He introduced himself as Tom. He lived nearby and was an American soldier currently posted in Afghanistan, but was due home in March 2010. He had a daughter and was widowed. His photo was great - he looked just my type; not too slim, not too fat, a muscular, rough diamond type. He said he was looking for someone to start his life again with. She must like children as he was bringing his daughter up on his own, although she stayed with the nanny while he was away. He was a similar age and we seemed to have a lot in common.

Could it be this easy - he sounded just what I was looking for. What then took place was 2 months of correspondence on an almost daily basis. Could you fall for someone who you hadn't actually met, who you hadn't actually spoken to? During these 2 months we shared jokes, laughter, inner thoughts, relationship history and photos. I sent him pictures of me and pictures of my daughter and he sent the same to me. His daughter looked adorable and I started to imagine life when he returned to the UK and the four of us spending time together. I was "falling" for him. One day after about 6 weeks of chatting, he told me he was falling in love with me. I believed him! He then asked me if I could go on webcam, so that he could see me. I thought this was great because we could finally see each other properly - I was so excited. I'd never used my webcam facility before, so once I'd worked out how to use it, I made sure I'd got my makeup and hair done nicely and sat in front of the screen. It was at that point that he told me that it was going to be a one-way viewing, as he couldnt go on webcam because of security reasons. I was gutted, but still agreed that he could see me. This was the first time I'd felt slightly vulnerable - what if he wasn't who he said he was - what if he was lying, but I put it to the back of my mind because I was sure this guy was for real. Our communication from that point on became a mixture of emails and webcam chats (one-way of course). After a couple more weeks, he then told me he was moving bases and he would no longer have access to the internet and therefore would not be able to talk to my anymore. I felt so sad and so did he! He said it was only a few more months before he would be home and then we could be together forever. After a couple more days, he told me he was moving base the following day and this would be our last communication, but there was an alternative. He told me that there was a way round it and this would be to set up a mobile connection to him at his new base - I was delighted. How do we set it up. It was at this point that the bombshell hit (pardon the pun)! He said I would have to organise it from the UK and pay for a subscription through Western Union to allow for it to be set up and it would cost me £380. I told him I wasnt prepared to do this as I couldnt guarantee that what he was telling me was true and even if it was, I didn't have that sort of spare cash. He got very nasty and said "if you love me, you'll do it". He made me feel so guilty. He told me that he had told his daughter about me and I was not only letting him down but his daughter too. I felt sick. What if he was for real, what if I was passing up an opportunity to be with someone amazing. In the back of my mind, I knew something wasnt right - so after many abusive emails back and forth I decided to tell him I couldnt do it and wouldnt do it. I later found out that he was a scammer. He wasn't an American soldier called Tom, he didn't have a beautiful daughter who had lost her mum and he didn't live 10 miles away from me, he actually lived in Nigeria. It's amazing what you can find out from an IP address.

I was devastated. I had revealed innermost thoughts to this guy. I had shared pictures. I had shown myself on webcam. I had shared jokes with him. I had started to "fall" for him and none of it was real. I felt completely destroyed - completely baffled - completely abused. That was my first lesson.