Russian romance scam

Kelowna resident Phat Ly thought he'd found love online.

In January, Ly made a connection with a Moscow woman named Alina on an online dating site.

The pair began exchanging emails, and once things began to get serious, Ly says he indicated he didn't want a long-distance relationship and wanted to meet in person.

Alina then started emailing him, saying she was in distress and desperately needed money to survive.

Ly, who recently lost his job, borrowed money from friends and managed to get enough to fly her to Kelowna.

Once the flight was booked, Ly waited anxiously to greet his new found love at Kelowna airport, but she never arrived.

What did arrive was another story of how she was denied entrance into Canada. She asked Ly for more money to try again, seeking $3,000. Ly borrowed more money and, even though he was suspicious, sent her the funds in hopes of a happy outcome.

''I fell in love with her," Ly admitted. 

But, once again, he was left waiting, and what he got was a tearful story of how she was robbed and assaulted.

Ly realizes there is a 99.9 per cent chance this is a scam, but he still holds out hope.

“I’m not stupid. I am very emotionally stable and logical,'' he said. "I need to know if she is safe. If she is a scammer, I'm OK with that. I learned my lesson, but she continues to write me back, so I don't know what to do or what to think.''

''The spread of online dating ... has made fraud like this easier to commit,'' the Better Business Bureau says.

The bureau reports victims in Canada and the U.S. have lost nearly $1 billion over the last three years.

Ly is hoping someone who speaks Russian will help him clear the matter up. Contact Ly at [email protected].