for this widowed man with his sweet daughter always at his side.
«Iâm based in Bristol for work - continues Marcello - but my business takes me everywhere. I organise big expensive tenders.»
«Thatâs quite a demanding job!», observes Daria.
«Yes, but Iâm used to the work and to travelling. Iâm happy with the way business is going. The only thing missing in my life is a woman to sweep me off my feet. Iâm happy because Iâve found her now, but my happiness will only be complete when I can embrace you.»
«Will that day be soon?»
«Sooner than you think!», Marcello assures her emphatically.
«When?»
«I hate talking about money, but I can tell you. I chose a tender for 7.5 million instead of 12, because the first is shorter and we can see each other sooner. I canât wait to meet you. Youâre so beautiful, lovable (the man starts to list her qualities and the feelings he has for her). Sweet Daria I do nothing but think of you!»
Marcello goes on to explain his plans for their meeting which will take place on his return from a trip by ship to Cyprus where heâs about to go to buy equipment that will be used for the construction of a bridge.
«Everything was going marvellously well - says Daria - even if there were a few small contradictions in his words which however, having decidedly thrown caution to the wind, I didnât pick up on».
And here are the incredible aspects of this story
Marcello often speaks of the mystical dimension of their meeting, it was without doubt Godâs work. Itâs the fate of two hearts which resemble one another and seek each other to achieve happiness. They meet with divine intervention and love each other for life.
All fine, then! But here too - as in a tried and tested screenplay - a catastrophe occurs. Daria is informed of something unexpected and unusual. Marcello is in the port of Cyprus when pirates storm a ship that left before theirs. The captain is dead, having been killed, while shots ring out wildly, and blood flows everywhere. The pirates take some hostages. Marcello has a container full of cash and the precious documents for his tender.
«My darling - he tells her - you know Iâm alone in the world without you. Youâre the only person I trust. Do me the immense favour of looking after the package I managed to hide, until I arrive in Italy.»
«Okay,» replies Daria.
«Give me your address!» says Marcello.
Daria sends him her address and phone number. He explains that he has already paid eight thousand euros for transport and there should be a small fee for domestic taxes which the company cannot estimate before the arrival of the package at its destination.
The woman spends two distressing and very long days almost without sleep because of the anxiety this unexpected situation is causing her. She thinks of Marcelloâs safety, of his incolumity. Sheâs afraid. She doesnât know what to do in the meantime, until late at night she receives a delivery note by email from a transport company called Turkiye Diplomatic Security Company. The note is full of stamps and has the appearance of something very important and official. However, something is missing for the delivery to be made. For the companyâs security agents to deliver the parcel to Dariaâs home address, a payment of 2500 euro must be made for domestic taxes and VAT. The sum must be paid by bank transfer before delivery. Daria, terrified by the weight of the responsibility, does not know what decision to make. She calls Marcello on the phone, but thereâs no answer. So she tries calling his company and nobody answers there either. She searches for the company on the Internet but cannot find it. Then she really experiences a state of conflicting anxieties. Sheâs tempted to pay the money, but she hasnât got enough. Then she thinks of asking her sister for help. She goes to her. «Iâve got a really serious problem,» she tells her agitatedly, «I need 2500 euros urgently!»
«What?»
«Yes, I need it to release a shipment!»
«Sit down a moment and tell me everything from the beginning,» her sister orders her.
«Well, I met Marcello chatting online. He does business dealsâ¦Â»
Daria talks to her sister and, as she tells her about those incredible events, she realises that her foggy brain is starting to clear.
«She saw the light by herself! - she says - I couldnât believe my own words as I talked and listened to myself».
Dariaâs story ends here. With her sister, who luckily helped her open her eyes and consoled her sorrow a little.
But she wants to end her story like this:
«To finish, let me tell you, that even if weâre smart, intelligent people, these things can happen, in the heat of the moment. One very important thing is not to keep everything inside us. We enter a tunnel where reality is easily confused with fantasy unless we share it with someone. I hope I havenât bored you with this long story, and I also hope Iâve been of help to someone, like youâve been to me, thanks!»8.
Serena
This is Serenaâs story, freely adapted from the blog on World Romance Scams9. The site gathers countless testimonials from anyone who wants to share their own experience to help other women, before they fall for a romance scam, or after theyâve been left heartbroken to show them the way back towards regaining their self-esteem:
«My name is Serena and Iâm 31 years old; one day I met a very handsome and dashing man on Facebook who sent me a friend request. Iâd never heard of the existence of fake profiles, so I trusted him. He was polite, romantic, attentive; he often told me he thanked God for having made us meet. I couldnât see anything wrong, so I carried on. He told me what he did; he was at sea on an oil tanker. He was a widower and had a daughter. Slowly I became infatuated with him and I asked to meet. He said he couldnât come ashore but would do so as soon as possible.
One day he wrote to me saying that the ship had a leak and they had to dock. He told me they had problems with the insurance which didnât cover the damage and all their jobs were at risk. He asked me to help him by sending him five thousand euros. I believed him and did it. Then he asked me for more money for further work on the ship. He explained they were making a collection and he needed another five thousand euros. I sent them to him. I was starting to spend too much money and by chance I saw an advert on Facebook for the âWorld Romance Scamâ association. I clutched at it. I wrote to them. Dr Ansaldi replied asking me to call her on the phone. Since then she has been helping me. She helped me understand what trouble Iâd got myself into, and she sent me photos of the fraudster proving to me that this person had already targeted other women.
I followed her suggestions blindly to get through the tunnel leading back to reality. I blocked all contact with him. I no longer answered his calls; I cried, I couldnât sleep, I felt awful, but I knew I had to succeed and Dr Ansaldi was always there for me. In the end he disappeared and for me that was the
