth thinking about. When a young woman dates a man for what he can do for her financially, people are quick to call her a gold digger. The women in this story were drawn in by the same things: the restaurants, the gifts, the high rise apartment and the music industry glamour. The difference is they ended up being the ones who got taken.
None of that makes it their fault. A con artist studies what people want and uses it against them, and Tim Dog is accused of doing exactly that. But it’s a reminder for everybody: if a new love interest starts asking you to invest in anything, that’s your cue to slow all the way down.
