It wasn’t the Tinder scammer, but the story is similar in one central respect: the emotional bond the scammer achieved. The Justice of Córdoba investigates who or who are behind a false Instagram profile of Brian Harold Maythe legendary member of the English band Queen.
A person, of legal age, who maintained virtual contacts through the social network appeared in court to denounce the scam that would have been made from that platform. According to her account, the relationship was always virtual, but it progressed over several months until it compromised the sentimental situation of the alleged victim. In the exchange of love, she promised him a special gift: an autographed guitar owned by her. The recipient of the gift believed him, precisely because of the sentimental relationship established.
However, the fake Brian May explained to him that there was a problem. It was not easy for the guitar to enter the country. He involved her in a series of arguments related to bureaucratic procedures and dealt the final blow, to consummate the scam: he asked her for money to unblock the shipment at the Argentine Customs. He provided the data of an account to make the transfer to the victim and she transferred the sum of US $ 600. Everything happened in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with sanitary measures that limited free movement and presence in public and private organizations.
The scammer argued that the money would be received by a logistics company that would make the shipment. Obviously the gift did not arrive because it never existed, nor was the person invoked in the social network profile real.
The complaint was filed in the courts of the city of Córdoba. From the Specialized Cybercrime Prosecutor’s Office, it was transferred to Río Tercero, due to the territorial jurisdiction of the event.
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FAKE. Marley detected that in several European countries they used photos of her on Tinder with profiles of different identities.
alarms. Scars Latin America, an institution dedicated to assisting victims of this type of crime, published a series of characteristics that are common in the discourse of sentimental scammers. He describes them as manipulative people, who make arguments that appear to be convincing. The first sign of an emotional scam is rapid manifestations of infatuation. They express strong emotions in a relatively short period of time.
Another characteristic of the link they generate is that they bring up issues related to money. They can report emergency situations such as illnesses, deaths and extraordinary events for which they need financial resources and that is when they request rescue. Or, also, propose attractive investments.
The entity warns that it is usually a trap to change the platform to continue the relationship. Also, the promise of visits and gifts, which never materialize due to the appearance of unforeseen events.
In the United States they quantified the ‘romantic scams’. Last year, US$ 547 million were stolen with this modality. If the last five years are counted, the sentimental fraud industry accumulates the illegal appropriation of US$ 1,300 million. If you compare 2021 to 2017, the reported incidents increased sixfold. The most common fact is the false profile on social networks, with photos taken from the Internet.
HOW TO AVOID THEM
The Federal Trade Commission of the United States published a series of recommendations for the use of dating sites and social networks with the aim of meeting people:
◆ Conduct an online search to verify the person’s name, photo, location, email address, and other details to verify their legitimacy.
◆ It is recommended to tell a friend or family member when the bond begins. A romance scammer seeks to isolate his victim from friends and family or pressures them to make impulsive decisions alone.
◆ No money to send.
◆ If you sent money, you must inform the financial institution immediately if you think you have sent a scammer.