Latest news with #romancescam
CTV News
21-05-2025
- CTV News
Guelph-Eramosa Township resident loses more than $80K in romance scam
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a resident from Guelph-Eramosa has lost more than $80,000 to a romance scam. In a media release, they explained the victim developed an online relationship with an unidentified person between February 2025 and April 2025. During this period, the perpetrator asked the resident multiple times for help with their finances. The money was sent through e-transfers and cryptocurrency. The OPP advises victims of online scams to contact their local police department or report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Dating app scammers in Japan targeting disabled people with fake dates and huge bar bills
Police in Japan are ramping up efforts to dismantle a loose network of romance scammers who use dating apps to target disabled people, luring victims to fraudulent bars and saddling them with exorbitant bills through deceptive drinking games and false claims. Advertisement The latest case – involving a visually impaired man who was swindled out of about 700,000 yen (US$4,870) – has cast a spotlight on how such 'anonymous and fluid' crime groups operate with impunity by cycling in new perpetrators for each incident, according to Tokyo police. The man had met a woman on a dating app designed for people with disabilities. She introduced herself as 'Risa' and offered to take him to a bar in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district in February. What he did not know, investigators later said, was that the woman – identified by police as Rina Sugawara – was employed by the bar and working in concert with its staff. Pedestrians walk through Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district, where police say romance scammers have lured disabled victims to fraudulent bars as part of a widening criminal scheme. Photo AFP The bar offered an all-you-can-drink plan for 5,000 yen, but during their visit, Sugawara reportedly encouraged him to order additional drinks and engage in a drinking game that involved taking shots as a penalty. The victim, who rarely consumed alcohol, soon became intoxicated.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I thought I'd found love with my dream TV vet but scammer used cruel trick to swindle me out of £11k disability benefits
SEEING the message pop up on her Instagram account, Lisa Nock's heart fluttered. It had only been a month since they began talking but there they were - three little words she had never expected to see, "I love you". 8 8 8 Lisa, 44, hadn't been looking for love so it was unexpected to say the least, but what was even more surprising was who was sending the messages. TV vet Dr Chris Brown, best-known for his Aussie TV Bondi Vet, was her admirer... or so she thought. But Lisa, who has autism and mobility issues after being hit by a car as a child, later discovered that the man she was talking to was in fact a romance scammer who conned her out of £11,000 in Instagram cryptocurrency. Superfan Lisa was drawn in by a "fake but convincing" Instagram account she thought belonged to Dr Chris. The crook running the account posed as the celeb vet when he contacted Lisa who believed she was talking to the real vet. The conversation turned "romantic" and the fraudster began "love bombing" Lisa and even proposed. Believing they were in a relationship, Lisa agreed to transfer the fraudster money for flights and visas to visit her in the UK. Over a year-and-a-half, Lisa transferred them a total of £11,000 through multiple cryptocurrency wallets, with the biggest single payment being £7,000. Lisa, who cannot work, from Staffordshire, West Midlands, said: "I thought it was real at the time. "Although they were flirty at the beginning, we were talking for six months before money was mentioned.' Romance Scammer Jailed Again - Sharon's Story After initially contacting what Lisa thought was Dr Chris' Instagram account in September 2022, the account responded immediately. The pair began chatting before exchanging numbers and messaging via WhatsApp. "I felt very excited because I wasn't expecting a response," Lisa said. "Our chat started friendly, talking about family and friends but then it soon turned flirty, and then the love bombing started. "I wasn't looking for something like that but I liked the friendship side of it." 8 8 8 By November, the scammer pretending to be Dr Chris said he "loved" Lisa. He claimed he would come and visit her in the UK, but needed £2,000 for flights. Lisa said: "I lost myself in it and believed that he loved me. "I wanted to see him so much, I started going without things like Taekwondo and swimming lessons to transfer the money." WHAT IS LOVE BOMBING? EVERY person who is seeking to find that person they want to spend the rest of their life with is prone to love bombing. Before we go on to explain the term, it is important to know that when these things are done in the right way it could just be someone you have found