#romance-scam — Public Fediverse posts

I have a relative who is getting old and showing some hints of possible cognitive decline. During a recent family visit he started talking about a girlfriend, and it quickly became obvious that he’s involved in a romance scam, that started from one of those random “Hi” messages on a texting app. The scammer has not yet asked for money. However, in spite of every person in the family telling this relative that it’s a scam, he is absolutely convinced that “she” is real.

I’m sympathetic; I can understand why a lonely 80-year-old straight man would want to believe that a much younger beautiful woman could fall madly in love with him based on their conversation alone, and the cognitive decline is not helping him reason sensibly about it. But it’s very frustrating to be unable to help.

We can only hope that when the inevitable money ask comes, that something will click with him. He says that she has offered to send him money, which I assume is a ploy to get his banking information.

#romanceScam

„#BlackAxe“: Schweizer Ermittler haben Bandenchef festgenommen | heise online https://www.heise.de/news/Black-Axe-Schweizer-Ermittler-haben-Bandenchef-festgenommen-11276168.html #RomanceScam

[ #Suisse ] "Dix hommes liés à un réseau international d'escroqueries amoureuses arrêtés en Suisse"
"Dix hommes ont été arrêtés mardi en Suisse en lien avec une organisation nigériane spécialisée dans les "romance scams", active dans plusieurs pays. Les suspects sont accusés de blanchiment d'argent, d'escroqueries amoureuses et d'autres cyberfraudes, à hauteur de plusieurs millions de francs.
Des perquisitions ont été menées simultanément dans divers locaux résidentiels et entrepôts dans le canton de Zurich et cinq autres cantons, ont indiqué mardi les autorités zurichoises. L'opération, dirigée par le ministère public du canton de Zurich, a été précédée d'enquêtes policières intensives menées par les polices cantonale et municipale de Zurich et soutenues par Europol."
👇
https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/2026/article/dix-hommes-arretes-en-suisse-pour-escroqueries-amoureuses-en-ligne-29225485.html

💬
⬇️
https://infosec.pub/post/45684586

#CyberVeille #romancescam #busted

Pig Butchering Scams: The Industrialization of Online Fraud

This article is the first in a series that explores a particularly nefarious kind of romance scam called pig-butchering. Our goal with this series is to raise awareness of the nature, scale, and dangers of these scams.

https://interisle.substack.com/p/pig-butchering-scams-the-industrialization

#romancescam #fraud #scam #crypto #confidencescheme

Heute habe ich bei der Arbeit eine Mail von James bekommen. Er ist 55, aus den USA, kürzlich nach Zürich gezogen und findet mein Lächeln auf dem Foto auf einer Business-Social-Media-Seite herzerwärmend. Damit ich mit ihm am See spazieren gehe oder bei Kerzenschein ein selbst gekochtes Essen geniesse, schickt er mir sogar Bilder von sich. Inklusive oben ohne (immerhin kein Dick Pic dabei).
Jemand Interesse? 😆
#RomanceScam

Digitale Kriminalität bleibt auf ähnlichem Niveau wie 2024 | PCtipp https://www.pctipp.ch/themen/news/digitale-kriminalitaet-bleibt-auf-aehnlichem-niveau-wie-2024 #CyberCrime #RomanceScam

Von München bis Sevilla: Internationaler Schlag gegen Cyber-Mafia „#BlackAxe“ | Security https://www.heise.de/news/Von-Muenchen-bis-Sevilla-Internationaler-Schlag-gegen-Cyber-Mafia-Black-Axe-11135925.html #LoveScam #RomanceScam #CyberCrime

Europol Raids Disrupt Black Axe Cybercrime Ring in Spain https://hackread.com/europol-black-axe-cybercrime-ring-spain/ #ScamsandFraud #Cybersecurity #RomanceScam #CyberCrime #BlackAxe #Europol #europe #Spain

Smashing Security podcast #449: How to scam someone in seven days https://grahamcluley.com/smashing-security-podcast-449/ #SmashingSecurity #Romancebaiting #romancebaiting #romancescam #Podcast #careers

The DOJ just seized $15B from a “pig butchering” 🐷 scam so large it reads like fiction. But the worst part isn’t the money — it’s that much of it ran on forced labor. People are trafficked into compounds, running fake romances to scam others online. What’s striking is the scale: well-educated professionals lost life savings to criminals who themselves were victims. It’s a grim feedback loop of exploitation, loneliness, and tech-enabled deceit.

