Love scam with "Rosenheim Cops"

Modern marriage scam - Love scam with "Rosenheim Cops"

In the past year, authorities in Bavaria counted 450 cases of online romance scams, causing a total damage of 5.3 million Euro. This is likely just the tip of the iceberg, as many cases go unreported due to the shame of the victims over their own gullibility, as Bavaria's Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) announced in Munich.

Romance Scam with "Rosenheim-Cop"

A particularly unusual case came to light this year, with the popular ZDF series "Die Rosenheim-Cops" at its center. The mayor of an Upper Bavarian community had contacted actor Dieter Fischer (53), who plays criminal chief commissioner Anton Stadler in the series.

The problem: The mother of the mayor had given money to someone who had presented themselves as her son's colleague Igor Jeftić (plays Kommissar Sven Hansen) on Facebook. In total, she gave away 35,000 Euro. The identity of the person behind it is still unknown. It is clear, however, that Jeftić was not involved.

He was "really shocked," Jeftić says in the Munich Justice Palace, where he was informed along with Fischer and the two ministers. Shocked, "because it involved me, and I was afraid I would have to prove that I wasn't involved." He even spoke with the woman who believed she had been communicating with him over Facebook and the messaging service Telegram for weeks. "She couldn't believe it until the very end that I wasn't involved."

Romance Scam is a Business

The scam scheme is not new: In social media and on dating sites, criminals present themselves as wealthy singles - often as doctors or foreign soldiers. They build trust with their victims, manipulate them with love declarations, and then ask for money due to an alleged emergency. Behind the false identities are usually criminals in call centers; in Nigeria, where modern marriage fraud - Love Scamming is called - is a legitimate business. Once the money is transferred, it is usually unrecoverable. Increasingly, criminals are also posing as celebrities and hunting for their next victim among their fans on the internet.

Criminals Hacked Jeftić's Facebook Account

In Jeftić's case, the criminals even hacked his real Facebook account. The first messages that exchanged hands between the mother of the mayor, who is a declared fan of the series, and the older woman, were even written by him. However, it seems that criminals then took over and led the older woman to a messaging service. In such moments - when the virtual counterpart suggests switching to a service like Telegram - one must always be skeptical, Eisenreich emphasizes. And if it's about money, all alarm bells should ring.

As difficult as identity theft and fakes are on the internet for real celebrities themselves, Fischer's colleague points out, who, according to his own statements, often encounters fake profiles of himself or lies, fake news, even fake death notices. "There's nothing left for you but to live with your fake death," Fischer says.

1. In Bavaria, Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) highlighted the issue of unreported online romance scams, with 450 cases recorded in the past year, causing a total damage of 5.3 million Euro.
2. The mayor of an Upper Bavarian community was a victim of such a scam, giving away 35,000 Euro to someone claiming to be her son's colleague, Igor Jeftic_, on Facebook.
3. actor Dieter Fischer, who plays criminal chief commissioner Anton Stadler in the ZDF series "Die Rosenheim-Cops", was also involved as he had communicated with the mother of the mayor on the series' Facebook page.
4. Kommissar Sven Hansen, played by Igor Jeftic_, was not involved in the scam, but he was still shocked and had to clarify his innocence to the woman who believed she was communicating with him.
5. The scam scheme is not new, with criminals posing as wealthy singles, building trust, and manipulating victims with love declarations before asking for money.
6. Modern marriage fraud, or Love Scamming, is a legitimate business in Nigeria, where criminals use social media and dating sites to find their next victim.
7. In Jeftic'_s case, the criminals even hacked his Facebook account, with the initial messages exchanged between the mother of the mayor and the older woman being written by him before the criminals took over.
8. Fischer, who often encounters fake profiles and lies about himself on the internet, highlighted the difficulty of managing identity theft and fake news as a celebrity, saying there's "nothing left for you but to live with your fake death."

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