Romance scamming – the accused is said to have skimmed 10,000 euros

By Karin Hendrich

As a general in a crisis area, as a manager of a top company, as a wealthy heir… scammers cast their nets in online dating sites and social networks. If the lady bites, she is fished with declarations of love. Until it is an affair of the heart for her to help her lover out of a short-term monetary squeeze (due to a car accident, a stolen passport, a check held up by customs…) and she generously transfers money to the account provided.

For example that of the accused. He is said to have collected more than 10,000 euros from this scam. The engineer from Nigeria: “I didn’t know anything about the criminal source” He offered a compatriot who had fled the Ukraine a temporary home in Neukölln.

“He was very nice, cleaned the apartment.” One day this guest asked him for his account details. He expects money from a friend. Samson O.: “I helped out with my account details.” And also took out the money with him. What stuck with him? “Five hundred euros. The man lived with me for free.”

The prosecutor: “If you had thought about it properly, you could have realized that the money came from criminal offenses.” Just like Frank H. (52) did. The account movements came across as suspicious. The accused’s estranged husband (divorce pending): “Especially since the transfers were made in my name. I immediately reported this to the Internet Guard.”