The 59-year-old woman has revealed to CBS News that, during a six month long online relationship in 2012, a man who called himself Maxwell Yan conned her out of $86,000.
She explained: “I cashed money out of an IRA; out of, you know, retirement money."
Using a fake picture and dating profile, Yas claimed he was 60 years old, from New York, and working as a civil engineer in Malaysia. And, when he began telling her he was in financial trouble, the woman moved forward against her better judgment.
“I’ve always been a very rational person, and everything told me: ‘No, you have to question this. It doesn’t sound right.
“You want to believe, because you think you’re developing a relationship,” the woman said.
She wired large amounts of money to the man, despite having never met him, and has now lost her entire life's savings. And, while the FBI has launched an investigation into the case, chances of recovering the money are slim.
The woman warned other Match.com users: "“No matter what they say; no matter what kind of tale they tell you, you really have to be brave and say no.”
**The first of Match.com's online safety tips is to ignore any request to send money. **
Match.com also advises being careful about sharing personal information, and being wary of communication that sounds too good to be true.