Hello and thank you for entrusting me to answer your question.

Is this a man that you met on the internet? Has he asked for money?

I see.

Your intuitions here are accurate. This is absolutely a scam and you should cease all contact with this individual immediately.

The facts you describe fit the standard mold for the typical online "romance scam." The basic idea is simple: to develop a romantic relationship with someone online and then convince them to transfer money in response to a tragedy, to come visit, or some other reason.

Most commonly, these scammers operate from certain west African countries such as Nigeria that have very poor internet crime fighting capabilities, therefore making the scammers virtually untraceable.

See this warning from the Federal Trade Commission for more information: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/11/onlinedating.shtm

See also this article regarding Nigerian dating scams: http://www.dangersofinternetdating.com/nigeriandatingscam.htm

You must immediately cease communicating with this individual and whatever you do, refrain from sending them any of your money.

Does this adequately answer your question? My goal is that you are absolutely satisfied with my response, so if you have any additional questions or concerns please let me know.

Unfortunately, these are the common lies that these scammers tell to get you to send money.

This is absolutely, positively a scam.

If you would like further confirmation that this is a scam, these scammers almost always use fake pictures that they have stolen off the internet. Since a scammer's pictures will virtually never be of themselves, you can confirm whether this person is a scammer by asking them to send you a picture holding today's newspaper. If it's a scam, they'll come up with an excuse why they can't do it, but the botXXX XXne is if they doesn't send you the picture, then they are not legitimate.

Another way to determine if this is a scam is to conduct a "reverse image search" on the pictures they HAVE sent you. TinEye.com has developed a new technology that allows you to input an image and see where, if anywhere else, that image appears on the internet. If you input this individual's pictures and they show up elsewhere on the internet in a different context, that may prove that the pictures don't belong to the person you are corresponding with at all.

Here is a link to the TinEye reverse image search engine: http://www.tineye.com

But regardless of what this person tells you, please be assured that their story is not legitimate. It is the standard story that they tell to literally hundreds of prospective victims each week in the hope that they can convince you to send money.

There are legitimate, trustworthy people you can meet online, but the key is to still search locally and MEET the people early on in the relationship.

NEVER send money to someone whom you have not met in person. That is the cardinal rule of internet dating. As soon as money has been requested, you can be assured it is a scam.

If you follow those guidelines, you will not be scammed. I am so sorry I had to give you this bad news about the person you have been corresponding with, but it is certainly better to know now rather than after you have sent them a lot of your money.

They are becoming extremely sophisticated because this an a very profitable scam and they stand to make a lot of money if they make a convincing pitch.

I hope that my information has been helpful to you.

If I have adequately addressed your concerns, I would be very grateful for your "accept" upon leaving. "Accepting" will not terminate our dialogue and you will still be able to return for followup or clarification at any time.

Je vois que vous etes en Belquique. Merci XXXXXX XX au revoir.

Good night.