Virtual dating scam affects 4 in 10 women, says research; understand why this still happens

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Groups of foreign fraudsters approach victims via social media, make them fall in love and ask to borrow money. Discover the scam known as ‘romance scammer’. Virtual dating scam: understand what it is and why people still fall for it. Trusting someone you’ve never seen in person to the point of lending money can happen for a variety of reasons, such as need, passion, social pressure to find a partner and even even mental disorders. To understand why the virtual dating scam continues to happen, even after being widely publicized, the g1 report spoke to a psychologist, a prosecutor from the Federal Public Ministry and institutions that provide support to victims. The scam is known as “romance scammer” and is when groups of fraudsters pretend to be foreigners in high positions, in the most common case, United States military personnel. After establishing what would be a romance, the criminal begins to ask for money from his victims. The crime is also known as virtual sentimental fraud. In Brazil, 4 in 10 Brazilian women say they have already suffered a virtual dating scam or know someone who has been a victim, according to research obtained exclusively by g1 from the organization “Era Golpe, Não Amor”, a partnership of the company Hibou, specialized in research and market insights, from the Brazilian EMDR Association (name of the therapy that uses double stimulation to help patients process difficult memories) and the Public Ministry of São Paulo. 2,036 women from across the country were interviewed, considering the proportional division of race , age and social class, through virtual forms in March 2023. The study presents a 2.2% margin of error and a 95% confidence interval. Understand these motivations and how the “scammer romance” happens below: Passion Passion is a state similar to hypnotism. It creates an unshakable belief in the person you are in love with. The act of giving money manifests itself as a way of demonstrating this love, explains professor Christian Dunker from the University’s Institute of Psychology of São Paulo (IP USP). And these scammers also have techniques to gain the trust of their victims. “The victims who really fall in love are those who have lost someone very close to them or are suffering in some way,” explains Glauce Lima, scammer hunter and founder of the GKScanOnline Institute, which supports victims of cybercrime. That’s what happened to Maria*. The scammer contacted her in 2016, when she had just lost her sister and father. Furthermore, there are people with so-called “avoidant personalities”, who have the desire to love, but are afraid, whether of being rejected, of exposing themselves or even of physical encounter. With the internet, these people found the ideal space to find a partner, explains the professor. “When you’re at a distance, you can supplement reality deficits with your fantasy in a much better way,” he says. Delirium Not in all cases passion is the main culprit. Dunker explains that there is a psychological disorder called erotomania, which is one of the four classic forms of delusion. “What characterizes erotomanic delirium is a great social difference between lover and beloved. In general, they are women who experience the feeling that a very important man is being targeted by some kind of impediment, a conspiracy, a situation in which he needs to be saved or helped,” he says. This may be one of the explanations for cases such as the retired woman who lost more than R$200,000 when transferring the money to a scammer who pretended to be American actor Johnny Depp and the Italian volleyball player Roberto Cazzaniga, who thought he was her boyfriend virtual account of Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrósio and ended up sending €700,000 to the embezzlers. Furthermore, the victim believes in signs that are sent by the person. If the criminal used the image of a famous person who appears on TV, for example, the costume of a certain color could mean a message of love in the head of the person who has the disorder. Social custom Although men are also targets of this type of scam, the majority of complaints come from women, explains prosecutor Thiago Pieronom from the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT) and who participated in the survey by the MPDFT Gender Center, which analyzed 240 cases of sentimental fraud registered by the state’s Women’s Assistance Police Station since 2018. For him, there is a social explanation for this. “The need to be in an emotional relationship to be fulfilled in life, this social requirement is much stronger for women than for men. This makes women more vulnerable to accepting things that normally don’t seem very normal,” he says. The prosecutor alleges that, within these gender relations, there is an induction that men can and should make decisions regarding assets and money management. “So, when a woman enters this emotional relationship, there is greater pressure for her to delegate these important decisions to the man and blindly trust him”, he says. Who are the victims According to Glauce, today, the criminals’ targets are women between 40 and 70 years old. The profile is more diverse, covering married, single and divorced women, who may have a university degree and with or without a high income. This is because low-income people can still take out loans. When the woman is married, the criminal sees a second opportunity: asking for nudes to blackmail her. The majority of victims are white, according to a survey by the MPDFT Gender Center, which analyzed 240 cases of sentimental fraud registered by the state’s Women’s Assistance Police Station since 2018. Within these cases, 5.5% of relationships took place entirely online . But women are not the only victims, men also fall, points out hunter Glauce. However, they do not make complaints. “The vast majority, in addition to being married, will embarrass him. So, he doesn’t report it,” she explains. Virtual dating scam: victims are deceived and lose money. g1 / art Also read: Virtual rape: abusers use fake photos to blackmail the victim; understand the crime ‘He wanted to annihilate me alive’: find out what revenge pornography is and learn about victims’ stories Who is behind the scam Those who carry out the “romance scammer” scam are specialized gangs. Initially, they were formed only by Nigerian groups, but today, there are Brazilians involved, says Glauce. “Today they select Brazilian people to carry out the scam and the people who open the accounts receive a percentage of the money that comes in”, she says. Therefore, to arrest the criminals you need help from the Federal Police. The most common thing is for the criminal to claim that they have a package stuck at the airport, which needs a large amount to be released by customs. The alleged package may contain gifts, documents or jewelry, for example. But he will never reach the victim. Furthermore, around 29% of women who suffer this type of scam say that the criminal asked them to pay a bill, according to research by the organization “Era Golpe, Não Amor”. There is another issue: often, the amounts requested are small. Only 14% of those interviewed claimed to have lost more than R$5,000. “Because they know that not all victims will have that amount very quickly to provide”, explains Desiree Hamuche Montes, founder of the initiative “Era Scam, No Love”. After the money is sent, the criminal can disappear or continue “dating” the victim, to receive more money. Romance scammer Luisa Rivas / Arte g1 *The names Maria and Isabela are fictitious, to protect the victims. Also find out : Was a nude leaked? The practice is a crime; find out how to gather evidence, report it and ask for its removal Brazil has at least 4 cases per day for the dissemination of intimate images Find out how to protect yourself from other scams: Was there a nude leaked? The practice is a crime; find out how to report Virtual rape: abusers use fake photos to blackmail victims ‘Deepfake live’: technology that changes faces and voices in video calls already exists in real life

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