From Nigeria with love

But the voices and webcam videos were fakes and it turned out all communication was coming from Nigeria, still a hub for online fraudsters. Increasingly sophisticated in the running of the scams, they work in shifts and use voice changers to give themselves an American accent.

Sophisticated programs, such as that offered by CamDecoy, provide videos of models that can be manipulated by the scammers to appear as though they are interacting with the victim on a webcam. Even more sinisterly, fraudsters use footage of unsuspecting members of webcam chat rooms that has been recorded surreptitiously over several weeks.

In both cases, the scammers claim there is a problem with sound but have full control over the footage. They can pause it, type when the person on screen is typing, or jump to a clip of the model waving, laughing or otherwise reacting as the victim would expect them to.

For example, Dayne bombarded Munro with flowers, cards, telephone calls and webcam chats. ”He said everything I wanted to hear, I needed to hear,” she says.

After a few months, the requests for money began. First he needed a loan when he became stranded in Ireland. Then he offered to invest some of Munro’s funds into his successful business. Believing his professions of love and that he yearned to hurry back to Australia to be with her, she handed over $60,000.

Finally, unwilling to wait any longer, Munro decided to go to Dubai to meet him. The night before she was due to leave, he phoned her. ”He said his daughter had been in an accident and he couldn’t meet me at Dubai airport. And then, I just knew.”

She was devastated. Not only had she lost money, she had also lost what she thought was the love of her life – and her ability to trust people.

Donald Thomson, a forensic psychologist at Deakin University, says the impact on the interpersonal relationships of victims who commit themselves emotionally as well as financially is greater than those who are victims of a purely financial scam. ”They can separate themselves from it, but the person who has been a victim of a romantic scam has given all of themselves.”

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes