You join an online dating site to find the love of your life.  You walk away with a broken heart & a drained bank account.

Peel Police are warning singles to watch out for scammers on the web.

Constable Thomas Ruttan says the pattern never changes much.  The scammer targets lonely, vulnerable victims, often divorcees---& talks themselves up as their soulmate.  The bad love matches present themselves as well-off executives living overseas or members of the military.  They always find excuses not to visit or to meet up.

Like with most other scams, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Ruttan says once the scammer builds trust with the victim, they start asking their sweetie to send cash.  Ruttan says in Peel, people who've been tricked have lost as much as $80 000.

6 online dating scams have been reported to Peel Police this year, but it's tough to say how many victims are really out there.  Ruttan says many victims never speak up because they lost smaller amounts of money or are just embarrassed.