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Scammer in a Minivan - transfer?


jerkit

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This was brought up in the Fishy Reddit thread, but I thought I'd make a new thread because my question is sort of buried in there.

In the Welcome All post of SIAM, the new owner says

Anita’s final post on TAR pretty well sums up everything that’s gone on regarding the site transfer.

It looks like most of Anita's posts are ON SIAM, but the last post from her does not sum up everything regarding the transfer. Does anyone have this post or details on what happened and who this new person is? I know Anita had significant health and family issues, but I don't know who Ariel is. Can anyone fill me in?

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I think she was just someone who followed the TAR blog and got very involved in the comments. I was really bored a few weeks back read the whole thing and all the eleventy squillion comments (yawn).

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Ariel was a very frequent poster on TAR and agreed to take it over. IIRC, she was also expecting a baby, which may explain why the SIAMV hasn't been updated.

There is no great mystery about the transfer. In the last post back in May(?) Anita just said that she needed to focus on her mother for the moment, and that TAR was taking way too much time. She wanted to go back to working on her other blogs in the future. I'm not at all surprised she stopped. That stuff would have burned me out in a couple of weeks!

TAR did get way too detailed for my taste but Anita did a very good thing by documenting our Lady of Many Identities career on the internet. TAR, RR and the Possum still come up in many different fora when a scammer is suspected. It's a good cautionary tale and may explain why Reddit acted so fast in deleting the Fishy story. I'm sure the Possum is still active but is now careful to avoid her more obvious "tells." Look for her on Mommy Boards, disability boards, religious boards of all kinds, and anything connected to Disney.

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Here is the final post from Truth About Ruth. As with everything on that site, it's hella-long.

Passing the torch

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll know things have only become more difficult with various elements of my life. Life gets messy for everyone, eventually, and mine is messy right now. It is unlikely to be less messy any time soon. I no longer have the time or the will to maintain this site.

Luckily, someone has stepped forward to take the reins. Ariel, frequent commenter on this site as well as the creator of the concept of the “hermit crab sock,” has generously offered to take things from here. Ariel is going to move operations over to a new site: scammer-in-a-minivan.com. It has taken much longer than expected to hand the site over to her because of chaos on my end and because Ariel herself has been busy. I apologize that the site has been silent all this time.

Ariel has the entirety of TAR backed up and archived. She will be using my research or posting my entries or segments of entries in a manner she thinks best to document ’ antics. As soon as this entry goes live, Ariel owns any and all content I have written regarding . **Please note: if you have sent me information or research requests, Ariel does not have access to those e-mails. No one-on-one communications with me will be shared with anyone.** Ariel also has plans to have a community forum, in the fullness of time, wherein people will be able to discuss other cases of gross online behaviors, various catfishes, and frauds. I will not be involved in the running of Ariel’s site in any way, though hopefully I can leave a comment or two when I get the chance.

Some people who read here or read snark boards have wondered if this site has had some legal problems – not at all. There have been no DMCA requests, contact from lawyers, or even the suggestion that someone somewhere might be seeking legal action. I can’t imagine what this site has written that could be subject to legal correction (truth is a pretty absolute defense). Moreover, I would never pass on my own writing or a site theme to another person if there were legal problems involved.

Ariel and I became friendly during the course of my time here at TAR and she has shown herself to be a straightforward, trustworthy woman. I think if anyone could run a site devoted to documenting the strange case of , it would be Ariel.

There are a bunch of reasons I feel Ariel is better suited to this than I am. She is a great writer and a great researcher. But equally as important, she is far less obsessive than I am. My styles of writing and research are appropriate when dissecting a mass murderer’s 1500 page manifesto or documenting the details of a Christian child abuse manual. They are not so great when running a site like this because I get too focused on the minutia that interests me and it’s overwhelming for people to sort through. If the goal of this site was to serve as a clearinghouse for all of ’ antics, I was only partially successful because I have to think plenty of people came here, saw my enormous entries and quickly closed the tab. Ariel has the capacity to be more succinct than I can. I think basically everyone has the capacity to be more succinct than I can. ;)

The e-mails I would get behind the scenes also buried me. I have researchers who helped me look into -sightings, but the sheer bulk of fakes online combined with the fact that all these fakers seem to have so much in common caused a lot of people to wonder if was behind assorted fakers, frauds and questionable behaviors. Recently I spent time researching two potential frauds that popped up on This American Life and xojane wherein readers smelled a rat. The hell of it is, 99% of the time had nothing to do with any of the research requests I received. There has been one blogger we found whom we think may be – I’m about 2/3 convinced may be involved – but even if it isn’t , it’s definitely a long-term fraud and if I let my compulsive tendencies run riot, it would result in another 200k words of often pointless analysis.

Ariel has the research on the 2/3 fake – once she determines if it is she will likely let it rip. She may let it rip even if it isn’t because, goddamn, this one is fascinating.

