SKP campaign against romance scams: true love costs nothing

From March to May, Swiss Crime Prevention (SCP) is running an awareness campaign against online romance scams. According to the SKP, the cantonal and municipal police forces are also involved in the campaign. Under the motto "Romance Scam. True love costs nothing" to protect internet users from fraudsters. Videos, social media content and a website are intended to illustrate the problem.

Feelings are exploited

Online love scams start with a simple contact request. This is intended to raise the victim's hopes of finding true love. The scammers then build up a relationship of trust. They then demand money and deliberately exploit the victim's emotional dependency and willingness to help.

Emotional manipulation is a central component of the scam. Many victims do not want to admit for a long time that they have been taken for a ride. If the scam is ultimately discovered, many victims do not report it because they are ashamed to have fallen for the scam. The campaign is therefore not only intended to raise awareness, but also to motivate victims to report cases of fraud.

Do not send money

According to the Institute for Combating Economic Crime in Neuchâtel, fraudsters are well organized. AI tools such as ChatGPT are used to overcome language barriers and create authenticity. Several victims are often defrauded at the same time. The motives of the perpetrators can be completely different. Some hope to make a quick buck. In some cases, however, the money can also end up in the pockets of criminal organizations.

The campaign is therefore primarily aimed at ensuring that victims do not send any money. The scammers would then give up more quickly. It also prevents the victims from suffering as a result of intensifying the supposed relationship. Knowledge of the perpetrators' actions is therefore important for successful prevention and early detection. (Filip Sinjakovic/ml)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.