The classic Online Dating Scam involves a con artist meeting a victim online, pretending to initiate a long-distance relationship, and then asking the victim to wire money.

It’s a widespread form of fraud, and despite increased awareness, it continues to thrive because we’re all convinced it only happens to other people. We’re too smart, right?

Right. There’s a reason you never hear anybody say, “Yeah, you know, I’m just really naïve and easy to manipulate.” Here’s a little trade secret known to scammers around the world: literally everyone has some area in which he or she is vulnerable. There is no such thing as a 100% scam-proof human.

But there may be an even more compelling reason to avoid the romance scam: the possibility of criminal prosecution. In this case reported by BBC News, a woman was not only tricked into wiring her own money to her online “partner” over the course of several years, but also convinced to move money between different bank accounts on behalf of the con artist, making her an accessory to money laundering.

For which she was prosecuted and convicted.

Yeah, let that one sink in for a second. The irony is, she was probably helping him launder money he was getting from other romance scam victims.

Now, I’m no legal expert, and this case did occur in the U.K., not the U.S. I’m not sure how different the laws are here, but I’m betting that there is a point at which they also no longer care that you were a victim because it should have dawned on you that you were laundering money.

So if you’re out there on the internet looking for companionship, or if you know someone who is, be aware of the risks. When someone you’ve never met is asking you to send money, or to transfer funds between different financial institutions, do not do it. Under any circumstances, okay?