I tell you guys all this to let you know that this sort of site, in the hands of someone like me, is an extraordinary time suck. I’ve let my book and conspiracy theory sites sit fallow as I tracked down weirdos on religious forums who likely were making up stories about the patriarchy, terrible illnesses, financial catastrophes and sick and dying children. I need to spend my spare time in a more productive manner than researching the hell out of online frauds and writing brick-length blogs about them. Oh, this world! There are so many emotional vampires out there.

So I think Ariel is going to be infinitely better at this and I can take care of my mom – going to be with her on a dime when she needs me -, read strange books and post discussions about them, discussions that I can write easily and without hours of research. I just need my life to be simpler as my mother and family cope with what lies ahead for us.

Ariel is well-known to everyone behind the scenes at Truth About Ruth, but Ariel is in a different stage of life than I am. I am childless, middle-aged and already had a strong niche web presence before I ever launched this site. I was accustomed to weirdos sending me Google street views of my house with vague threats. I was accustomed occasionally to getting strange stuff in the mail. If I had a child, I don’t know that I would have shared my last name or much about where I live because really is that creepy and the people she associates with are really that creepy. If you have any concerns about her identity, go ahead and contact her on her new site. I’m sure she will find a way to satisfy concerns while maintaining her safety.

I’m allowing comments here for this entry and will do my best to answer any questions or address any concerns. After a week or so, I will redirect this URL to Ariel’s site and take down TAR entirely. So TAR is dead, long live scammer-in-a-minivan!

Some last things I want to share with you all.

is still very active online. It is hard to prove where she is because mods almost universally hate to share IP or e-mail information, which, frankly, is perfectly understandable. However, there are some common facts that unite ’ online endeavors and there are things everyone can look out for:

–She is still very interested in medical topics. I encourage everyone to be skeptical of any medical sob story they read about online. This is actually advice that is not limited to . You don’t have to walk through the world suspicious of everyone but make sure you get all the data you can before you become emotionally or financially invested in anyone online who claims to be sick.

–Kate Gosselin returned to television and will be all over that like stink on rice. Be wary of anyone you find on a television site or Gosselin snark site who claims insider information.

–Be careful of people on natural childbirth sites who give off -like vibes. Unfortunately, this too covers a lot of ground. Half of the people posting on mothering.com seem to be clinically insane and of that half roughly ten percent sound just like in some manner.

–Consider not interacting with any medical site run by a “doctor” if that doctor does not give his or her name and where they practice. Be careful of unnamed doctors on Twitter and social media sites.

– is believed to be using online names that include the following words: doc, trial, court, and variations on the word “mother.” This covers a lot of ground, but sharing is caring.

– is still obsessed with Disney. Other than her OKCupid account, I haven’t found any proof she is using other Disney-related identities or is active on sites dedicated to Disney but beware nonetheless. Leopards cannot change their spots, and seldom changes her tells.

–Be aware that uses her old sites as a means of obtaining IP addresses. I became aware of this only very recently. Not sure what she thinks she can do with such data other than spoof people, but there you go. The psycheval.blogspot.com was evidently set up exclusively to collect IP addresses. Those in ’ life who are knowledgable about spoofing and hacking are thin on the ground these days – she has alienated one by lying that she would be marrying him soon and the other is as addicted as she is, so it is unlikely that she even has anyone who could help her spoof.

– has been all over snark sites. Be wary if you encounter anyone pumping fellow snarkers for information about this site or scammer-in-a-minivan.com, or asking questions that anyone with access to Google could have found the answer to in 10 seconds or so. Also beware of anyone claiming insider status for this or Ariel’s site. I have quit commenting on some snark sites I used to enjoy because it become evident was on those sites, and went so far as to PM me in an attempt to get me to reveal sources and to find out how much I know about her. I have reason to believe this happened to other people as well.

–If you or anyone you know in California, Nevada or Arizona is seeking a doula or midwife, for the love of god be aware that has told several people and is boasting on her OKCupid account that she is seeking midwife certification. She was making this claim before this site was even online. It is very easy for lay-midwives to get certificates and pass themselves off as professionals who underwent scrupulous medical training. has been too disorganized and too addicted to attend any sort of training. She doesn’t have a permanent address and flits all over California, never staying in one place long enough to finish even one semester of training.

–If you know her in real life, do not get into any car in which she is the driver. The few people who are sympathetic to will likely ignore this but I would be remiss if I didn’t say something. ’ drug use has escalated to the point that she has difficulty dealing with daily life. She is often dirty and disheveled, slurs her words and has difficulty holding conversations. But those clues may not tell the whole story about how loaded she is. has built up an astonishing tolerance to opiates and could be using without displaying a lot of signposts associated with people on such drugs. Under no circumstances permit your children to be in any car is driving.

