http://www.smh.com.au/national/how-dati ... 0p4ft.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Most weeks, I take my laptop to a local cafe to work. Most weeks, a raucous group of older men and women sits on the table beside me. At the centre of this group, with the loudest laugh, is a lady in her late 60swith twinkly blue eyes and a cheeky sense of humour, who wants to be known in this story as Jane Russell, after the Hollywood starlet.
Each week, Jane stops to chat and asks me what I'm working on. When once I replied that I was writing a profile – the story of someone's life, Jane turned serious and said, "One day I'll tell you my life story and you can put it in the paper."
Eventually she did tell me her story and it reminded me how punishing loneliness can be, particularly for older people. It can make them very vulnerable, even those who seem confident and popular. For Jane, like thousands of other Australians looking for love, has fallen victim to an online dating scam, losing $90,000 and her lifelong sense of trust.