a connection with. Love bombing is often used by controlling, narcissistic and abusive individuals. They try to quickly obtain the affection and attention of someone they are romantically pursuing by presenting an idealised image of themselves. That is the important thing to remember, as a lot of the tactics used by a love bomber are common traits you would expect from a partner. It is all about the context they are used in, for what purpose and how it evolves into something else. More often than not, a love bomber will switch to becoming abusive, very difficult and manipulative once they feel secure in the relationship. On 23 April 2023, Lisa transferred £2,000 to an account via PayPal. The scammer then persuaded Lisa to transfer another £7,000 to pay for a temporary hire - a different vet to take over Bondi Vet - whilst he visited her in the UK. He set her up with a cryptocurrency wallet - where holdings are only accessible by using a private key. Lisa transferred a further £2,000 in cryptocurrency payments before saying she "couldn't do it anymore" in December 2024 because she could no longer afford it financially. The fraudster didn't follow up with Lisa and their communication ended for good. Lisa started to suspect the whole thing was a scam when she noticed the different emails were personal Yahoo emails and not official business emails from the vet. Eventually realising that she was being scammed, Lisa cut ties with the fraudster in January 2025 and contacted West Midlands Police who in turn reported it to Action Fraud. The investigation is ongoing. She said: "I'm not hopeful that I'll get any money back. "They are sneaky and clever - they really fooled me. "I feel humiliated and let down. "Looking back, there were red flags, such as I never spoke to this person over the phone or FaceTime. To this day, I don't know who I was talking to for a year and a half which is scary. Lisa Nok "I stopped buying certain things and going out with my friend so I could put aside some of my disability allowance. "How can people be so cruel? "To this day, I don't know who I was talking to for a year and a half which is scary. "I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I have and I hope the real Dr Chris knows I'm still a fan." 8 8 She added: "They knew I was disabled, had limited funds and they exploited that entirely. "I didn't have a lot financially and now I've been left with nothing. "I'm sharing my story to help warn others, especially those that are vulnerable like me. "I never thought something like this would happen to me - until it was too late." How do I spot crypto scams? CRYPTO scams are popping up all over the internet. We explain how to spot them. Promises of a high or guaranteed return - Does the offer look realistic? Scammers often attract money by making fake promises. Heavy marketing and promotional offers - If they are using marketing tricks to con customers you should beware. Unamed or non-existent team members - Just like any business you should be easily able to find out who is running it. Check the whitepaper - Every crypto firm should have a white paper. This should explain how it plans to grow and make money. If this doesn't make sense, then it could be because the founders are trying to confuse you. Do your research - Check reviews online and Reddit threads to see what other people think.
Japan Times
19-05-2025
- Japan Times
Deep love or deepfake: Dating in the time of AI
Beth Hyland thought she had met the love of her life on Tinder. In reality, the Michigan-based administrative assistant had been manipulated by an online scam artist who posed as a French man named "Richard," used deepfake video on Skype calls and posted photos of another man to pull off his con. Deepfakes — manipulated video or audio made using artificial intelligence to look and sound real — are often difficult to detect without specialized tools. In a matter of months, Hyland, 53, had taken out loans totaling $26,000, sent Richard the money, and fallen prey to a classic case of romance baiting or pig butchering, named for the exploitative way in which scammers cultivate their victims. A projected 8 million deepfakes will be shared worldwide in 2025, up from 500,000 in 2023, says the British government. About a fifth of those will be part of romance scams, according to a January report from cyber firm McAfee. "It's like grieving a death," Hyland said. "When I saw him on video, it was the same as the pictures he had been sending me. He looked a little fuzzy, but I didn't know about deepfakes," she said. Hyland lives in Portage, about 230 kilometers west of Detroit, and had been divorced for four years when she began dating again. She matched on Tinder with a man whose profile seemed to complement hers well. Now, she says this "perfect match" was likely orchestrated. Richard said he was born in Paris but lived in Indiana and worked as a freelance project manager for a construction company that required a lot of travel, including to Qatar. Months of emotional manipulation, lies, fake photos and