Internet scammers have been using the address of a Texas retiree to send men seeking sex to her home in Plano, prompting authorities to install nearby traffic cameras to deter Johns, police said Friday.
Elaine White, 66, said she has been tormented by more than two dozen men knocking on her door at all hours since last April, with the latest unwelcome visitor arriving on January 16.
White said the men told her they paid money for Venmo and gave them her address to meet with women named «Rhonda,» «Kelly,» «Nicki» and others.
«I feel violated,» White told NBC News on Friday. «This is my safe space, here.»
white’s story was featured on NBC Dallas on Wednesday, prompting police to visit her on Friday and set up a highly visible traffic camera near her home.
The camera, mounted on a trailer, rotates 360 degrees to capture all the comings and goings.
«He’s constantly recording,» Plano Police Officer Jennifer Chapman said. «I hope it’s a deterrent to anyone coming in there to do what he’s doing.»
These past few months of unwanted visitors have understandably left White shaken.
«It’s very scary,» he said. “You know how they say ‘stranger danger?’ This is how I feel».
Men have been arriving at White’s door from all over Texas.
In April, a prospective client from Laredo, about 500 miles from Plano, sat on her porch with two six-packs of beer and a bottle of whiskey from midnight to 2 a.m.
“He told the officers that he had been there since 12 and that we were going to wait another 10, 15 minutes,” White recalled. «(He assumed) ‘Kelly’ was going to go out looking for him. She saw two cars here, so he thought she was waiting in line.»
The men you’ve spoken to have been honest about why they’re on your doorstep.
In an incident captured on his doorbell security camera, a man said he was there to «meet someone» named «Rhonda.»
“’Drugs or sex?’ «White could be heard asking the man.
«Um, the second one,» the man said.
«Well, you know what? This is a fake house and you have about 10 seconds to get away from it or the police will get you,» White was heard telling the man before throwing his hands in the air, doing a 180 and running.
White has a Smith & Wesson .357 and says he’s not afraid to use it. He has a sign on his front door that has a picture of a gun and the words «Warning: This door is locked for his protection, not mine.»
«Look at the sign on my front door. Get the f– off my front porch,» White was recorded telling a would-be John wearing his work shirt with the company name on the pocket.
White said she was overwhelmed by the support she received from neighbors and former coworkers who live nearby.
These friends installed a security camera on her doorbell and have been constantly visiting her to make sure she is okay, the retiree said.
«It’s a quiet neighborhood and these are the guys I’ve worked with for 41 years,» said White, who worked as an executive assistant for a company that sold parts for oil refineries. «They have families of their own, but they’ve been coming here just to check on me.»