Dallas

Dallas Man Targeted By Online Dating Scammer

You're often told to be guarded in case someone you're dating breaks your heart, but now you need to guard your wallet, too.

One Dallas man knows that all too well.

David Lurie is a senior with spunk and is dealing with a divorce.

"I'm an older gentleman, but I'm not dead, and I still think I've got a tiger left in the tank," Lurie said.

He tried online dating but eventually received a friend request on Facebook from the profile of a woman by the name of Monica Benedict, who said she was volunteering at an orphanage in Africa.

"I thought she was the type of person that had the kind of heart that I did," Lurie said.

After they talked for months, Lurie says he fell in love and Monica wanted to finally meet.

Lurie bought her an airline ticket home. She asked for more for fees, claiming they were related to President Donald Trump's travel ban. He did it, sending more than $2,200, and flew himself to Detroit to be there the second her flight landed in the U.S.

He was there, but Monica wasn't.

"I was heartbroken," Lurie said. "I was really in love with this woman."

Lurie says he did research, talked to police, and while he doesn't know specifically who is in the photo, he and officers concluded Monica doesn't really exist.

It's just someone targeting a senior with a broken heart.

"It's despicable that you've taken advantage of a senior in this way," Lurie said.

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