Especially in the run-up to the holidays, some people long for love and togetherness. It's easy to fall into the trap of so-called "romance scammers", people who commercially pretend to be in love with lonely people in order to get their money. It all starts with making contact via social media and, through clever writing, they slowly but surely make themselves indispensable - without a single meeting. In the morning, the person they write to receives a romantic email, and in the evening they talk on the phone or chat for hours. But suddenly there are difficulties: The supposed dream partners are allegedly mugged, lose their Visa card or have problems with their credit card, or urgently need money at short notice due to a stroke of fate. They send emails asking and begging for financial help. As a chat partner and perceived life partner, some of those contacted then feel obliged to help in this particular emergency and transfer money to other people's accounts. Shortly afterwards, contact is broken off or there are further "emergencies" and attempts to obtain even more money. Protect yourself from such scams by:
📌For online contact exchanges or digital correspondence with unknown people, use an alternative email address that you can simply delete in the event of a scam attempt.
📌You should be wary of requests for money: Never transfer money to people you have never met face to face in Germany.
📌Type the name of the internet acquaintance into the search engine with the addition "scammer". In many cases, your suspicions will be confirmed and your search will return hits.
📌If you have fallen victim to a "love scammer", go to the police and file a complaint.
Always remain a little skeptical and trust your gut feeling if it tells you that something might be wrong. We wish you a safe pre-Christmas season!