Allison, a 50-year-old office assistant from Nottingham, had recently ended a relationship, and was keen to meet someone new. Logging on to a dating website, she met a person claiming to be a Naval officer. He said his name was Karl Jones, which was in fact an alias, as he had used an entirely fake identity.
She told Rip Off Britain: “He was American Navy, and the photo was absolutely gorgeous. It started from there.”
The pair quickly hit it off, and their conversation moved off the website onto a private messaging service.
The supposed “Karl” told Allison he had been widowed, but that he was still working in the Navy in Kuwait.
He also said he had a house in Leeds, where he was looking to retire shortly, and start a property development business on the side.
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More money was needed to free him, and Allison estimates she has parted with £20,000 in total.
Allison added: “I just feel so stupid, so vulnerable, all those emotions. I wasn’t able to talk about it because I was so embarrassed, and frightened about what people would think and say.
“I still get messages from him and I spoke to him about a month ago. Part of me hopes he will come back. But I don’t think it is ever going to happen.
“If it’s a scam, I’ll be gutted. But at least I will have some closure on the whole situation and I can move forward with my life.”
Upon further investigation, co-presenter Ashley-John Baptise…
