They all hoped for true love - but found lies, deceit and disappointment. Read the stories!
Internet love trap: Confessions of the deceived
Lena (35): "What kind of scam is this?"
"I was curious about online dating and signed up for a four-week free trial membership. But I quickly realized that it wasn't for me. I didn't log in again and had actually forgotten about it. Until I recently received a reminder letter with a hefty sum. My trial membership had turned into an annual subscription after it expired. Of course, that was only in the small print! What a cheek! I'm not going to pay!"
Kerstin (62) "I fell in love with a man who didn't even exist."
"Everything was so perfect at the beginning. I didn't really expect anything from online dating and then Mark came along. Or whatever his name is. He was so funny, so sensitive. And really good-looking. We immediately exchanged our private email addresses and wrote to each other every day. I was in love. With butterflies in my stomach. But when he asked for money out of the blue, I became suspicious and asked my daughter for advice. She advised me to break off contact. That was hard, Mark kept writing to me for a long time. I eventually blocked him."
Renate (44): "Suddenly he wasn't so nice to me anymore..."
"'You pay now or I'll send the photos to your husband! That was blackmail. I felt sick. Yes. I had sent John, with whom I had been chatting for weeks, photos of me that were really revealing. Why? He took time for me, made me feel sexy. Something my husband no longer did. I just had a crush. In the end, all I could do was confess the truth to my husband..."