Hello Amanda. How are you? I hope you are having a great time with what you are doing. I don't know if you are still single or are going through a breakup, but I want to share a sad story I am going through.

Just over 10 months ago, I had met a woman on a popular dating website and for that time, we would communicate through chat and email. This woman claimed to be in the military, currently stationed in Syria before taking a tour in Mauritius and then back to Syria.

We often talked about our dreams, about her experiences in the military life and even soccer during this past World Cup and Champions League.

However, throughout the course of the 10 months, she would often ask for my assistance when it came to financials. I was trying hard to be wary of the situation and often advised the woman that I was not comfortable with such matters, but yet being of the Christian faith, I always believed that it is important to give of one self.

Well, one of the things this Marine wanted to do was set up a Vitamin Water business while on assignment in Port Louis, Mauritius. To do that, she would need me to help put in some money, but I did not have too much money. Instead, I had to take out loans from three banks, as well as a loan against my 401k, to help keep her dream afloat between May and July.

Well, I find out that this is most likely not real and one of the things that disturbed me about this came this month, which really started almost six weeks earlier.

This Marine said her return would be in March from Mauritius, but due to an unforeseen circumstances, the coming home date was changed to August 6. Then, it would be changed to around the first week of December, with the Marine having an opportunity to come home during late September and early October. That never came, and what she wanted to do was sinister and questionable. I advised her that I was not comfortable, but she wanted me to max out my credit card to purchase what would be 16 iPhones XS Max 64 Gigs. Yes, you read that right.

She would make payments down on my credit card to get the balance low, and offered to also pay off two of the outstanding loans as well. Guess what? All those payments had been returned. Bummed out.

Now, I am struggling to make the minimum payments and I am days away from filing for bankruptcy. On top of that, I had just turned 32 just weeks ago, and not only that, my brother had a heart scare in which he needed angioplasty and my older sister had been diagnosed with cancer just weeks ago. Add that my mother suffers from diabetes and my father has a mild case of Parkinson’s disease and the last few weeks (well, really almost all of 2018) has been nothing but a sucker punch.

I know in reading this you make think I should have been more wary, and I understand your thoughts. But perhaps the toughest moniker I had to shed growing up was being labelled “most gullible” growing up. I thought I did, but now I realize I need more work.

All I wanted to find on the website was a suitable woman that I could share my dreams and talents with. Now, all I am facing is the possibility that none of my dreams will come to fruition.

I assure you that if you give me the chance, I will respect you and give my life to make you the perfect woman that you deserve to be and the perfect man that you want. We can live life together, cry, smile, do activities and be beacons of light for the world.

The one thing I learned from being scammed is that love will triumph.