My desperation made me fall for a scam, twice
40M, meeting someone has always been a problem for me, I became so desperate to the point, that I ignored all the signs of a scam. Be safe out there, try not to be desperate, and if you can't just don't let desperation push you into making mistakes.
EDIT: When I started the university 20 years ago I started to have real interest in meeting someone for a relationship and maybe start something serious. Despite my social anxiety I found the courage to approach women and ask them out, I never had any luck whatsoever, everyone would just decline, they re taken, ans whatnot... In the last 10 years, as I turned 30, I started to get a little desperate, everyone around me was gettung married, or settling in other forms of relationships. I have also been trying online solutions, I paid all kinds of services but no results, 10 years ago I met this girl on tinder, and she had sudden interest in me, she looked not suspiciously that good, but she (it'sa SHE I heard her voice) knew how to make it feel real, we talked for weeks and then she said she s ready to meet, she said she actually lived in another city 4 hours away, she needed money to travel to me and for accomodation, I was hesitant at first, it didnt feel right, but thrn I thought "I'll never get another chance like this" so I sent her the money in form of Amazon giftcard, and we agreed upon a date, she never came, after few days, she contacted me again to apologise and give her another chance I blocked her and never talked to her, that was around 2018,in a European country. I came back home in 2020, and got stuck hdre and lost the possibility to go back to europe, when I was in Europe I met a girl from country (on facebook) who was way younger than me, I liked her a lot, we exchanged phone numbers. And talked on whatsapp, she seemed genuine and very into me, when I went back to my country, we decided to meet, so I booked an airbnb, where she lived and we decided where to go and, I went there in the agreed upon time, she never came and gave me a really good reason, because she told me already about her mother, I gave her another chance, but I was already back to mu town,and we started talking again, few months pass, she started to ask for money to help her mother, I sent her, every time she asked I sent her, I had a business trip to a city close to hers, so we agreed to meet, shr asked for money to get a haircut and prepare herself for the date, I did, I book the airbnb, I arrive and wait for her in the restaurant, but she never came. I felt like a total idiot.