meets Vincent.
Luciana becomes more beautiful and her friends notice this. Her eyes sparkle as she tells her story, how lucky she has been to have met a special man on Facebook. A few of her friends speak of caution: «Be careful with social media! Things are not always what they seem!» But Luciana barely listens. She expected these warnings and doesnât take heed. Her happiness springs from having met the man of her life, and her friendsâ gossip will not ruin it for her.
But one day she receives bad news that dampens her contentment, that feeling of being lucky, privileged almost by fate. Vincent sends her a message from Ivory Coast asking her for help. Heâs desperate. His briefcase has been stolen and with it his wallet and credit card, his mobile phone and all the money he had with him. Whatâs more, the thieves chased him by car and while he was trying to get away from them he ran over an 8-year old child who was seriously injured and is now in hospital. At this point, Vincent risks prison if he doesnât immediately pay 2500 euros for medical treatment.
The fog begins to clear in Lucianaâs mind
Many women would have paid, just as they pay in other Romance Scams, but Luciana starts hearing little alarm bells ringing, and she begins asking things, asking, asking: a photo of the run-over child, his name and details, the address and bank coordinates of the hospital where the money is to be transferred.
Vincent is a little offended by her mistrust. He tells her so. Then he patiently explains that the hospital does not accept bank transactions from Europe. The only way to pay is by Money transfer.
The fog clears in Lucianaâs brain and she emails the embassy in Abidjan asking for information about the self-styled Vincent, she provides his FACEBOOK profile, and little else. She discovers the man is an impostor who is known to the police because he is part of a gang specializing in romance scams.
The little alarm bells
Luciana starts adding all the information in her possession together. The alleged Vincent pretends he is French because Ivory Coast, a former colony, uses French as its official language. Heâs never left Abidjan and has pretended to go there, to be able to receive the cash payment in his homeland.
Luciana doesnât send him the money and sheâs clever to realise, in time, that itâs a scam. The request for money sets off a little alarm bell inside her. Intuition and reason prevail over her emotions, and the scammer loses the match he has so laboriously played.
Any woman, anybody - when asked for money - should awake from their romantic obfuscation. The automatic reaction should be: Money = Wake up!
Then tell the unscrupulous looter to sod off. But itâs not easy to let go of the dream. Luciana cries for days on end, after reporting the scam. She says she felt completely stupid, an idiot:
«He used such psychological violence - Luciana explains during an interview - as to literally bring me to my knees. He even used to ask me if Iâd slept well, if Iâd eaten and if Iâd had a good day at work! Itâs obvious that if Iâd been thinking straight I would have understood that it was impossible that there was such a nice polite man who was going to fall in love with someone like me, neither beautiful, nor young; but unfortunately, as the saying goes, love is blind»6.
Mary
Maryâs story is told by her son Lucien. A nasty story, but with a happy ending, if it can be called that when you get your own money back.
Mary has just turned 59 when sheâs contacted by an American sailor who wishes her a happy birthday and asks her to be friends. The man says his name is Michael Miller and heâs 53.
Sheâs been living in Italy for a decade. French by birth, she used to be married to an Italian journalist from whom sheâs divorced. She has a son Lucien, born of her marriage, who is a high school mathematics teacher and who lives in Rome, like his mother.
Michaelâs first contact happens on her birthday. He asks her to be friends, she accepts. He sends her (a photo of) an enormous bouquet of red roses with a happy birthday message in English.
«What did you do for your birthday?» Michael asks her the following day, in bad Italian.
«It was nice! I had dinner with my friends and we had a lovely evening.»
«Do you have a lot of friends? Who do you like? I'm jealous.»
«Do you speak French? - asks Mary - my English is not very good.»
«Avez vous beaucoup d'amis? Qui aimez-vous? je suis jaloux,» he repeats admitting heâs translated the phrase on Google, then he continues the conversation with copy and paste from an online translator.
«Well if youâre using Google just choose Italian - Mary urges him - because in French I feel like I want to correct all your mistakes.»
«Do you have many friends? Who do you like? Iâm jealous.»
«Donât talk nonsense!»
«I canât stop thinking about you. I saw your photo a month ago, but Iâm shy and I only found the courage to contact you with it being your birthday!»
«Really?» asks Mary flattered. «What did you find so attractive in me? Iâm just a normal woman.»
«Normal? Say normal is false. Saying youâre normal is just not true. Youâre beautiful.»
«How old did you say you are?»
«53, and you?»
«Iâm 59, Iâm older than you. Men always look for young girls. What attracts you to such a mature person?»
«Your photo shows me an elegant lady, you're a beautiful woman. Mary, you mustnât underestimate yourself Mary. Look at yourself with loveâs eyes, as I see you, and youâll see youâre beautiful!»
«Love? Youâre going rather fast now!»
«Yes, Iâm going fast, but Iâm following my heart thatâs going even faster than me!»
A week after her birthday Mary has the sensation sheâs known Michael for a long time. He contacts her every day at the same time, and his requests to love her are increasingly persistent. He says nice things, and although his Italian is only approximate, he confesses to her that heâs never felt such overwhelming feelings before. Heâs had other affairs, but nothing important, because heâs always believed that to build a sincere relationship he had to find his soul mate. He believes that God has created an ideal lover for every being on earth, and heâs lucky to have managed to find her and fulfil his dream.
To live together, get married and lay together one beside the other as a single body; this is human happiness. Thereâs nothing more beautiful!
Mary is intoxicated by these words, by Michaelâs attentions, as he floods her with pictures of beautiful scenes at sunset, flowers,
