How could I have been so stupid?

Imet a US Army soldier online, and we talked about starting a new life in Devon, living on his army pension. Then he said he needed a deposit payment, so the army could release his pension. He asked to borrow money, so I transferred £1,000. To cut a long, sad story short, ‘Stephen Gale’ was a genuine US soldier, whose name and photos had been stolen. How could I have been so gullible?

Diane, Devon On Rip Off Britain, we hear of so many online scams. Everyone says, ‘I feel so stupid and ashamed,’ but these scammers are very clever and plausible. These cases should be checked out before any money is sent. The man you thought you’d fallen in love with has probably scammed many women under the guise of ‘romance’.