Saw this article in Kim Komando‘s website and it‘s a good one:

Sniff out a sweetheart scam

7/6/2012

Q. Kim, I have a friend who is having an Internet relationship with a woman - at least the person says she‘s a woman. He has sent her about $4,000 and has seen nothing for it. I believe he is being scammed, but he says he cares for her. Is there anything you can recommend for investigating this? Please let me know! Thank you!
-Raymond, from Sheridan, WY, listens to my weekly radio show on KROE 930 AM.

A. Scammers will stop at nothing to take a person‘s money, Raymond. We know to avoid tricksters offering fabulous wealth, so instead of greed they play with another runaway emotion - love.

This is called sweetheart scamming. The scammer presents himself or herself as a perfect match to a person online. Then, the scammer starts preying on victims‘ love and trust to bleed bank accounts dry.

READ MORE:  http://www.komando.com/toolbox.aspx?mode=print&id=12850

Thanks, Kim