She believed that she had found the man with whom she could share her life, even though she had never met him up close.
He was handsome, cultured, sensitive. He wrote her tender messages every day, eager to meet her. The only obstacle that stood between them was the distance and his professional obligations.
This is because the American doctor with whom the 43-year-old Greek woman communicated on a daily basis through an internet application was “trapped” in Yemen where she participated as a member of the United Nations (UN) humanitarian aid.
In order to “break” his contract and come to Greece, he had to satisfy the compensation clause, which meant that “he needed money, a lot of money”, but he did not have it.
The 43-year-old agreed to help him, paying various amounts of money in installments, sometimes through a cryptocurrency exchange (bitcoin) and sometimes through a bank account. Five months after their initial communication and after depositing 130,000 euros, a commodity from her parents’ savings, she began to suspect that Dr. Michael Wooden – as she was introduced – did not exist, but was in fact the invisible protagonist of a well-made scam set against her, known in English terminology as Love Scamming or Romance Scamming. Late last year, the victim sought legal help and turned to law enforcement.
Just 24 hours ago, the Cybercrime Prosecution of Northern Greece of the Hellenic Police. announced the arrest of a 36-year-old woman, originally from Albania, who is accused of involvement in the case. The foreign woman was taken to the prosecutor and referred to apologize with a criminal prosecution to the investigating authorities of Thessaloniki. Two other men appear to be involved in the case, but their identities could not be identified.
“Good morning my love. How did you sleep?”
Unraveling the plot, the authorities seem to conclude that the fraud began to be orchestrated last summer. It was then that the 43-year-old worked with the 36-year-old in a tourist accommodation in Northern Greece. A friendly relationship develops between them and they start chatting about their personalities. The foreigner confesses that her alleged partner is far away, in Yemen, where she works as a doctor in the framework of UN humanitarian aid.
Under these circumstances, he proposes to the 43-year-old to bring her in contact with a friend of his, a doctor and he – a member of the same mission. Indeed, the sufferer starts chatting with him online. He sends her a photo to form an image of his appearance. Waking up in the morning, the 43-year-old finds … tender words on the screen of her mobile phone. “Good morning my love. How did you sleep?” is said to be one of the hundreds of messages he will send her in the coming months.
The 43-year-old seems to be fascinated and the messages give and take. Having gained his trust, their conversation goes to the prospect of coming to Greece and to the pretext that in order for this to happen, both he and his friend must “terminate” their contracts and pay compensation. For the financial part, it appears from the case file that he “talks” mainly with the friend of the supposed Dr. Michael Wooden and to convince her that this is not a scam they send messages with specific instructions and a sender bearing a UN email address.
All this time, the 36-year-old does not seem to miss the opportunity to convince the victim of the need to continue depositing money (mostly in bitcoin), playing, according to the complainant, an active role. Having already addressed the Cybercrime Prosecution, an operation is planned in which the 43-year-old hands over 10,000 euros to the 36-year-old in pre-marked banknotes and her arrest follows. She is expected to apologize tomorrow, when her criminal treatment will be decided.
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