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ARCHIVED - Loverboy scam swindles lonely singles out of thousands in Spain
Nigerian scammers raked in more than 250,000 euros acting as ‘virtual boyfriends’ to vulnerable women in Spain
The Guardia Civil in Spain is investigating 13 Nigerian men who posed as “virtual boyfriends” to swindle more than 250,000 euros from their unsuspecting victims. Officials confirm that the majority of the fraudsters reside in Spain and have connections to countries such as the United Kingdom, Italy and Nigeria.
The so-called ‘Operation Loverboy’ began in June 2021 when a woman reported that she had been scammed online for months. The subsequent investigation discovered nine more victims in Huelva, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Oviedo and the Basque Country, while three others of Chinese, Polish and French nationality were also located.
The catfishing scam consists of the fraudsters creating fake identities and befriending a woman they consider psychologically vulnerable, feigning a romantic interest in her. Many of the scammers even posed as Hollywood actors, building up a relationship over several months before asking for money.
In Operation Loverboy, the suspects came up with a variety of excuses for being cash-poor, such as needing money for charitable causes or to sort out a millionaire inheritance. The scam usually evolved into making the victim believe the fraudster was going to move to Spain to be with them, and asking for funds for plane tickets.
Those investigated, aged between 30 and 40 years old, targeted victims between the ages of 55 and 65 and managed to extort more than 250,000 euros, which they then invested in cryptocurrencies.
Sadly, many crimes of this nature go unreported in Spain but the Guardia Civil has urged people not to trust correspondence from unknown sources who request money, and to contact the authorities immediately if the circumstances are suspicious.
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Image: Guardia Civil
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