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The conversation started off harmlessly enough, but soon an elaborate backstory developed.

The fraudster said even though he was from Edmonton and had attended Edmonton Christian schools, he was in fact in the American military serving in Syria with another year in his deployment.

Then came the hook.

Fake David said he was divorced and his wife had taken everything from him. Everything but their 12-year-old son. Then there was his brother, in a costly drug treatment program, who he had to support.

The imitator claimed his lack of money meant he was confined to military rations and canned food.

That’s when the woman started sending him money. At first it was small amounts to allow her new online friend to get food. Then she offered to send him more.

In the end, it cost her $10,000.

“One thing people don’t realize is that when you get into these situations, they monopolize the conversation, they profile you and through that they play on your weaknesses,” Herczeg said.

“If you have the personality that tends to being a caregiver or wanting to help people, you get pulled into the scam.”

And the lies escalated.

The man said he met a family in Syria he was helping to smuggle out of the wartorn country and that he wanted to send her a large sum of money through the mail in a package. The deal was that when the Syrian family arrived, she could deliver the money.

But there was no Syrian family. There was no package.

“He said that she could open the package and take a little bit of the money to get some of the money she had sent to the man,” said Herczeg.