Love scams hit a record high last year, with fraudsters fooling lonely hearts into sending their life savings in hard-to-recover cryptocurrency.
In May of last year, someone claiming to be a military doctor on a secret mission in North Korea contacted Laura Francis on Facebook, looking for love and connection. Francis, a California realtor, thought he was charming—his profile images portrayed a man with a muscular build, beard, tattoos, and hospital scrubs—but was initially skeptical of his intentions.
“Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice but falling in love with you is beyond my control,” David wrote one evening in August 2021, as they discussed buying a wedding ring.
Within three months, Francis was sucked into a whirlwind drama rivaling daytime soap operas. And each plot line drew her deeper into what she believed was true love, followed by a rift caused by a second alleged scammer named “Robert Manguire,” who claimed to be an oil rig worker in Louisiana and warned her David was a con artist.
The government has responded to this surge in crypto-related crimes by staffing up with investigators. The Securities and Exchange Commission nearly doubled the size of its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit this spring, from 30 to 50, and the FBI announced a new Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit dedicated to blockchain analysis and virtual asset seizure.
As they began to plan their future together, David suggested she buy her own engagement ring through a military program that would prove he had a fiancée and allow his release from his three-year military contract. She paid a total of $42,568 for a diamond ring—but when the band arrived in the mail, she saw it had a $9.99 price tag and was actually a chintzy cubic zirconia.
Francis also questioned David on whether he was catfishing her, telling him: “I saw women give their whole life savings away to men like you they never met. And they were all deeply in love like I am.”The realtor’s family members, who’d watched her fall deeper into texting David for hours each day, suggested she cut him off and meet someone in person on the dating website Plenty of Fish. That’s where she met Robert, an attractive older man with graying hair.
The situation only got stranger from there. David, she said, claimed Francis had exposed his identity by talking about him with Robert online. Days later, Shawn messaged Francis and claimed David was arrested and it was all her fault. “I hope you listen this time or you end up behind bars,” one September 2021 email reviewed by The Daily Beast read. “If you disclose this to anyone you’re in for a big trouble.”
“I believed what the guy said, because I guess I wanted to,” Francis says now. “I wanted to hear the bullshit. I wanted to hear the niceness. And I’m just looking at some of the stuff he wrote to me and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I fell for that. I fell for that hook, line and sinker.
TRM Labs, based in San Francisco, also offers software that helps track cryptocurrency transactions and identify the real people behind the anonymous wallets. Chris Janczewski, the company’s head of global investigations, said the group often works with law enforcement, as well as with major exchanges like FTX and Coinbase that want to prevent money laundering on their platforms.
Francis first contacted Social Catfish via their YouTube channel, “Catfished,” where they post weekly videos about cases they helped solve. The team sent her a generic background form to fill out and asked for any pictures or evidence she had. They also set up a background call with Francis, and, after hearing her story, decided to dive in.
But the company’s work wasn’t quite done. Since Francis had contacted them via their YouTube channel, they staged a viral-video-worthy confrontation between victim and scammer, getting Francis to call David and confront him about his lies on camera.
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
Can Taking Oxytocin Supplements – the “Love Hormone” – Fix Your Marriage?New study finds that oxytocin supplements are unlikely to mend your marriage. According to a University of Essex study, using the 'love hormone' is unlikely to be a magic treatment for repairing marriages. The research, conducted in partnership with Cardiff University, found that therapy improves m
続きを読む »
So You Just Bought a Peloton Bike—Here’s How to Get the Most Out of ItFrom learning the lingo to building a workout program you love, we’ve got you covered.
続きを読む »
‘Love Island USA’ contestant Chazz Bryant talks Sereniti and Casa Amor backlashBryant told TODAY why his recoupling speech sounded a lot like he was going to choose Sereniti Springs over Kat Gibson.
続きを読む »
Park Min Young Makes The Perfect Fake Wife In New Rom-Com Drama “Love In Contract”tvN’s upcoming drama “Love in Contract” has shared a new sneak peek of Park Min Young in her starring role! “Love in Contract” is a new romantic comedy about a service that provides fake wives for single people in need of partners to bring to social gatherings, such as school reunions and dinners for married
続きを読む »
Why players love the relaxing world of farming simulators | Digital TrendsWith games like StardewValley continuing to captivate players, what makes the quiet farming simulation genre so appealing?
続きを読む »
John Corbett to reprise role as Aidan Shaw on And Just Like ThatCorbett famously played the Carrie love interest throughout Sex And The City
続きを読む »