A man in his middle age, residing in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, was swindled of a significant amount of money (the exact amount remains undisclosed) by a woman he encountered on Facebook.
The lady, operating under the name “Ara Ire” on Facebook but identified as Mercy Adeseye in reality, persuaded the man that she was keen on establishing a romantic relationship with him and requested funds to cover her travel expenses.
Following the transfer of money to her, as per his account, she failed to fulfill her promise of visiting and ceased all communication with him.
Sharing his experience with Vanguard, the man explained that ‘Ara Ire,’ a student at Crestfield College of Health Technology in Erin Osun, Osun State, had not met him face-to-face. Their interactions were solely based on online communication.
He added that: “I was conned by a scammer who used Facebook to lie to me. She told me she would visit me, but it was all a ploy to get my money.”
“I feel violated and betrayed. I should have been more cautious, but I got caught up in the fantasy of what she was promising me.”
“Once I sent the money to her, she disappeared and stopped communicating with me,” he said.