(U.S.A.) Grand Forks police say a North Dakota woman has been bilked out of at least $20,000 in a romance scam.
Detective Mike Flannery tells KNOX radio that the 72-year-old woman thought she was wiring money to a male friend overseas. The con man told her he needed the cash to come to the U.S.
After receiving the money, he requested another $50,000 to help his ailing mother in Nigeria before relocating to North Dakota.
Flannery says there's a chance the woman's bank will be able to stop the second transaction to limit the woman's loss to $20,000.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center estimates romance scams netted some $50 million in 2011.
