Justice - Love feigned via chat: Indictment for fraud
Out of affection for her supposed lover in the USA, a Berlin woman paid fraudsters almost 40,000 euros. However, when the 56-year-old wanted to hand over the money to a suspected accomplice in a hotel in Bad Homburg, Hesse, local police officers intervened in consultation with colleagues in Berlin. The Berlin public prosecutor's office has now brought charges of attempted fraud, as a spokesperson announced on Thursday. It initially remained unclear whether the handover had been deliberately arranged in order to convict the fraudsters.
The 31 and 34-year-old men allegedly tricked the woman between November 2020 and March 2021 into believing that she had a romantic relationship with a man being held in the USA. According to the investigation, the businessman then allegedly complained that he could not export 100 kilograms of gold without paying 40,000 euros. In order to help him, the Berlin woman then wanted to send him this sum, according to the public prosecutor's office.
The police refer to such cases as "love scamming" or "romance scamming". The scam is simple: singles - usually women - are contacted by a chat partner who often lives abroad. However, the person's CV is a lie and interest is feigned. During the chat, an emergency is feigned and financial support is requested. The spokesperson for the Berlin public prosecutor's office was unable to say how the investigators became aware of the specific case.
Statement from the public prosecutor's office
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- The fraudsters, residing in the USA, used affection as a means to deceive a Berlin woman, leading to an attempted fraud charge brought forth by the public prosecutor's office in Berlin.
- The indictment stems from the woman's desire to aid her supposed lover, who allegedly claimed to be held in the USA and needed 40,000 euros to export gold.
- Thehandover of the money was planned in Bad Homburg, Hesse, but local police intervened following consultation with Berlin authorities.
- The men, aged 31 and 34, are suspected of executing a 'love scam,' often used to target singles, by feigning affection in chat rooms before requesting financial support.
- The public prosecutor's office in Berlin mentioned that the woman was led to believe that the man needed financial help due to a gold-related issue in the USA.
- The case is reminiscent of many 'romance scams,' a type of fraud that predominantly targets women, with a foreigner as the deceiver who fabricates an emotion-laden scenario to ask for money.
Source: www.stern.de
