Did It: I Accepted the Mystery Friend Request on The Facebook
Well, I did it.
Against the little voice in my head saying, “Niel, you know how these stories usually end,” I clicked Confirm.
Amy Ford and I are now officially friends on The Facebook.
I feel like I should update my relationship status.
For anyone who missed the first chapter, a few days ago I received a friend request from Amy. I had no clue who she was. We had one mutual friend, and her profile raised enough questions that I wrote an entire blog post asking whether I should accept the request or hit Delete.
Curiosity won.
Welcome to the experiment.
First Discovery: Amy Is Still Posting
After accepting the request, I noticed a new post from today about the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction in New York.
There are pictures of Broadway memorabilia, Playbills, auction items, and the theater.
Okay.
That's certainly more interesting than immediately receiving:
“Hello dear, how are you today?”
Followed seven minutes later by an incredible cryptocurrency opportunity.
So far, so good.
But accepting the request also allowed me to see more of the profile.
And that's when I noticed Amy's résumé.
Amy Is Apparently Very Busy
According to the profile, Amy has not one, not two, but three different employers listed.
She is apparently:
Investor — Gilpin Lodge
Owner — The Lighter Side of Real Estate
HR Specialist — Samsung Global
That's quite a career portfolio.
Investor.
Business owner.
Human Resources professional.
I'm tired just reading it.
And remember, the profile currently shows only 16 Facebook friends.
It seems Amy may have more jobs than friends on The Facebook.
I'm not judging.
Maybe she's simply very career-focused.
Maybe she's an extraordinarily successful multitasker.
Maybe LinkedIn wasn't challenging enough.
Then There's the Rest of the Profile
The information visible to me now says she:
Lives in New York, New York.
Is from Seoul, Korea.
Is single.
Went to the University of Leeds.
Works—or has worked—in those three very different roles.
And she's posting about New York attractions and events.
Does any one of those things prove anything suspicious?
No.
That's important.
People move. People change careers. People have multiple jobs. People don't always maintain large Facebook friend lists. People use English names. And successful people can certainly have unusual career paths.
But taken together with an unsolicited friend request from someone I don't know?
My eyebrow remains raised.
Possibly both eyebrows.
Now We Wait
I'm not messaging Amy.
I'm not asking for a phone number.
I'm not moving the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram.
I'm certainly not discussing investments.
And if Amy happens to have an uncle who is a cryptocurrency genius who can turn $500 into $47,000 by Thursday...
I'm probably going to pass.
For now, I'm simply curious about what happens next.
Maybe nothing happens.
Maybe Amy is a perfectly real person who happened to send me a random friend request.
Maybe I'll eventually discover why she wanted to connect with me.
Or maybe the next chapter writes itself.
Either way, I clicked Confirm.
The experiment has officially begun.
And Amy, if you're real and eventually stumble across these posts:
Hi.
Please don't take it personally.
My inbox has trained me to be suspicious of everybody.
Especially people with more jobs than Facebook friends.
