Today we often hear about the so-called "romance scams" which, however, have nothing romantic about them!
The perpetrator/swindler creates a false profile on a website – very popular, it seems to be facebook… – carefully selecting the victim.
Usually single women are singled out, often widowed or divorced. The age of the victims is around 40/70 years, including both women and men, and, once identified, the scammer, after having studied the posts and understood the psyche, carries out the "love" scam.
It seems that the scammers, 80% of whom are Nigerian, are no longer satisfied with Facebook and dating sites and that they are now starting to operate on Linkedin as well.
These executioners, via social networks, download the personal photos of very beautiful men and women. Many times they are famous people abroad (mainly actors) and they use them to create a false profile by stealing the identity of others, often claiming to be American.
In any case, it must be said that on Google images there is a program that allows you to understand who the inserted photo belongs to. I recommend, to anyone who has doubts about some virtual friends, to carry out a check. There's nothing wrong with wanting to figure out who you're dealing with.
But what is the purpose of scammers?
It is to extort money from the victim by emotionally involving them in a love affair.
They resort to psychological tricks using the right words, the ones we all want to hear. They show themselves present, albeit virtually and, at times, even jealous: the "right" jealousy, the one that makes us believe we are loved.
They send gifts with the aim of charming, flattering to make the vulnerable person fall into the trap.
“He seems like such a nice person…”, interesting and interested: a rare commodity nowadays! A person capable of finally dedicating time to you: everyone is so super busy that it's hard to believe that someone has time for you! A serious man who wants to build a future with a sweet and sensitive woman…!
And what has been said is also true in reverse: an Italian man contacted by a beautiful foreign woman who has had many disappointments and who has now finally found the right person to experience the love story that we all deserve…
However, they always invent excuses not to show themselves on the web cam and the time to meet live will never come.
With flattery they fill the poor victim with attention, they declare eternal and unconditional love, promising a family life full of joys, passion and happiness and all this from the very first meetings.
They ask that this love story is not told to anyone: the envy of friends and relatives could ruin it…
Scammers are great at graciously asking many personal questions, especially regarding what victims would like in their life; then, with skilful words, they transform their dreams into reality, a reality clearly made only of words.
Numerous investigations have revealed that the scammers work in teams and in shifts. They follow a script that is always the same. In fact, the stories of the victims are similar starting from the words used to manipulate them.
Team leaders teach scammers what to say and when to say it, and usually work in teams of six. This is why they are always connected in the internet and sometimes the victims feel like they are talking to other people.
In some moments there is a certainty that the interlocutor has forgotten what he wrote earlier or is unable to respond to a topic mentioned the day before. It may happen that scammers take time to respond because they are talking to other people at the same time and, on these occasions, it very often happens that they forward confidential responses to others by mistake.
Sometimes they describe the sexual act they would like to have with their virtual partner and the sensations they experience, with the obvious aim of involving the victim in a highly intimate way.
At this juncture, the scammer asks the victim to send him photos while he is masturbating or photos where the victim is almost naked.
If the scammer is not happy with how much money he has managed to extort and is in possession of this material, he will start a real blackmail against the scammed person. The scammer threatens to post these photos online and make them visible to family, friends and co-workers.
Basically, the scam begins when a relationship of trust has been established and only then does the explicit request for money begin.
The reasons can be many: from the accident to illness, to the impossibility of reaching the person you love.
They often pretend to be soldiers on a mission who need money to return home… Obviously they promise to give back any money! In reality, after having taken everything possible, the scammer disappears and it is only at this juncture that the victim realizes that he has been scammed.
Other times, when the scammer has been discovered by the victim and admits to the crime, he swears that he is, however, truly in love with the scammed person. And the sad reality is that many believe it. The scammer therefore steps up to work to consolidate the victim's love and trust. The person is invited to Nigeria and more often than not the victim is forced to stay against their will.
There are reports of stories of women who have traveled abroad to meet the man of their lives, with events ending in a kidnapping and rape. However, there are very few victims who talk about what really happened to them so, for the moment, it is not possible to verify the accuracy of this information.
Upon discovering the scam, the victim falls into depression. At that moment, the most delicate of all, she doesn't have the strength to get help because she is attacked by shame and fears being judged weak and clueless.
Unfortunately, silence, even if humanly understandable, will allow the scam to continue, thus allowing other innocent people to fall. It is necessary to inform and educate people to use social media more consciously.
No victim need feel ashamed for falling into this trap as they have been studied to appeal to their feelings.
Reporting is the only way to ensure that the phenomenon is talked about and the perpetrators are stopped. It is necessary to report everything to the Postal Police, attaching anything that may be useful: chats and copies of receipts for money orders and anything else that may be useful for investigations.
Attention, my friends…
Sono stato vittima di una truffa un anno fa da un tizio di nome Alain Dupret, ci siamo incontrati sul sito Badoo, ci siamo scambiati gli indirizzi facebook, poi una settimana dopo mi ha detto che doveva andare in Costa d’avorio per un affare che ha messo in vendita e che deve riportare una grossa somma. Dopo due settimane di conversazione, ha confessato i suoi sentimenti per me e mi è piaciuto anche lui perché era molto bello. Dopo il suo viaggio tutto ha cominciato a complicarsi per lui, almeno è quello che mi ha fatto credere e così ho dovuto aiutarlo pagando per il suo hotel che ho fatto senza pensare accecato dall’amore che avevo per lui, poi di nuovo ha dovuto pagare per la sua casa remota prima di poter vendere a 135.000 euro. E le tasse e le tasse erano più di 26.000 euro, gli ho detto che non potevo pagare l’intero importo. Mi ha fatto credere che avrebbe potuto avere un accordo se avessi pagato la metà, cosa che poi ho fatto inviando 2.000 euro in più volte anche da western union utilizzando i miei risparmi. Dopo tutte queste conversazioni si trattava solo di soldi, ed E ‘ stato allora che ho capito che mi stavano ingannando. Cosi ‘ho sporto denuncia alla polizia e mi hanno consigliato di interrompere il contatto con lui, cosi’ non avrei dovuto mandare altri soldi. E ‘cosi’ che ho cercato aiuto nei forum e ho visto l’indirizzo di un agente Dell’Interpol, il signor Bernard Violes. Questo Signore mi ha aiutato molto. Dal momento che ero ancora in contatto con loro, ha dovuto prendere provvedimenti per farlo arrestare, che aveva usurpato l’identità di Alain Dupret. Sono stato rimborsato dalle autorità ivoriane grazie a Sua Eccellenza. Avevo raggiunto una fase sfortunata della mia vita in cui tutto era diventato difficile per me, anche da mangiare. Non sappiamo davvero cosa aspettarsi su internet, quindi sono molto diffidente da questo momento, credo che l’amore virtuale non esista. ecco l’indirizzo del Signor Bernard :services_police_interpol@diplomats.com