A man in the Chicago suburbs is heartbroken after discovering his online love was really a scammer.
He's far from alone. In 2020, romance scams online reached an all-time high, costing victims more than $300 million. In Al's case, he lost just $8,000, but losing the money wasn't as upsetting as losing the love.
"I had a couple nights where I was listening to sad love songs and you know, heartbroken stuff, but it doesn’t feel right either — because this person doesn't even exist. This person wasn't a real person. It's just a fantasy made up by the scammer," he told CBS Chicago.
"It's hard to be heartbroken by somebody who doesn't exist."
Al was connected to the woman of his dreams on Match.com. For eight months, he was in contact with a woman he thought he was building a relationship with.
"She called me honey. She called me babe. She called me dear," he shared.
She seemed to have it all. She sent flowers. She even sent sexy photos and videos, with the two linking up for Skype sex.
"I was just so surprised that this was actually happening," Al said of the relationship.
"I mean, I'm a lonely guy. I don't have much of a social life."
For Al, joining Match.com to meet someone was another step in regaining his life. He worked hard to go from homelessness to where he is today. In his 50s, he simply wanted someone to spend the upswing of his life with.
One night, Al was looking at adult materials online and was shocked to discover his supposed girlfriend's photos on the site of a woman who makes adult content from her home with her husband. The Skype sex he thought they had was just a video being played to him.
For Al, he made the discovery a bit too late. He'd sent his supposed love $8,000 in gift cards to help her through a financial emergency. Now he's swearing off looking for love online and licking his wounds as he tries to figure out where to find love next.
