Romance Scam: Facebook friend request goes sour

CINCINNATI (Rich Jaffe) -- The rise of social media offered a world of opportunity when it came to connecting with other people.

But with that opportunity also brought a need for caution and concern. Facebook was very possibly the place where users needed that the most. The problem with Facebook and many other social media connections was that they open individuals up to people all over the world. It could be a blessing and a curse because unless it was someone a person already knew, it could be hard to tell who the other person is behind the screen.

A couple of months ago, Linda Bell got a friend request on Facebook, from a man dubbed, "Peter." Peter appeared to be in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Linda said, "Starts out, 'Would you like to have a friendship?' Certainly, I'd like to have a friendship. Then it went a little bit more with, 'I love your smile. I love how kind you speak.'"

The Facebook friendship with Peter quickly spiraled out of control into phone calls and "I love you" emails.

Linda said, "He was so charming, he knew all the right things

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