Online dating turns into scam

Today's Sound Off is about dating scams:

DEAR HELOISE

>> About seven months ago, I registered for a dating service, and they matched me up with about four different women. They were all nice. (We communicated through phone calls and emails.) A couple of my friends told me to be aware of problems that might arise. But I didn't listen, and now I have regrets!

One woman in particular seemed very nice, and we got along so well. She lived in the Philippines, and her English was better than a couple others, which made communication easier. I asked whether she would mind if I flew to the Philippines to meet her and her family. She didn't like that idea and wanted to come to the United States instead. She asked me to send her a ticket, which I did.

Then she had several excuses as to why she couldn't come, such as her sister's wedding, helping with a newborn baby of another sister, taking care of her ill mother, and so on. I caught on to her lies and told her to get lost. During all of this, she kept asking for money and always had a reason for needing money. The amounts were ridiculous!

She once said she couldn't come because her brother was falsely arrested, and she had to bail him out of jail. The cost was $5,000. I refused to send a dime. Then her mother needed an operation on her heart, which was $30,000. I refused to send a dime again. She kept saying she needed to stay in the Philippines and work to help pay these bills unless they could somehow find a way to come up with the amount of money that they needed.

To make a long story short, I sent her an email saying I met a nice lady in the States who didn't need to ask for money, so I no longer wanted to hear from her. I wouldn't take her phone calls and blocked her email address. The truth was that I hadn't met anyone, but I refused to be taken advantage of.

When someone starts asking for money, there is a problem. And I've discovered that foreign scams often use young women to lure lonely men into sending money until they finally stop. The lesson here is to be especially careful when you meet anyone who wants money or wants to know exactly what you have.

— Anonymous, in Yakima, Washington

DEAR READERS >> What can we do with pretty outdated calendars that we still have from past years? Try one of these ideas:

• Take the pretty pictures and frame them.

• Use the pictures or month labels and decoupage them onto a table or dresser.

• Wrap a gift with the picture or with a particular month.

• Save them to show certain dates to your children or grandchildren, such as the day they were born.

• Laminate them and use them as placemats. You can also place them under plants to avoid water damage.