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Welcome to R slash today I effed up, where OP gets scammed out of $20,000.

Today I effed up by falling for an online romance scam and losing $20,000. I absolutely ruined myself financially and emotionally. I met a guy online who claimed he was a U.S. Marine

stationed overseas. He was charming, attentive, and said all the right things. He talked about

commitment, a future together,

and how much he couldn't wait to finally see me. I believed every word. At first, the requests were

small. Then they grew. He told me he needed money for leave form so that he could come see me.

Then it was for flight tickets. Then the tickets had issue so he needed to rebook. This happened three times.

Every time there was a new excuse, a new emergency, a new reason it had to be fixed immediately.

I paid for everything, leave forms, flights, fees, military processing costs. If he asked, I sent it. I didn't question it because I trusted him

and genuinely believed I was helping the person I loved. Long story short, there was no Marine. There was

no flight. There was no future. He vanished the moment I started asking real questions,

blocked everywhere, gone, along with $20,000 of my money.

The worst part isn't just the financial loss. It's realizing how completely I ignored red flags

because I wanted to believe someone cared about me. I feel stupid, embarrassed, and honestly devastated.

So yeah, today I effed up by trusting a stranger on the internet, believing a fake military romance, and paying for imaginary leave forms

and flights until my bank account and my dignity were empty. If you're reading this and you're

talking to someone online who claims to be a military, can't video call, and

needs money to come see you, please learn from my mistake. Real service members don't need

civilians to fund their leave or flights. Be smarter than I was. You know, the sad thing is,

...