According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, victims of online love scams are on the rise in Southeast Asia.
An example of this is the case of an overseas Filipino worker.
Former OFW Erwin Alacre sent P40,000 for the woman he had just met on Facebook.
They had only been lovers for five months when Alacre was convinced to send money so that his girlfriend could build a house for the two of them.
Alacre was shocked that after sending money, his girlfriend just ghosted him.
Worse, he had a mild stroke before losing his girlfriend and even losing his job due to the pandemic.
“Hangang ngayon wala pa akong trabaho, sana bayaran mo ako sa halagang sinend ko sayo. Kung hindi mo ako mabayaran ay bahala na Diyos sa iyo,” he said.
According to Kaspersky, thieves do not use strange technology in the love scam.
“They are scamming based on the prospect of promised love. These are people who reach out through text, calls. They develop from there. They prey on emotional needs,” said Siang Tiong Yeo, Kaspersky general manager for Southeast Asia.
Love scam cases in Philippines underreported
Based on Kaspersky data, one in 2 or almost half of their 1,600 survey respondents lost money because of the love scam.
According to the PNP, up to 100 cases of love scams have been reported to them.
According to the anti-cybercrime group, this crime may have been underreported because the victims were ashamed.
“They don’t want to be talked about by other people na nakikikpag-online sex,” said Police Lt. Michelle Sabino.
The PNP has issued a new warning against love scams today so that the public can avoid such modus operandi.
Their advice is not to immediately trust people you meet on the internet and not send money to strangers.
According to the FBI, “Romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim.”
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