Fiorenza Sarzanini (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
c‘are those who believe they have found love and spend hours and hours on their cell phone or computer to exchange messages.
There are those who send photos and videos even in intimate poses and there are those who donate money, up to thousands of euros, convinced they are helping their partner.
None of them realize that they have ended up in a perverse mechanism that can destroy existence. And lead the most fragile, as has already happened, even to suicide.
Because on the other side of the screen are people pretending to be who they are not. Men posing as women, females claiming to be males, old people claiming to be boys.
And when reality emerges, those who have been duped often cannot handle the disappointment. They are called romance scams. I am a crime.
According to the Italian Marriage Association who has dedicated a study to this phenomenon «there are broken families, and at least 3,000 separations a year as a result of these events. Not to mention the economic damage against which there is no remedy.
For this reason, the president Gian Ettore Gassani asks as a first measure to «provide for an aggravating circumstance of the crime of fraud when the victim is deceived by sentimental fraudsters who receive money. Social media is no man’s land. It is impossible to trace foreign scammersit is not allowed to track down the money that the scammed pay into the hands of the scammers”.
Banca Intesa has developed clear suggestions for its customers:
- Do a lot be careful about the personal information you share on social networks and dating sites;
- try to keep in touch with potential partners via the siteavoiding personal channels such as the phone or chat;
- make some identity searches of the person and on the authenticity of the photo;
- never provide the data of your account or credit card, your online account or copies of personal documents;
- avoid sending advance payments or to transfer money on behalf of someone else (money laundering is a crime);
- confide with your friends or relatives;
- if you are a victim, file a police report and if you have provided account details, please contact your bank immediately.
All articles by Fiorenza Sarzanini
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