He is an American who has met a dozen foreign women online. He narrows his choice to just one that appears to be the prettiest and likeliest marriage material. The woman of his choice gets his personal attention to the point of obsession within just a month of meeting each other. They have exchanged photos and personal information over the Internet. They enjoyed the joy of online dating. He likes what he perceives to be a good catch; he falls for the sound of her voice and the joyous giggles in the background. The emails and telephone calls keep increasing from both sides of the ocean.
His pen pal was born and lives in the Philippines, and the resultant time zone difference makes it difficult to have a telephone conversation with her, because midnight in America is about noon in the Philippines. Nonetheless, his interest in the woman is so great that he manages to stay up late in order to speak with her over the telephone. He has been communicating with her for two months now. He calls her six times a week and exchanges emails with her frequently. They meet each other in chat rooms at least four times a week. Everything has gone well so far, and that is all that matters to him.
His pen pal expresses her monetary needs to him: "I am in my last year of nursing school. I would appreciate it if you could help with these costs: use of public computer (Internet cafe), transportation costs, foods and drinks, tuition, and books." Every week, he wires her $500 for financial support.
Both of them seem to hit it off pretty well because they feel chemistry in their budding relationship, even though they have yet to meet each other in person. They believe that they complement each other, and feel as if they were born for each other. The phone calls, the numerous emails, the postcards with loving messages are further testament that perhaps they are on their way to building a loving relationship, potentially leading to marriage. He reaches a point in the relationship where he thinks it is time to meet his future fiancee in person. He proposes to visit her in her native country, and she gladly accepted his invitation.
Upon arrival, he was stunned to meet a woman who was not even close in looks or physical traits to the one he met online. By his own definition, the woman who was waiting for him was an "ugly Betty," not that pretty Asian-looking woman with whom he has been in communication for a number of months. Something went awfully wrong in the dating process. The woman has used other pretty woman's photos as her own. She was a college dropout and unemployed. I suggest that the man has failed to ask the right questions, and he displayed a large degree of ignorance by sending money to a stranger. I bet you won't make the same mistake again.
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