A man on Match.com contacted me. His profile said he lived in North Chicago. His profile name was: (I can't remember for sure. It disappeared quickly) I think it was cant_wait_smile51. His email address was: [email protected]. His name was Johnny Clerk. He said he was a German business man (age 61) who sold gold and diamonds. First contact was around 7/12. I believed him. He had to fly to Cleveland on business. Then back to Chicago. He was very sweet and romantic. (I know, I was stupid to fall for that.) He was making plans to fly to Indianapolis to meet me. His written English was not good, but I just assumed it was because he was German. I talked to him one time on the phone and realized he had a very heavy accent, so it was very hard to understand him. Then suddenly he had a client from China who wanted to buy 500 gold bars, and he didn't have any place in the US to get that many gold bars, so he had to make a quick flight to Ghana.in the next communication, he informed me that when he checked in to his hotel, the cab driver took off with his luggage, his laptop, cell phone, and $10,000 in cash in his bags. (This was all very strange; there were lots of red flags, which I just overlooked.) He wrote me through Yahoo IM (using the hotel computer) that he had no money, and no way to get any. He was desperate. He wondered if I could help in any way. At first I said there was no way I could do anything. He kept begging, so finally I said, I have $600 in a savings account. I went online to Western Union and sent the 600 ($30 transfer fee) with my Visa card. The person who was to pick up the money had the name Clerment Asare, in Accra, Ghana 00233. (another red flag: Western Union required the person to answer a question, and I gave the question: Who is this money for? Answer: Johnny Clerk.) The transfer went through. He picked up the money and wrote to thank me profusely. He was able to pay his hotel bill and get some food. Only then did it occur to me that it might be a scam. I was so upset with myself that I had done such a stupid thing. Now, I'm not sure what to do. I want him to keep writing to me, I think, without letting him know that I suspect something. Just today, he asked me if I could get him a laptop so we can communicate by email. I said, There's no way I can do that. Right now, I'm afraid he knows that I know, and I don't know what to do next.
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