Dear Old Bag: I want to tell you and your readers about romantic scams. I got caught in one from a dating site. This man turned up as one of my matches and we chatted for over a month. I have been a widow for five years and I’m extremely lonely. He eventually said he loved me and when he retired he wanted to come see me. It was so wonderful to have him say how beautiful I was, and how he was so happy he found me. I was walking on air. Then one day he told me he was going to Egypt to do his last archeology dig and would be there 17 days. He even sent me a copy of his airline itinerary.

He sent me texts each day about the dig and some of the artifacts he found. One day he told me he was upset by something that happened. He said the Egyptian inspectors came that day and told him he had the wrong kind of permit and they closed down his site until he produced the proper papers. He said the permit was going to cost $45,000 and he only had $20,000 with him. He asked if he could borrow the remaining $25,000 so he could get the permit and he would pay me back when he got back to the states.

Then I knew it was a scam. I emailed him back and said, “You should be ashamed of yourself and I am going to pray for your soul.” That was the last of him. I did report him. I am certain there are some unsuspecting widows out there who would fork out the money, and I want to warn them to be suspicious of everyone they chat with on a dating site. Thank You, Scammed

Dear Scammed: Thank you for writing about another type of scam that is growing. I am amazed at the creativity these predators use to capture the interest of a woman. My advice is this:

1. Don’t answer a dating site request from someone out of town.

2. Don’t friend someone on Facebook that you don’t know.

3. Never give them any personal information about you. Don’t share your email address, phone number or anything.

4. When you do wish to connect with a local person that you like, suggest meeting for coffee in a public place. Make sure you are the first one to arrive.

5. I joined a dating site because I have received many questions from my readers about them. I have met and had coffee with five nice guys, but none of them were for me. I have met two that I am still friends with.

Be careful and cautious! I do not know if these same things happen to men, but I would like to hear from you if they have. OB

Dear Old Bag: I want to thank you for the advice you gave me about attending my granddaughter's wedding to her gay partner. I went, I loved it and I love my granddaughter's choice of a partner. We are all at peace. You kept me from making a serious mistake. Signed, Grateful Reader

Dear Grateful: Woohoo!