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Love fraudsters plunder Stralsund accounts: 100,000 euros lost!
In Stralsund there were two cases of fraud with high financial losses. Police warn against online love and give safety tips.
Love fraudsters plunder Stralsund accounts: 100,000 euros lost!
A new case of online fraud has caused a stir in Stralsund. A 77-year-old woman fell victim to a love scam and lost almost 80,000 euros. Contact with the fraudster was made via Facebook and developed over several months. The perpetrator posed as a German-Englishman and told of a robbery and a serious illness. Only after the lady had made several transfers did she doubt the seriousness of the contact and contacted the police. They are now conducting investigations into suspected fraud, not only in their case, but also against another affected person from Stralsund.
A 57-year-old man also fell victim to fraud: his account was hacked, causing him a loss of around 21,000 euros. The police advise caution in such situations and give important tips to protect yourself from fraudsters. You should never transfer money to online partners, even for supposed emergencies. The identity of the other party should be verified before a transfer, for example by performing a reverse search of images. A particular warning is the distrust of quick expressions of love and requests for money.
Recognize warning signs of fraud
As particularly pointed out on the website romantikbetrug.com, financial demands are a clear sign of potential fraud. Scammers often use new names and stolen photos to deceive their victims. If someone asks for money online, contact should be cut off immediately. Serious relationships are based on trust, not on willingness to provide financial support. Amounts once paid cannot usually be recovered, so extreme caution is advised.
In the context of online dating, it is clear that such fraud cases are a growing problem not only locally, but also internationally. Statistics show that the number of online dating scams in particular increased during the pandemic as many people suffered from isolation and loneliness. In 2022, so-called “romance scams” caused a total loss of $1.3 billion in the United States, a dramatic increase compared to 2020.
Reach your goal with different tactics
Scammers often operate in groups and try to gain trust through fake profiles. In a survey, 27% of online dating platform users said they had been victims of catfishing. In these cases, people over 65 years of age in particular suffered the greatest financial losses, as they are often confronted with deep emotional bonds that make them easier to manipulate.
The police in Stralsund have now urged the population to be vigilant and to act immediately if fraud is suspected.
Together we can help prevent such incidents and increase security in the digital world. Remain suspicious and protect yourself from careless decisions that can lead to heavy financial losses.
For more information and useful tips, you can read the reporting from Picture, romancecheating.com and Comparitech read.