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
