A Florida woman lost $25,000 to a con man on a dating site who posed as US soldier stationed in Afghanistan.
Susan Rizzo, from Fort Lauderdale, said she sent the money because she thought she was developing a connection with a man who claimed to be Nicholas Edwards on Plenty of Fish.
Edwards reportedly told Rizzo that he was on mission in Afghanistan after the US announced its withdrawal from the country.
'I sent the money because after two months of communicating I felt I was developing a relationship that felt real,' Rizzo told NBC.
Rizzo said she is now sharing her story so it can serve as a cautionary tale for people who interact with strangers on the internet.
'For somebody else to get taken like this emotionally and financially, it's embarrassing. It's hurtful,' she said.
Susan Rizzo, from Fort Lauderdale, lost $25,000 to dating app scanner posing as US officer stationed in Afghanistan
The man claimed to be named Nicholas Edwards and said that he needed money to book his own flight from the Middle East to Florida. He appears to have stolen a photo and claimed to be the man pictured
Rizzo said she sent the money because she though she was developing a real connection with Edwards
Rizzo started talking to Edwards in June. They texted and spoke on the phone constantly, with Rizzo voicing her fears for his safety amid the crisis in the Afghan country, where he supposedly was stationed.
He even called Rizzo his 'cherry blossom.'
Soon, Edwards earned Rizzo's trust by telling her about his missions and the fellow soldiers he had lost throughout the years.
'In the eyes of anybody else, this would be an imminent death of me. I'll email you right away with my promissory note which will equally hold us bonded until I am home in your arms,' Edwards wrote to Rizzo, saying that he will pay her back the $25,000.
'He had to go off to Afghanistan more than once when the riots and things were happening,' Rizzo said.
Rizzo said she is now sharing her story so it can serve as a cautionary tale for others
'In the eyes of anybody else, this would be an imminent death of me. I'll email you right away with my promissory note which will equally hold us bonded until I am home in your arms,' Edwards wrote to Rizzo, saying that he will pay her back the $25,000
Soon, Edwards earned Rizzo's trust by telling her about his missions and the fellow soldiers he had lost throughout the years
Edwards claimed to have been on Fallujah and Mosul, and to have been told by the military that he needed to arrange his own flight arrangements to return to the US.
'I feel my life is in limbo while waiting for your safe return,' wrote a concerned Rizzo when chaos unleashed in Afghanistan.
Edwards replied: 'A lot didn't go as planned. A lot of decision making amongst most of the special ops soldiers. Except there's a problem about my return because there's a provision to it that needs me to handle my own private flight arrangement.'
The con man told Rizzo that he had spent all of his life saving escaping Afghanistan and he had made it to the Middle East but needed money to travel to Florida and meet her.
On August 20, Rizzo deposited the $25,000 to his bank account. After Edwards asked for another $3,000, Rizzo grew suspicious and realized she had fallen victim to a scam.
She says that while she hopes to get her money back, the main reason behind sharing her story is for others not to make the same mistake.
Edwards said he had made it to the Middle East but was going to need money to travel to Florida, where he was going to meet Rizzo
Rizzo said that while she hopes to get her money back, the reason behind sharing her story is for others not to make the same mistake
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