All I Wanted Was a Relationship and Children, Story of Olivia

This is the story of Olivia (not her real name), sharing her experience with two romance scammers.

Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Olivia, and I’m 41 years old. I’ve never been married and never had children.

As long as I can remember, I have had the dream of becoming a wife and a mother. I attended church for most of my life, and pleasing God has always been a top priority for me.

When I turned 40, I became restless, facing the rest of my life alone and childless. I couldn’t understand why God has not blessed me with my desires. So, I decided to join the ChristianMingle dating website. I began my search for Mr Right.

Several people approached me, and I got overwhelmed. I decided to close my account, but before I did that, two men exchanged emails with me. Little did I know, this was the beginning of an elaborate scheme to gain my trust and exploit me for their own gain.

Both gentlemen—Andrew and Matt—presented themselves as military men who were about to retire. I began talking to both of them.

Talking to Andrew
Andrew immediately did a video call to see if he was talking to a real person. He, himself, looked legit at the time.

We talked for about two weeks, he introduced me to his daughter, and we Skyped several times. His daughter seemed sweet enough.

Every time I asked simple questions about the military, he became angry, saying, “Don’t you trust me?” or “Let’s keep it a secret because I’m on a secret mission and my daughter doesn’t even know.” At the time, it made sense. But I still thought he was verbally abusive, calling me heartless.

So, about week five, he said he had an emergency, and it ended up being that someone died. He needed me to email someone about a trunk box process. He asked me for $10,550, and I said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not giving you that.” He was furious, and I said, “Goodbye!” So, I blocked him.

One of my friends suggested emailing the other guy, Matt. So I was like, “Why not?”

Talking to Matt
Matt was completely different from Andrew. He was gentle. He was like, “I’m an officer. I’m here to help you. I will never take advantage of you.”

I asked him for his military credentials, and he shared some pretty impressive details.

We talked about God and church. He talked about his military experience and his deceased family. We bonded pretty quickly. He even asked me for a care package, like underwear and deodorant.

He also asked for a phone, so I purchased a phone and a SIM card for him. He instructed me to email a diplomat, and he would arrange for the phone to be delivered to his camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. So I emailed him and asked for the address. He gave me an address in Accra, Ghana, and that’s where I sent the phone and the SIM card.

In the meantime, Matt asked me to fill out a form for him for his leave through the American Red Cross so that he could come and see me. The form seemed legitimate, and I sent a copy of my driver’s license.

They responded back, saying that his leave was approved, and all I needed to do was pay $1,500 to cover airfare since COVID-19 had grounded the airline carrier. Again, I was like “I don’t have that money.” Matt told me not to worry, he would figure it out.

Finally, he convinced me to send $600 to a PayPal account that handled their staff. So against my gut, I did it. I honestly cared for him and wanted a future with him. So, I sent him the money. He assured me that he would pay me back. But his demands continued…

On another occasion, he convinced me to send him another $600. Foolishness is what it was, I sent the money again.

Next time, he convinced me to share my credit card and bank account information. Even my social security number to pay off my credit card, but he used a closed bank account. And again, he promised to figure it out. He showed me his flight details, and I even took some time off work to meet him.

He also said that he was wiring money into my checking account for my rent and for an orphanage project he wanted to build. However, the bank flagged the money as fraudulent. I was devastated, but he said, ‘I’m going to explain everything; your accounts are safe.’ This time, I had no patience, so I pounced on him and said, “Tell me the truth. I gave you everything, and you gave me nothing.”