Just out of curiosity...

So, like the title says, I’ve got a few questions about something. Here’s the deal. While I was browsing CNN.com and catching up on the news, I spotted an ad on the sidebar for some kind of "chat-contact" site. I clicked through to see what the hype was about and found out there are two versions—one in English and one in Spanish (if you want to check it out for yourself, just Google "chat contact" and you'll find them).

Now here's how it works... you get to pick who you want to chat with. You basically just click on someone's profile and drop your phone number underneath. Then, the person whose profile you picked supposedly gets a notification from the service saying someone wants to talk to them. After that, they reach out to you and the chat begins. At least, that's how it seems to work from what I can tell. I wouldn't actually know for sure since I've never tried it.

The site also mentions that your chat partner could be either a professional operator or the actual person you were trying to contact (meaning the user with the profile you picked).

And that's the part that's tripping me up... which is why I have a couple of questions.

1 - How am I supposed to know if it's an operator or the real person? That makes zero sense. How would I even know if I actually reached the person I wanted instead of just getting stuck with an operator? The site says it could be either.

2 - Like I mentioned, there are both English and Spanish versions of this chat contact site. I checked both, and the user photos are identical—only the names are different. Is it possible one site just "borrowed" the images from the other, or are these just random stock photos used for profiles that have nothing to do with the actual users?

3 - Why would they even offer the option to talk to an operator if the whole point is to contact the specific person on the profile? I noticed that one text costs about $2.00 according to the site.

Again, I've never actually done this, but I'm super curious and wanted to know if this stuff is legit. I'm not looking to use the service or anything, I'm just wondering! I know this might seem like a silly topic, but it popped into my head so I figured I'd ask. Thanks for reading, guys!

Gregory Williams3 said:3 - Why even bother offering an option to speak with a customer service representative if they already know I'm trying to reach the specific person on the profile instead of some call center agent? It’s redundant. And I see that one text message costs about $2.00 according to the fine print.

There you have it. It’s nothing more than a blatant scam. 😁

Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from... but still, you’ve got the option to chat with other users right there. That’s why I just don't quite wrap my head around the whole thing.

1. Of course it makes no sense. The people listed in these "profiles" aren't even real people.
2. It’s an international scam. They just swap out the language depending on who they're targeting, but the content is always the exact same scheme.
3. It's all designed to dodge legal scrutiny. This isn't some legitimate service for reaching someone with a profile; it's just a way to bleed money from naive people.

For real though. I honestly spent the whole time wondering if the people behind these profiles actually existed. But if they don't? Then everything makes total sense. That was the only thing tripping me up.