“OH MY word, oh my WORD!”“Cherise”* kept repeating that, with increasing horror, as the awful realisation sank in. She‘d lost not only R90000 but her “fiancé” and the promise of “true” love.It was all an illusion from the start. A con artist calling himself Alex Wilson, apparently living in London, made contact with her on the Badoo dating website and wooed her with “honey, baby” romantic messages for six months.He said his wife had died in a car crash and that he had a son. He promised to visit Cherise, a 40-year-old Cape Town schoolteacher, and he asked her for her ring size and wanted to send her “things”.The only “things” she got were six months‘ of syrupy words. “Alex” told her he‘d hidden some money in a gift parcel to her: £50000.“I‘m so so sad,” she began. “I need your help. My fiancé sent me a parcel from the UK. Then I received an e-mail from immigration services saying I need to pay R90000 to have the parcel released. Now it wants another R80000. Help me please. What can...
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