A GEORGIA woman got caught up in a so-called romance scam, according to police.

An 84-year-old woman from Athens, Georgia had been developing a relationship with a stranger online for nearly two years.

The stranger told the woman that he needed money to pay his rent and buy a car.

She sent him money transfers and several boxes of cash.

Now, the woman is most likely going to lose her home after she took out a home equity loan to send the stranger money.

“She took out a $200,000 line of credit (on her home) through her bank and there is only about $7,000 left,” police detective Daniel Freeland told the Athens Banner-Herald.

A bank manager told police that the woman is unable to pay back her loan, causing her to lose her home.

The 84-year-old wasn’t made aware of the scam until her friend, who was helping her with something on her computer, found the fraud.

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Her friend reported the incident to the police, who is now investigating the case.

The police found that the IP address of the person the woman was speaking to tracks back to Nigeria.

They believe that the woman fell for the scam because she is older and alone.

“Romance scams are hard for us because the problem is if it’s consensual, we can’t prove to a jury that this is a scam unless they promise something in return,” Freeland said.

“When it’s, ‘I need money. Will you send me some?’ and someone does, there is no crime,” he added.

The U.S. Sun previously reported that the FBI sent out a warning to all Android and iPhone users about romance scams.

“These occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust,” special agent Martin Hellmer with the agency’s Phoenix Field Office explained. 

“Then, the scammer uses that illusion of romantic or close relationship to manipulate and steal from the victim,” he added.

The FBI warns people who suspect that they’ve fallen victim to a romance scam to cut off all communication with the person immediately.

You can report all fraud and romance scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.