Nigerian scammers popped up again in the news today, but this time, the scam scenario is a little bit different from what we are used to hearing.

The “You Have a Long Lost Relative Who Died and Left This Money for You” scenario was tossed out on this occasion, and the scammers used a different approach: targeting middle aged, female divorcees on dating sites.

The online dating scam started last year when a middle-aged divorcee received text messages from a man who was about 10 years younger than her.

“The man said, ‘You know, you’re a very pretty lady, I like your profile,’”

“You feel very flattered.” the victim told the Edmonton Sun.

After a few emails and instant messages, the two began exchanging texts and phone calls. Those eventually turned into promises of coming to Canada and getting married. Continuing for five months, eventually came the requests for money,  claiming that the man’s son was hospitalized and needed three surgeries.

“I had so many friends tell me, ‘Don’t send money,’” she said. “But you love that person, you believe what they say. You don’t want to stop.”

All in all, the scammers got about $300,000 out of a handful of Canadian women.  All the lessons in love are tough, but this one was expensive too.

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