The lonely hearts scam involves fleecing a rich victim with the promise of love and affection. In the old days, the con artist had to meet and talk with the potential victim in person, but nowadays, con artists can use the Internet to work their magic from afar.
The con artist contacts potential victims and claims to be a beautiful woman currently living in another country such as Russia or the Philippines. After sending a photograph (usually of someone else), the con artist steadily gains the trust and confidence of the victim through emails, faxes, or letters.
When the con artist believes he has gained the victim's trust, he makes a simple request for money to get a visa, so the foreign pen pal can travel to meet the victim—purportedly to live together happily ever after. If the victim sends money, complications inevitably arise requiring more money for bribes or additional fees, as in the Nigerian scam.
Sometimes the victim realizes he's been fleeced and stops sending money, but other times the victim honestly believes that the con artist is a beautiful woman trying to get out of her country. The longer the con artist can maintain this illusion, the more money he can fleece from the victim.