Too much trust? Woman caught up in scam after meeting man online

HOUSTON (WITI) — It's easy to meet people online, but it's important to approach these relationships with caution. One woman found herself in the middle of an international scam thanks to a man she met online and trusted.

"I didn't get angry with him. I got angry with me for letting it happen," said a fraud victim who didn't want to reveal her identity.

The woman was too embarrassed to show her face after being lured into a reshipping scam by a man she met online.

"One of his friends wanted to send something to him, could he send it here? I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. So, I said 'ok,'" the victim recalled.

It started with just a few packages, but in a few months there were over 100 parcels.

"Things started coming and coming and I said, 'how many friends do you have?'" the woman said.

"Initially, we thought she was a suspect," revealed U.S. Postal Inspector Jerome Provost.

Postal inspectors quickly learned she was being used by a man trying to ship stolen merchandise to Ghana.

"He shipped her instructions, labels, actually, postage as well. The merchandise came at separate times," Provost said.

Inspectors learned those labels were counterfeit and asked the victim if she knew the merchandise was stolen.

"She immediately took a step back, recanted what happened and vowed not to do it again," Provost explained.

When meeting people online be wary, especially if they start asking you for favors.

"If they ask you to do things they could easily do themselves that is another red flag," Provost said.