Wow!
You were lucky....
It's awful to be scammed. It happened to me a few years ago. The scammer got 5 years in Wandsworth prison, I never saw my money again. The government tried to deport him on his release from prison - he used the European Human Rights legislation to protect him (his victims were prevented from giving evidence or appealing) and he is still in the UK.
So I'm very glad you managed to swerve being stung. It hurts!
