I met my guy on a dating site for BBW. His name was Christopha Furtado. His pictures showed a handsome man, dark hair, and tanned. He claimed he was from Portugal and was an electrical engineer. He immediately wanted to talk on the phone. We used Hangouts, and he called me. His voice matched the accent that would go along with his story. He claimed he was educated in the UK, thus his British accent. His story was fascinating and not too hard to not believe. He had met a lady online from the states and ended up moving to LA to be with her. They had a kid, and she ended up going back to her boyfriend and abandoning him with his kids. His visa was up, so he had to return to Portugal. In the meantime, his mother lived in LA because she had married an American. He wanted to return to the states so he could be with his kids. I had asked to see him on video, but he said his phone camera was broken. We would talk on the phone for hours. So hard not to fall for him. He said all the right things. Eventually, he began talking about needing money because he was unable to find a job because he had gotten sick while working on a fishing vessel. He talked about getting a visa and passport. I thought I could help with that. But he ended up telling me he needed almost 2,500 dollars. I was shocked. He claimed he was going to hire someone to help him with the process and streamline it all. I got my tax refund. I was going to use that to take my kids this summer to visit my mom. Well, instead, I used it to help him. I sent him 1,800. As I write this, I can see how gullible I was. I wanted the dream and love. He broke my heart. So after sending the money, he would keep asking for a little bit more, for food, and his phone service. I ended up giving him around $2,000 in total. He stopped talking to me after a while because he knew I didn’t have any more money. I told him I was getting food stamps for food. I guess that was a good way to get rid of him. In the end, I am hurt, but I know I am wiser.
Colleen
USA