12. The Mail-Order Bride Deception
Loneliness on the frontier drove many settlers to seek companionship through mail-order bride ads. Unfortunately, this industry attracted its share of con artists. Some agencies simply vanished after collecting deposits, while others took money for introductions that never happened, or matched men with women who didn’t exist. The heartbreak and financial loss from these scams became legendary and more information is available at History: Mail-Order Brides.