AI-doctored Skype calls followed. The scammer pledged his undying love but had myriad reasons to miss every potential meet-up. Weeks after they matched, Richard convinced Hyland that he needed her help to pay for a lawyer and a translator in Qatar. "I told him I was gonna take out loans and he started crying, telling me no one's ever loved him like this before," said Hyland in an online interview. But Richard kept asking for more money and when Hyland eventually told her financial adviser what was happening, he said she was most likely the victim of a romance scam. "I couldn't believe it, but I couldn't ignore it," said Hyland. She confronted Richard; he initially denied it all but then went silent when Hyland asked him to "prove her wrong" and return her money. More and more scammers are using deepfakes to look and sound real on dating apps such as Tinder. | REUTERS Police told Hyland they could not take her case further because there was no "coercion, threat or force involved," according to a letter from Portage's director of public safety. The office of public safety — which oversees both the police and fire services — did not respond to a request for comment. In an email sent to Hyland after she flagged the scammer's account to Tinder, the company said it removes users who violate their terms of service or guidelines. While Tinder said it could not share the outcome of the investigation due to privacy reasons, it said Hyland's report was "evaluated" and "actioned in accordance with our policies." A Tinder spokesperson said the company has "zero tolerance" of fraudsters and uses AI to root our potential scammers and warn its users, as well as offering fact sheets on romance scams. In March, Hyland attended a U.S. Senate committee hearing when a bill was introduced to require dating apps to remove scammers and notify users who interact with fake accounts. The senator proposing the bill said Hyland's story showed why the legislation was needed. In general, dating apps do not notify users who have communicated with a scammer once the fraudster's account has been removed or issue alerts about how to avoid being scammed, as required in the proposed new bill. The United States reported more than $4 billion in losses to pig-butchering scams in 2023, according to the FBI. Microsoft, which owns Skype, directed queries to blog posts informing users how to prevent romance scams and steps it had taken to tackle AI-generated content, such as adding watermarks to images. The company did not provide further comment. Jason Lane-Sellers, a director of fraud and identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said only 7% of scams are reported, with victims often held back by shame. Jorij Abraham, managing director of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, a Netherlands-based organization to protect consumers, said humans won't be able to detect manipulated media for long. "In two or three years, it will be AI against AI," he said. "(Software exists) that can follow your conversation — looking at the eyes, if they're blinking — these are giveaways that something is going on that humans can't see, but software can." Lane-Sellers from LexisNexis Risk Solutions described it as an AI "arms race" between scammers and anti-fraud companies trying to protect consumers and businesses. Richard Whittle, an AI expert at Salford Business School in northern England, said he expects future deepfake detection technology to be built in by hardware makers such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft who can access users' webcams. Neither Apple nor Google responded to requests for comment on how they protect consumers against deepfakes, or on future product developments. Abraham said the real challenge was to catch the scammers, who often work in different countries to those they target. Despite her dead end, Hyland still believes it is good to report scams and help authorities crack down on scammers. And she wants scam victims to know it is not their fault. "I've learned terminology ... we don't lose (money) or give it away — it's stolen. We don't fall for scams — we're manipulated and victimised."
Times
16-05-2025
- Times
Inside the Cambodian scam compound preying on British pensioners
Lights flicker along a damp, shadowy corridor hidden beneath a five-storey casino, where offices with taped-up windows line the passageway and silhouettes of workers hunched over glowing screens are projected through curtains. This is a notorious scam compound, heavily influenced by the Chinese mafia, in Bavet, a city in southern Cambodia on the border with Vietnam. It is one of several near-identical megacomplexes on a single road, hiding dozens of scam businesses where workers are forced to operate fake online profiles for hours without breaks — carrying out romance and cryptoscams on international victims. The majority of these workers, who are trained to target British, American and Australian adults through dating sites and social media platforms, say they were lured into their roles under false
