VICTIMS’ STORY

After years of dating frustration, Montana resident Debbie Best thought her luck had finally changed when she met a handsome antiques dealer from Florida through an online dating site. But then her new found boyfriend started asking for money. She was 1,500USD poorer before she believed that she has been scammed.

"I left my heart out there, and this guy took advantage of it," the 51-year old Best said.

For Best, it all started when she signed up for a free online dating site called www.mingle2.com. A man calling himself "John" messaged her and through daily phone calls and messages on Facebook, he gained her trust. He spoke with what she thought was a British accent and his picture on Facebook portrayed a nice-looking man with graying hair and a beard. In July, "John" told her that he was traveling to the United Kingdom to buy antiques for his store. Then one day he called saying he went to Nigeria to buy more, but he was stuck. He asked her for $5,000 cash to get his purchases back to the States. At first, Best who juggles two part-time jobs working with developmentally disabled adults and people with mental illness resisted, telling John she simply did not have the money. But he persisted. "He was trying to get me to use my credit cards, borrow from my friends and family," said Best, who earlier told her saga to The Huffington Post. When he told her days later he could not afford to eat, Best gave in, wiring him two $250 payments.

But as he continued to push for money, Best realized something was off. She searched Web forums, eventually finding another woman's story of a scammer with the same name. Then she received a nearly $1,000 phone bill from calling the phone number he had said wouldn't charge her.

CNNMoney's attempts to reach "John" on his international phone number provided by Best revealed that it was based out of Nigeria, a hotbed for online scams and has since been disconnected. Attempts to call the U.S. number Best reached him at revealed the number was no longer in service and was hosted by MagicJack, an Internet-based phone service that allows people anywhere in the world to make unlimited calls from a U.S. phone number.

Mingle2, the dating site, did not respond to requests for comment. Someone claiming to live in the U.S. but who says they are stuck outside of the country and in need of money is a popular ploy among scammers.