Oh CD, you are not the only one that has been taken in by a charmer over the internet. It happened to me too. I fell pretty hard. He seemed so wonderful, so right for me. He and I exchanged some of the best emails. There were no photos and when I mentioned about getting together, he started to back off. The emails also began to suffer and he started to take offense at trivial matters. That was his way of getting out of something before taking the next step. Unfortunately, I was well on my way to falling in love.

You say you have learned your lesson and Shy Introvert raised some good points about future dating via the internet. But I've been so hurt that I am afraid to try again. I'm sure I am likely to fall into another trap if I look. I'm thinking of giving up.