“I lived like I was in a fairy tale,” says Heidi Meier (name changed). The reflective, awake woman fell victim to love fraud on the Internet and lost around 30,000 francs.
Heidi Meier comes from Aargau, works in education, is in her mid-40s. “Looking back, a lot of things didn’t add up,” she admits. The fact that a woman like her can also become a victim shows that the perpetrators are professionals.
Heidi Meier was caught in a difficult phase of her life after her divorce, in the middle of the corona pandemic. A man contacts you via a dating platform. His story goes that he is an art dealer from England. «I looked for the gallery online and found something similar. We spoke on the phone, his number came from England,” says the victim. She pushed her doubts aside.
An intense “relationship”, then the trap
Heidi Meier and her supposed Prince Charming often talk on the phone and chat. Then – after Corona – he announced a business trip to Turkey. He wanted to come visit her on the way home. Now the trap closes.
A phone call from Turkey: He and his son had been attacked and they urgently needed money. Heidi Meier realizes that she is probably being cheated. “I balked, refused. But then it continued,” said the Aargau woman. He blackmailed her emotionally. If she doesn’t help him, then it’s over. “Carrot and stick,” says Heidi Meier.
I was emotionally dependent on this stranger.
She buckles. Even a bank teller can’t stop them. «The nice man asked me if that was really true. He tried to shake me awake. But I didn’t listen to him.” Heidi Meier transfers a total of 30,000 francs to the fraudster or fraudsters.
The story only ends when acquaintances of hers report the crime. Complaint against her. «The police called me at work. They said my children could be taken away from me. It was finished all of a sudden.”
Millions in damage caused by “romance scam”
Heidi Meier tells her story because she wants to warn other people. Many victims remain silent and do not report the crime because they are ashamed of their gullibility. According to the Aargau cantonal police, the number of unreported cases is correspondingly high. But not filing a report is wrong.
Legend:
According to crime statistics for 2022, women are particularly affected by “romance scams”. Most of the victims are over 50 years old.
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“The perpetrators are professionals. “You play with feelings and fears professionally,” says media spokeswoman Corina Winkler. “They are taking advantage of the relationship of trust that has been built up over a long time.” The latest figures from Aargau show that the scam is successful.
The perpetrators play with feelings and fears for a living.
In 2023 alone, love fraudsters stole almost 2.8 million francs here. The numbers in 2022 and 2021 were even higher, also due to the corona pandemic, according to the police.
Across Switzerland, the police recorded almost 700 so-called “romance scam” cases in 2022. Of these, not even 18 percent could be clarified. There are no newer figures yet; the official crime statistics for 2023 will not be published until the end of March.
How high the amount of the offense is throughout Switzerland is not recorded. But the data from the canton of Aargau shows that millions are at stake. This is one of the reasons why various police corps strive for prevention.
Heidi Meier also wants to help clarify the “Romance Scam”. But above all she wants to help the victims. For this reason, she has now launched the first self-help group for victims of online love fraud in Aargau.