THE loneliness is one of the most unbearable emotions. And for this we must be especially careful and caring when we meet a lonely person. The feeling that he is completely alone in life, without the basic sense of human communication (perhaps on a deeper level), even for a basic relaxed conversation, may be unmanageable.
In modern societies of (self) isolation millions of people around us live in cage houses having walls erected around them, looking for other channels of communication. The internet because of the anonymity it provides, historically, it was the place where even the most lonely soul could find a gallows.
The dating sites και applications they break without this meaning that they are used only by lonely people. It is a given that in a world that is evolving rapidly, this speed would also affect the acquaintances between people. Like every aspect of the internet, however, it also hides dangers and parallel realities. Dark networks that try to exploit every part of human existence for profit.
The phenomenon of modern “dowry hunters” or online flirtations, as many refer to them, has led thousands of people to despair or even to prison.
Launch of erotic cybercrime during the coronavirus pandemic
Hoping to find companionship during the pandemic, a Florida woman signed up for Facebook Dating. Within half an hour, she met “Damian”. He was an orthopedic surgeon living in a distant city, but at the time was in Yemen on a four-month UN peacekeeping mission. So claimed at least the man behind the screen.
“He is very handsome,” the anonymous woman told Mariana van Zeller in an episode of National Geographic’s “Trafficked.” The show explores various global black markets that sell everything. In this case feelings.
The woman added: “She tells me, ‘I am extremely grateful to have you in my life. “Spending time with you drowns out my other worries and illuminates my life.”
“My heart was running much faster than my brain,” he added.
And somehow the woman lost $ 15,000. The internet flirt invented a story about gunmen who attacked his facility and feared for his life. He asked the woman for $ 15,000 to help him pay off his contract so he could return home and be with her. She carried them and lost both the money and the relationship she thought she had.
More than $ 300 million stolen by 2020 – Ghana’s network hub
During the coronavirus pandemic, the cases of men and women searching for love on the internet and being deceived by online suitors skyrocketed.
“It simply came to our notice then 300% on romantic scams due to the pandemic and exploiting people’s loneliness, “said van Zeller. “In 2020, $ 300 million was stolen from US banks.”
In the new episode of her documentary, van Zeller dives into the underworld of romantic scams, talking to both the victims who lost money and the perpetrators, many of whom operate outside of Ghana, which has become a hub. web combines through acquaintances.
A divorced woman paid her fiancé almost $ 300,000. A widow donated more than $ 1 million to a man she met online, while a 68-year-old woman donated more than $ 2.8 million.
Many will be surprised to learn that the majority of victims are men, says the presenter. Deceived lovers will be surprised to learn that their dream partners are in fact criminal gangs that use scripts to create a bond and fake documents to present themselves as Americans.
How circuit groups work
The members of the circuit have different roles: They exist the hunters, who find potential victims. The forgers draw up credentials, the actors, poured out for romance. And finally the man who makes the final blow, who enters to seal the agreement. And it gets a bigger percentage of booty.
Van Zeller interviews many internet lovers who refer to victims as “customers”, giving their business an air of respect.
“English is spoken in Ghana,” comments van Zeller. The country is “technologically advanced, but it also has many economically disadvantaged people without opportunities. There, if you grow up in the slums, you see people making combos to survive. So do you.
Members of such a group who do romantic scams say they can be so convincing because they wait patiently for the right time to ask for money. Sometimes pulling romances up to over a year. “They will also send money and gifts to their targets to make them look honest and do whatever it takes to trap them.”
In the episode, a male swindler asks a priestess to do black magic on a man in Virginia named Michael, who has already donated more than $ 10,000 to his “girlfriend”. Hoping to make more money, the scammer prints a photo of Michael and presents it with alcohol to the priestess, who casts a love spell on the man who lives more than 5,000 miles away.
“The priestess gets some of the money,” said Van Zeller. “It ‘s almost like cheating on a scammer.”
But in the end, stealing someone’s feelings produces a strange side effect: affection.
“I really think there is a lot of empathy. We talked to a man named Odo who stopped making fights because he could not stand it anymore. His last victim was evicted from her home. “On the black market, you often find people who do not care, but that was not the case here,” van Zeller said. “They said it was impossible not to create a connection.”
Indeed, a woman talked to a man for two years. When she learned that he was a scammer in Ghana, she could not believe her ears. She was even more surprised when she heard the scammer tell her that he wanted a real relationship with her. “He cried and told her he loved her,” the presenter said.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
