Online love could come at a cost - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Online love could come at a cost

By: Kate Pabich
kpabich@cbs4qc.com

Thousands turn to online dating everyday to meet their match but sometimes you get more than you bargained for.
 
A lot of people use dating websites like e-harmony and match.com to find "the one" but when you go looking for love online, it's not always love at first click.

Lori Wells never saw it coming.
 
"He was never available to talk, at least during certain hours so I had a feeling that he was somewhere where the time difference is really big."

But the realization finally hit Lori, when her online boyfriend asked for money. This true love, was nothing more than a scam.

"You kind of start to fall because they just start saying all the right things...you start to at first feel like wow excited because you think maybe I have found someone but as time goes on things just pop up, the red flags like how did he fall so fast?"

Lori caught on before she got ripped off, but East Moline Police Lieutenant, Darren Gault, says too many Quad Citians aren't as lucky as Lori.
 
"A lot of the scams happen once they have tugged at your heart strings and they suddenly have a financial crisis."

Swindling money isn't the only concern with online dating. When a relationship is taken offline, sometimes things can get dangerous.

Gault says when meeting your online lover in person, make sure to tell someone where you're going. Always meet in a public place and drive yourself. So you can leave if things take a turn for the worst.

Lori says she's more cautious after her close call.

"There's good and bad, you know you just have to be smart and be able to tell the difference."

But Lori says it doesn't make it any easier to admit she was just a pawn in someone else's game.
 
Lori kept online dating and now has met someone. She says hopefully she wont be thrown back in the singles game.