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First promises of love, then demands for money: Fraudsters deceived a man from the Schlüchtern area with a perfidious scam.
Schlüchtern – A man from the Schlüchtern area has fallen victim to so-called love scamming, as the police headquarters in Southeast Hesse announced. “The damage was comparatively limited, but the lesson from this story may have been even greater,” write the officials.
According to his own statements, the man met a woman through a chat room at the beginning of the year, who contacted him shortly afterwards via messenger. This quickly developed into an intensive exchange. The supposed internet acquaintance finally asked him for money so that she could visit him.
Internet love as a trap: Love scamming hits a man from Schlüchtern
At first the man transferred small amounts. But it didn't stop there: the alleged lady of the heart kept describing new reasons why the money wasn't enough and further payments were necessary. Over time the story became increasingly expanded. In the meantime, an alleged lawyer also came forward and offered the man a stake in a car dealership – but only on the condition of further monetary payments.
In total, the man transferred around 1,400 euros over the past four months before he finally saw through the fraud, stopped making payments and called in the police.
Police tips
The police regularly warn against this scam and provide information on what those affected should pay attention to:
– If someone speaks of love after just a short time or develops a very close relationship, caution is advised.
– A quick switch to other communication platforms can be a warning signal.
– Principle: do not transfer money to people you do not know personally.
– Recurring emergencies such as illness, travel problems or supposedly blocked accounts should cause skepticism.
– Be careful of “third parties” who suddenly appear, such as lawyers or business people, who demand money or make promises.
– An uneasy gut feeling should be taken seriously.
– If there is suspicion, the police recommend filing a report and breaking off contact immediately.
This form of fraud is classic “love scamming”. Perpetrators deliberately build emotional closeness on the Internet in order to gain trust and then obtain money. In this way, a woman from the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district lost around 47,000 euros about six months ago.
