Norfolk Residents Out $147,000 in Two Separate Online Dating Scams

Monday, 19 October 2020 13:56

One victim sent a total of $120,000 to an online "lover" they had been chatting with since 2018, another person paid $27,000 to a man she had met over the Internet, in order to help him get to Canada.

NORFOLK COUNTY - A victim from Norfolk County is out $120,000 after falling victim to a dating scam.

The person had been sending money since November 2018. The pair met over the Internet and had an online romance for several years without actually meeting in person.

It was determined that several emails were exchanged with details of the suspect's history and employment status and during the course of this correspondence, several requests were made for funds after the suspect claimed that they were having several emergencies and requested to borrow money. The victim ceased all communication in July of 2019, however contacted police after the suspect threatened to release intimate images on the Internet.

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NORFOLK COUNTY - A victim in Norfolk County is out over $27,000 after meeting a man online.

Police say the two conversed for three months. The man told his victim that he needed help to travel to Canada. The victim sent this person $27,000 between July and October of this year to a Moscow, Russia financial institution for outstanding taxes and several emergencies.

The victim then received further correspondence from a person indicating that they were the Russian Police. The email stated that they arrested the victim's friend for fraud and were now involved. Investigators then asked the victim to send their banking statement in order for their money to be refunded.

The victim subsequently contacted the OPP and attended the detachment, where they were informed that this was in fact a Scam.

Police are warning all computer users to beware. We live in a connected world where it's easy to feel as if our far-away friends are right next door. Having a face-to-face conversation with someone is gaining in popularity and everyone needs to be vigilant when engaging in on-line video chats.

Video chatting allows you to see and hear whom you're talking to. All you need is a webcam and a computer with an Internet connection. You log into your IM or social network and enable the video chatting. You can't be anonymous with video chatting.

The fact that your face is right there for all to see, but it's not just your face that's on show. Anything else can be, too. That means that some behaviour -- and some body parts -- that you don't want to exhibit could end up on display.