First of all, romance scams, at least like the one I experienced, should be in a category all by themselves.
A romance scam, by the very nature of it, involves (usually) a man wooing a woman, causing her to fall in love with him, then proceeding to talk her out of money, claiming a need of some sort (or, in my case, one need after another). This means that not only does the woman have her money stolen, but she loses her heart, too. Which do you think is more painful?
She trusted and believed what the man told her to be true; but it was all lies…so sad…
My sadness is for the man; who thinks this is an acceptable form of behavior toward a woman. It’s not.
This is not the fault of the woman, who wasn’t wary or guarded enough, who didn’t immediately run a background check. The fault falls squarely on a society, a world that breeds this kind of predator. It’s almost as if it is a new sport—hunting unsuspecting widows for profit.
But, I consider this a crime right up there with rape and murder. Why?
Because it’s personal. Because love is a sacred thing. To betray someone’s love for you, to lie to someone over and over, someone who trusts you, is, in my estimation, about as low as you can go.
You see, I thought he was entering into our relationship with love in his heart, but it was only deceit and greed. So sad…
Maybe it’s not so new. I guess men have been taking advantage of women throughout history. But this is SO personal…