A chef lost his life savings when he trusted a woman he met online who scammed him out of tens of thousands of pounds.
Alexandr Gutu had been saving to buy his own home and eventually bring his family across from Moldova to live with him in Derbyshire.
He met a woman through a dating app who claimed her uncle could help him earn serious money through cryptocurrency.
As he believed they had a relationship he trusted her and sent across a small amount of money.
When it was successful he sent a “large amount” and the scammers deleted the Whatsapp account and disappeared, along with his £42,000 savings.
Alexandr, 33, told Derbyshire Live : “I wanted to find a girlfriend [and] instead I found a scam.
“Without my savings, I can't buy a house, I can't create a family, I'm always working.
“I worked out it will take me two years of working every day to earn the money back.
“I, myself, feel guilty, I was trying to find a girlfriend and was trusting. I did these payments.
“We had conversations about life, family, and the future. One day she asked me about my plans for the future and I answered that I want to buy a house in England.
"She said she had an uncle who worked at a big European company and does some trading and could help provide me with some help with extra income because I lost my hours [at my job].
“Everything was alright, I transferred some more money because it was looking good until I transferred a big amount of money and then requested some back.
“The scammers deleted the WhatsApp account and disappeared with my money."
The incident was reported to Action Fraud and Derbyshire police's fraud department who referred Alexandr to the financial ombudsman service.
Alexandr's bank has said it cannot refund him and his bank has recommended he try and contact the cryptocurrency exchange that he was using when scammed.
In desperation he has launched a fundraising page to recuperate some of his cash.
He added: “I'm not expecting somebody will help me [on the crowdfunder] because people have different problems at the moment.
“Like bills, kids, some people have issues with their health, but I thought it was better to ask for help than not."
