SCAMS
A SCAM is a dishonest scheme or fraud designed to deceive people, typically for financial gain or other benefits. It usually involves tricking someone into believing something false or misleading in order to exploit them. Scams can take many forms, such as:
Online scams: These involve deceptive emails, websites, or ads that trick people into providing personal information, downloading malicious software, or making payments for non-existent services or products.
Phishing: A type of scam where criminals impersonate legitimate organizations or people, typically via email, to steal sensitive information like login credentials, credit card numbers, or bank account details.
Investment scams: These involve fraudulent schemes promising high returns on investments that don’t exist, like Ponzi schemes or fake cryptocurrency opportunities.
Lottery or prize scams: The victim is told they’ve won a prize but must pay fees or taxes upfront to claim it, even though the prize doesn’t exist.
Romance scams: Fraudsters create fake profiles on dating sites or social media to manipulate individuals into sending money or gifts.
In all cases, the primary objective is to deceive individuals into taking actions that benefit the scammer, often at the expense of the victim’s time, money, or personal data.
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$2.3M romance fraud scheme. In Minnesota, a man pleaded guilty to a crime that primarily targeted elderly victims
According to court records, 37-year-old Dodzi Kwame Kordorwu was accused of being involved in an online romance fraud scheme, which mainly targeted the elderly. Kordorwu lured victims into sending money under false pretenses from May 2018 to June 2022.
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Man gets 3 years for $1.2M online romance scam
A Texas man who was part of a romance scam that bilked a Missouri woman out of $1.2 million was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to repay the money.
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Ontario woman loses more than $7,000 in TikTok investment scam
A mother from Ontario, who fell victim to an investment scam resulting in a loss of over $7,000, is now sharing her story to caution others. She urges vigilance against fraudsters employing deceptive methods, such as fake news reports on social media.
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Fairfield man used fake online romances to scam victims of more than $1 million
A Butler County man set up fake online profiles in order to lure victims interested in romance, then conned the victims into sending him and other co-conspirators more than $1 million in total.
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Married woman almost falls for ‘doctor’ in love scam, finds out his photo is actually of reality dating show contestant
A married shop assistant in Singapore has professed to almost falling for the wiles of a love scammer who posed as a doctor.
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70,000 people praying for love fell prey to romance scams in last year
Approximately 70,000 victims collectively lost $1.3 billion, according to the report. The IRS Criminal Investigation’s Atlanta Field Office is sharing warnings about the different types of romance scams.
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Shanghai police bust fraud ring involving 20 people in 7 Chinese cities
Police in China have busted a fraud ring that had duped an undisclosed number of male victims out of a combined 300,000 yuan (US$42,000) by scamming each individual out of a small amount of money.
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Woman in China cons ‘friend’ out of US$250,000 by posing as rich scion in online romance scam
A woman in China defrauded her friend out of more than 1.79 million yuan (US$250,000) by posing as the son of a wealthy business executive and sustaining a fabricated romance.
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Drama As Police Arrest Three Young Nigerian Men For Romance Scam
Acting on credible intelligence, the National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force, has nabbed three suspects in connection with charges of conspiracy, identity theft, and romance scam.
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Romance scammers’ favorite lies exposed
Romance scammers tell all sorts of lies to steal your heart and money, and reports to the FTC show those lies are working. Last year’s romance scam numbers looked a lot like 2021 all over again, and it’s not a pretty picture. In 2022, nearly 70,000 people reported a romance scam, and reported losses hit…
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Minnesota man accused of stealing $1.6 million from Colorado woman in romance scam
A Minnesota man was indicted Tuesday on 21 counts of wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly procuring $1.6 million from a Colorado woman he met on a dating website.
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Man ordered to pay €14,000 to two women following involvement in romance scam
A 36-year-old Nigerian has admitted his involvement in a romance scam ring which defrauded two women. Romance fraud is a type of fraud where the victim believes that they are in a relationship with another person and gives them money as a result.
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EFCC Arrests 140 Suspected Yahoo Boys In Ikorodu
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested 140 suspected internet fraudsters, also known as yahoo boys, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
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Fake Army General’s Romance Scam Bilked Multiple Women Out Of $1 Million, Feds Say
Fola Alabi, 51 allegedly cheated elderly women by getting them to send him money so he could supposedly ship his belongings home from overseas
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Scammer claiming to be Korean oil rig worker dupes Malaysian widow out of nearly $1 million
A widow in Malaysia was duped into sending nearly 3.9 million Malaysian ringgit (approximately $908,510) to someone claiming to be a Korean man online.
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Stockton romance fraud victim duped into paying more than £10,000
A romance scam victim lost more than £10,000 to a fraudster in Nigeria amid a rise in people being conned online.
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Nigeria’s Chibueze cracked in Cambodia over romance scam
Nigeria’s Chukwueke Felix Chibueze has been arrested by the Cambodian police for engaging in romance scam on social media.
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Hong Kong, Malaysia police arrest 27 people in Interpol crackdown on romance scam gang
Police in Hong Kong and Malaysia have arrested 27 people in a joint operation with Interpol to crack down on a fraud syndicate that swindled 37 women in Southeast Asia out of HK$15 million (US$1.9 million) through romance scams.