First reported: 2020-08-12
Fraud description:
Initiating a love affair with someone for the purpose of tricking the person out of money is criminal and is called romance fraud. Romance scams affect both women and men of all ages.
Contact via dating sites or social media
Romance scams often (but not exclusively) take place via the Internet. Those who report to the police that they have been exposed to romance fraud have often been contacted by the fraudster on a dating site or via a friend request on social media.
Common profiles for the fraudster
The fraudster often pretends to be an English-speaking man who is abroad in the service, or a woman who wants to help you but who then suddenly asks for help herself. There are several variants of this: military in the foreign service, doctors in Syria, business people who are stuck abroad and who can not go home, workers on an oil platform or investors in Asia, the list can go on. The relationship quickly becomes intimate and often fraudsters and victims have contact several times a day.
The warning signal - a sudden need for money
A relationship can last for a long time before the question of money comes up, but it will, sooner or later - and then it is in a hurry. In the beginning, it may be a small amount, but as soon as a payment is made, more expenses and additional needs for money arise. The fraudster may gamble on your compassion and claim that he or she must help a family member in need if it is not the person himself/herself who is asking for money.
The fraud can continue in other forms
After the relationship has ended, the victim can in some cases be contacted by someone who offers to help get their lost money back. This is also a scam, as the victim is asked to pay a fee to get help - without any help coming.
If you have been exposed
If you suspect that you have been the victim of romance fraud, the Swedish police recommend that you:
Contact your bank directly. If a transaction has just been completed, the bank may be able to stop it.
Report to the police.
Get help and support from people around you. You can also contact the Crime Victim Support Center (Swe. Brottsofferjouren).
Stop all contact, even with people who claim that they can help you get your money back.
Source of the above advice: https://polisen.se/utsatt-for-brott/polisanmalan/bedrageri/bedragerier/romansbedrageri/#skydda
Have you made an order through Safello because you have been contacted in this way?
Contact us via support@safello.com and please read our article about recovery fraud found on: https://help.safello.com/en/articles/4720443-you-are-contacted-by-a-person-who-claims-to-work-for-or-with-safello-who-offer-you-help-with-recovering-lost-funds.
When you buy cryptocurrency, always place the funds directly in your own wallet address, which you control yourself, and make sure that you are the only person who has access to the private key to the wallet.