Wellll, in complete fairness, I don't blame them/you. There are people out there waiting to take advantage of you, so of course keep your head on straight.

I omitted the part about people like that because ultimately, they were easy to see through - whining about needing money after talking for a few minutes, being overtly flirtatious, etc. They just weren't a large percentage of those I'd met.

In any event, good luck, hope you've found a new friend.