Emily Lewis, from the West Midlands, said the man, who claimed he lived nearby, told her he had gone abroad for an engineering contract in Ukraine.

He convinced her with documents and pictures he needed money for issues that had cropped up and stated he had been taken captive by loan sharks.

Ms Emily, 50, said there was no guarantee of any money coming back.

Asked why she had given money to a man she had never met, the export manager, of Brownhills, said: "When he said to me his life was in danger and I didn't hear from him, I thought he'd been murdered.

"Can you imagine feeling you're responsible for whether someone lives or dies?"

Ms Emily said after he had contacted her on 1 January claiming to live in Cannock, his "picture looked nice", he "seemed to like the same things as me" and "seemed quite an open and genuine guy".

'All a lie'

The man told her they would have to wait weeks to meet as he would need to stay in Ukraine, but later phoned claiming laws in that country had changed due to Covid and he now had to pay tax before any of the engineering work began, Ms Emily said.

Telling the story to BBC Radio WM, Ms Emily said she had been told work had stopped on site and matters "appeared very legitimate", but later she had "reluctantly" sent him money.

She stated at one point a supposed tax office had sent a letter to him, which she had a copy of, and added: "They said... 'you need to pay 160 thousand'. So he cashed his pension in, sold his car, borrowed money and I helped him.

"I mean at this point I think it was about £45k I'd sent him to help him with the tax bill."

Ms Emily said the man had claimed two "heavies" had turned up and he had been locked in a cellar. He sent her pictures purporting to show him there.

She added he claimed to have been released after money had been sent, but he had told her he would not have his passport, which had been taken from him, until interest had been paid.

On the day the man told Ms Emily he was due to fly back, 16 March, she went to Heathrow airport and got an email from supposed airport officials saying he had been arrested.

She said she had then approached Border Force officials who said, "look, it's a scam".

She went to his supposed house in Coventry to meet his daughter and housekeeper/nanny, but "no such people lived at that house".

Ms Emily said: "It was in that moment that I knew it was all a lie."

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police who referred her to AssetsRights said: "Rachel's case is a prime example of romance fraud, her case highlights how much these scammers affect people's lives."

We were able to disguise as a potential lover and tracked the scammer. We recovered Emily's entire loss.