If you’ve ever dipped your toe into the pool of online dating, you know it can be fraught with peril. While some concerns mirror those found in the “real world,” others are unique to the digital landscape in which people can claim to be anyone they want.

And that’s how a twisted mother-and-daughter pair managed to scam about $1 million from women all over the world.

Police in Adams County, CO recently arrested Tracy Vasseur, 41, and her 73-year-old mother, Karen, accusing them of posing as deployed military men who struck up online romances with ladies in some 40 countries. After gaining the trust of their victims, the Vasseurs would ask them to wire money for travel expenses and other costs.

Over three years, almost 400 women took the bait — to the tune of $1 million. The grifter pair took a percentage of the stolen money and then funneled the rest to associates in Nigeria.

To pull off the scam, the Vasseurs allegedly opened 20 personal and business accounts at almost a dozen local banks to launder the money. And because two generations of thieves aren’t enough, Tracy even used her 16-year-old daughter to fraudulently receive stolen money and then wire it to Nigeria.

If the adult Vassuers are convicted, they face a combined total of close to 400 years in prison. But we doubt that’ll be long enough for either one to actually grow a conscience.

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