– is running out of money. There has been no cross country jaunt for her and her two youngest children this summer. Her scams on Razing Ruth paid for her manic vacation last summer but, if she is scamming now, it has not been as lucrative. Please do not donate money to anyone with a sob story who is unwilling to give his or her full name and other identifying information as they ask for money. Those who know her and pity her and want to help her need to be aware that every penny she receives will be going to drugs, so consider giving her gas or grocery store cards in small amounts so that she cannot attempt to get change back on small purchases paid for with high-amount gift cards, yet can fuel her car and obtain food.

–Remember that while sites like these can raise awareness of scammers and give those scammed some vindication, there will likely never be an ounce of justice served via this site or any other that discusses her frauds. Even if everyone she ever stole money from via lies reported her to their local authorities or to national fraud sites, very little would happen. Because spreads her thefts all over the world, making her stop legally is next to impossible.

–Here are IP addresses and e-mails associated with that I culled from this site:

70.194.193.102

70.194.210.232

67.159.36.19

78.129.148.101

95.154.230.253

70.194.198.28

70.208.197.194

70.208.198.57

174.255.128.90

71.237.23.123

Most are proxy servers but tripped up and reused addresses between different identities she used on this site.

The following e-mail accounts were used by when she attempted to impersonate her brother on this site. (I removed the comments because they were put up to cause drama but I can post them if anyone wants to see them.)

oldchemdawg@safe-mail.net

sanchoshredder@gmail.com

pretended her brother was a biker and posted threats on the site. She later attempted, using the same guise, to try to get information from me via e-mail. The verbiage, grammar and information offered were nearly identical to the requests for information I got on the snark site.

It’s been fun, guys. I wish Ariel all the luck in the world with scammer-in-a-minivan.com and I hope everyone who read here prospers and has a -free life!

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Thanks, HA. I'm glad someone saved it.

It may be hella-long but it also has a helluva-lotta important information in it!

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"Ruth" has been all over snark sites. Be wary if you encounter anyone pumping fellow snarkers for information about this site or scammer-in-a-minivan.com, or asking questions that anyone with access to Google could have found the answer to in 10 seconds or so.

OMG. I swear I'm not "Ruth". LOL.

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thanks, happy! i missed that post as well. should her name and ip's be posted, though? is that okay? i know in the threads all references to her name and stuff was snipped.

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Wow, thank you so much! I finally have some closure. I read every post on Anita's blog and then got busy for a couple months. I checked back and there was a whole new site and references to Anita's last post, but no last post to read. It was seriously aggravating! Why would the new blogger not include the farewell post of the person who wrote and researched all of the other posts on her new blog? That's just rude. And immediately turned me off of the new blogger.

Best wishes to Anita! It was a wild and crazy ride. I thank her for the hours of eye-popping head-shaking entertainment.

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thanks, happy! i missed that post as well. should her name and ip's be posted, though? is that okay? i know in the threads all references to her name and stuff was snipped.

:embarrassed:

Yes, I should have removed her name. I've gone back and done that now. Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't actually read it when I posted it today, and I forgot TAR used the name.

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:embarrassed:

Yes, I should have removed her name. I've gone back and done that now. Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't actually read it when I posted it today, and I forgot TAR used the name.

no worries, just didn't want any trouble to come of it :) i likes ya :P

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thanks, happy! i missed that post as well. should her name and ip's be posted, though? is that okay? i know in the threads all references to her name and stuff was snipped.

The IP addresses are not from FJ so that does not violate our ToU in any way.

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The IP addresses are not from FJ so that does not violate our ToU in any way.

ahh, okay. thanks for the clarification. since i used to work for a security company and am now working in the medical field, i get very protective of information and if it's okay to give out. always good to know, though. :)

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  • 5 months later...

I was thinking about how I never get updates from this site to my RSS reader, so I went looking and the site's dead. Before I jump to conclusions about what may have happened, does anyone have information about this?

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Did you read the whole sub-forum on Razing Ruth? viewforum.php?f=88

I read it as it was happening, way back when. :)

My understanding was that Anita handed the TAR site over to Ariel and that Ariel would take over the investigation. That could mean anything, of course, and I wouldn't have been surprised if it was never updated at all. But it's been wiped, as far as I can tell, and that makes me suspicious.

But I'll be the first to admit that my paranoia levels are running pretty high lately.

scammer-in-a-minivan.com/ brings up a DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error in Chrome.

ETA Chrome

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I've checked scammer-in-a-minivan.com about once a month since it was turned over to Ariel. There was never a single update from Ariel beyond the "Welcome, Everyone!" post from 7/27/14, which can be seen on the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org/web/20141218110343/http://scammer-in-a-minivan.com/).

I think I last checked it a few weeks ago, so the site's disappearance is relatively new. Odd, though, and disappointing.

There were several commenters who kept returning and asking WTH was going on and if anyone had been able to contact Ariel or Anita. To my knowledge, no one ever succeeded.

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Anita is still active at her odd books blog. I hesitate to reach out to her because I never followed her main blogs, only TAR. Also, I may have bugged her a little bit at the height of the Ruth mania when I thought everyone was a CIB puppet. :whistle:

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