Once contact has been established, the victims are showered with expressions of love and attention - with the sole aim of taking money out of their pockets. As was the case with a woman from Korbach who fell victim to this love scam and filed a report with the Korbach criminal police.

The police warn against love scamming

The Waldeck-Frankenberg Police Department is therefore issuing a warning based on the current situation and is giving advice on how to behave on the subject of “love scamming”. The most important tip: In general, you should not transfer money or accept other demands from people you have never met or seen in person. There are a lot of scammers on the Internet in particular who want to make a lot of money off the trust of their fellow human beings. So always be suspicious of incredible offers and when looking for a partner.

The current case

A woman from Korbach “met” a man about five months ago through a social network. He wrote to her directly. He seemed very friendly from the start. After a short time he had gained the woman's trust and she gave him her cell phone number. They then wrote to each other directly via a messenger service.

The fraudster imagined himself to be a US Army soldier who was currently on a mission near Damascus. His wife died of cancer and he has a small child. In the weeks and months that followed, they wrote to each other almost every day. The communication was in German, with the alleged soldier explaining that he did not speak German and therefore used a translator. He seemed serious to the people of Korbach; they later described him as “loving and sensitive”. He had gained her trust and was now asking for money for a vacation so that he could permanently leave the army and come to Germany. He justified this by saying that he couldn't get his money because his account was currently blocked.

First “love”, then money

The woman from Korbach followed the instructions and bought Steam cards worth several thousand euros. As a result, the fraudster made further demands for money, which he explained as being due to problems purchasing the plane ticket or the cost of the documents necessary for the promised wedding. He promised to pay the money back in full. The woman bought more Steam cards. She transmitted the corresponding card codes to the “soldier”. In total, the fraudster stole over 10,000 euros this way. The woman who was cheated had taken out a loan to be able to pay the money.

When the “soldier” finally wrote that he wanted to send gold bars worth over ten thousand euros to her for their future together, but that she had to transfer a large amount of money first, she became suspicious and filed a report with the Korbach criminal police. Only then did she realize that she had fallen for a love scam.

How does love scamming work?

What is love scamming? Scammers seek contact with women and men via the Internet, Instagram, Facebook or dating portals. You pretend to be an attractive, likeable and successful “dream man” or an enchanting “dream woman”. They fake a romantic relationship after first gaining the trust of their victims. Their CVs and stories are fictitious, their photos downloaded from the internet. The aim of the scammers is the victims' money. They use fictitious emergency situations to get them to transfer money to them.

When should you pay attention?

  • A person you recently met over the Internet asks for money.
  • They are promised a meeting, but for a variety of reasons it never takes place, so contact is kept exclusively “online”.

More signs of love scamming

  • You will receive a short, friendly email with an invitation to chat. The email serves as a lure.
  • Communication takes place primarily in English or German, and often only Google Translate is used.
    some perpetrators also use very good translation programs that simulate a native speaker.
  • The photos you receive show attractive people and are high quality.
  • After a very short time you will be overwhelmed with declarations of love and you will be promised a future together.
  • During the course of your acquaintance, you will be asked for money, open a joint account or provide other material favors - all with a view to the supposedly planned future together.

What can I do to protect myself from love scammers?

  • Do not give out any personal information, bank details or private, intimate photos. These could be misused.
  • Contact someone you trust and talk to them about it.
    If you suspect fraud, do some research online using the information you have. Very often the names of the fraudsters are already well known there. Enter the name of your internet acquaintance with the addition “scammer” into a search engine; the suspicion can often be confirmed there.

What should I do if I am/have possibly become a victim of love scamming?

  • Stop and block all contact immediately and ignore any further attempts to contact them.
  • If you suspect that you have been the victim of a crime, contact the police immediately. You also have the option of filing a criminal complaint via our online guard at https://onlinewache.polizei.hessen.de/ow/Onlinewache/.

Further information can also be found on the police website https://www.polizei-beratung.de/themen-und-tipps/betrug/scamming/.

Source:

Press portal
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