⚠️ $15B seized from crypto scam
💔 Forced labor behind the fraud
🔐 Victims on both sides of the screen
🌍 FBI: “Human suffering” at global scale

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/feds-seize-15-billion-from-alleged-forced-labor-scam-built-on-human-suffering/
#Cybercrime #HumanTrafficking #OnlineSafety #Fraud #security #privacy #cloud #infosec #cybersecurity #RomanceScam #PigButchering

From fake lovers to sextortionists: 260 scammers arrested in Africa https://www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/hotforsecurity/fake-lovers-sextortionists-scammers-africa #romancescam #sextortion #Guestblog #Lawℴ #Scam

Woman Sends Money to "Stranded Astronaut" So He Can "Buy Oxygen" https://futurism.com/the-byte/woman-money-astronaut-buy-oxygen #Scam #RomanceScam

🚨 Romance Scam: Geld zurück?
Bei Romance Scams täuschen Betrüger vor, Liebe zu versprechen, um finanzielle Schäden zu verursachen. Durch sorgfältige Beweissicherung können Opfer ihre Ansprüche geltend machen und Täter strafrechtlich verfolgen.
#RomanceScam #Betrug #Recht

https://www.ra-kotz.de/romance-scam-geld-zurueck-so-stehen-ihre-chancen.htm

Romance scammers in Ghana charged with more than $100 million in theft https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/08/romance-scammers-in-ghana-arrested-charged-with-more-than-100-million-in-theft #romancescam #millions #Scams #News #bec

FBI, Ghana Authorities Bust $100 Million Romance Scam in Major International Extradition https://thecyberexpress.com/fbi-busts-romance-scam/ #GhanaLawEnforcementCooperation #InternationalExtradition #TheCyberExpressNews #Ghanaiannationals #TheCyberExpress #FirewallDaily #BECFraudCase #romancescam #CyberScams #CyberNews #FBI

Ghanaian Nationals Extradited to US Over $100M, BEC, Romance Scams – Source:hackread.com https://ciso2ciso.com/ghanaian-nationals-extradited-to-us-over-100m-bec-romance-scams-sourcehackread-com/ #1CyberSecurityNewsPost #CyberSecurityNews #cybersecurity #ScamsandFraud #RomanceScam #CyberCrime #Hackread #Fraud #Ghana #BEC

Ghanaian Nationals Extradited to US Over $100M, BEC, Romance Scams https://hackread.com/ghanaian-nationals-extradite-us-bec-romance-scams/ #ScamsandFraud #Cybersecurity #RomanceScam #CyberCrime #Fraud #Ghana #BEC

Neue Methode im #romancescam. Email mit angefügten, vermutlich geklauten, Fotos mit einem Text der wahrscheinlich von einer AI übersetzt wurde. Habe bereits 2 davon erhalten.

Malicious ISO File Used in Romance Scam Targeting German Speakers https://hackread.com/malicious-iso-file-romance-scam-on-german-speakers/ #SublimeSecurity #ScamsandFraud #Cybersecurity #CyberAttack #RomanceScam #KeitaroTDS #Security #Germany #Malware #Fraud

Malicious ISO File Used in Romance Scam Targeting German Speakers – Source:hackread.com https://ciso2ciso.com/malicious-iso-file-used-in-romance-scam-targeting-german-speakers-sourcehackread-com/ #1CyberSecurityNewsPost #CyberSecurityNews #SublimeSecurity #cybersecurity #ScamsandFraud #CyberAttack #RomanceScam #KeitaroTDS #Hackread #security #Germany #malware #Fraud

A new romance scam is targeting German speakers with fake adult content emails. Victims download a malicious ISO file that installs hidden malware.

🔗 https://hackread.com/malicious-iso-file-romance-scam-on-german-speakers/

#CyberSecurity #RomanceScam #Germany #DatingScam #Malware

Smashing Security podcast #427: When 2G attacks, and a romantic road trip goes wrong https://grahamcluley.com/smashing-security-podcast-427/ #SmashingSecurity #romancescam #Lawℴ #celltower #Phishing #Android #Podcast #Mobile #Spam #Scam #iOS #2G

Smashing Security podcast #427: When 2G attacks, and a romantic road trip goes wrong – Source: grahamcluley.com https://ciso2ciso.com/smashing-security-podcast-427-when-2g-attacks-and-a-romantic-road-trip-goes-wrong-source-grahamcluley-com/ #rssfeedpostgeneratorecho #CyberSecurityNews #SmashingSecurity #grahamcluleycom #Grahamcluley #romancescam #celltower #Lawℴ #Phishing #Android #Podcast #Mobile #scam #spam #ios #2G

Ein grosser Teil all dieser Scammer-/Betrugsfälle beginnt auf Plattformen von #Meta, wie #Facebook und #Instagram.

Und nein, ich habe nicht wirklich Mitleid mit Leuten, welche sich von irgendwelchen obskuren Internet-„Bekanntschaften“ zu Krypto-Investitionen überreden lassen.

Und auf welchen Plattformen sich man/frau sonst noch so rumtreiben muss, dass #Scammer so leichtes Spiel haben, will ich gar nicht wissen. (Mails mal ausgeschlossen.)

#scam #romancescam #cryptoscam #Kryptobetrug #Betrug