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Desmond Gregor, 56, flew back to Australia late Sunday after his close escape in Mali's capital Bamako, where he was beaten with a machete by kidnappers who also threatened to cut off his limbs.
Relatives who welcomed him said the farmer from the remote town of Hoyleton in South Australia state was blinded by love, and unable to see the scam for what it was.
Gregor admitted as he arrived back in the state capital Adelaide, with nothing except the clothes he was wearing, that he had previously been scammed by a potential Russian bride.
Asked on arrival if he had learned his lesson, Gregor replied: "I think so."
Gregor travelled to Mali to meet his supposed bride "Natacha", who had promised him a dowry of 100,000 dollars in gold. Instead, his captors demanded a 100,000 dollar ransom, which he had no way to pay.
"Just be careful. Make sure you check everything out 100 percent," said Gregor. "I reckon another couple of days and I wouldn't have returned."
Brother Phil Gregor, among relatives who alerted foreign affairs officials that they thought something was wrong, said his brother should have been more open about his relationship with "Natacha".
"You see this in a movie, you read about it in a book -- it happens to someone else, not you," Phil Gregor said.
"I really hope that the message gets out to people that they look after their family and if anyone talks about Internet relationships, that they can be open and share the mail with them to get an objective opinion.
"When you're in that relationship, it does seem that the reality of the scam doesn't show up to the person that is in it."
Gregor was held in an apartment in Bamako for 12 days after he was taken by men on arrival in Mali on July 27. When relatives in Australia began to receive emails imploring them to send him money, they became suspicious.
He was rescued when Australian and Malian police managed to convince the kidnappers he had money to collect from the Canadian embassy in Bamako last Thursday. The kidnappers escaped.
On arrival in Mali, everything initially appeared quite normal, he said.
"Everything was as to plan, I got off the plane and was met by this guy who dressed the part," he said.
"The first indication I had that there was something wrong was when we got to the flat."
The person that was supposed to meet Gregor was not there, he said.
"We walked in and there was one bloke with I would say a home-made pistol and another one with a machete.
"It's a bit hard to explain what I thought.
"I basically was wondering what the hell was going on and then they started demanding money -- then I knew things were serious."
Gregor said he was given beaten with a machete.
"I still have the scars to prove that," he said.
"I was tied, bound by the legs and that was only probably for a couple of days because they knew that I was going to cooperate," he said. "There was always one bloke sleeping at the door, there was no way out."
His captors got away with all the cash he had on him, 675 dollars (572 US), and credit cards.
AFP
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