If you can answer the questions with “yes, right,” then you should know the “love scam” or “romance scam,” which loosely translates to love rip-off. Men and women deceive their victims into believing they are in love. Contact is made via dating portals or social media.

Communication typically takes place in English or French and mostly in writing. The fraudsters allegedly work abroad and are usually members of the army, doctors, models, workers on an oil platform or engineers. Over weeks and months, the criminals build a relationship with their victims, promise a future together and talk about great love. At some point they report an accident or an indisposition that makes it necessary to receive money from their partner. If the person from Germany complies with the demand, more stories usually follow, with further financial problems.

This is exactly what happened to a young woman from the Marburg-Biedenkopf district who filed a report at the end of 2021. She actually contacted the police out of concern for her alleged partner. However, the recording officer quickly noticed inconsistencies and ultimately the entire love story turned out to be a scam. The woman now not only has to come to terms with the loss of a loved one, but also has to pay off the loans that she took out to meet the demands for money.

The Internet offers many opportunities to uncover fraud yourself. The term “love scam” already brings up a number of hits on search engines. Victims report on their experiences and publish the photos sent by the fraudsters. These usually come from the Internet and depict people who have nothing to do with the fraud. This means the actual perpetrators remain anonymous. The “reverse image search” also provides evidence of ongoing fraud. All you need to do is upload a photo of the alleged love interest to an internet search engine. The search engine displays the hits for this image.

If a victim notices the fraud, the great love on the part of the fraudsters is of course over. The contact will be discontinued and existing profiles on the Internet platforms used will be deleted.

The telephone and account numbers offer investigative approaches for the criminal police, but these are also taken into account by the professional criminals. Nevertheless, the police appeal for reports to be filed. If information about a group accumulates, it may be possible to identify connections that make international investigations possible.

In addition to the financial losses, there are the emotional consequences. Victims of this scam are often insecure in the long term and sometimes even traumatized when it comes to entering into new relationships.

The best protection against this type of fraud is awareness.

In addition, the rules that generally apply when dealing with strangers apply on the Internet:

  • Be careful when disclosing your own data or information about your financial situation.
  • Critically question every request made in your direction. This also applies to sending photos: pictures of your living situation allow you to draw conclusions about your assets. You should generally not send intimate pictures.
  • Never give or transfer money or valuables to strangers (or people you have never met in person).
  • Do not allow yourself to be used as a “way station” when two parties want to transfer money to each other. This also works without this intermediate step. They are only used to disguise the transfer channels.
  • The “way station” also refers to packages: Do not get involved in receiving a package or storing it. Criminals use such packages to create further lies and put victims under pressure.
  • Get friends involved. An outside perspective enables a more rational assessment and, if necessary, protects you from financial and emotional damage.

Source: Central Hesse Police Headquarters – Gießen Press Office

In keeping with the topic: Love scammers successful in the corona pandemic!


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