An Italian volleyball player surprised the world last week when he admitted to being deceived by a scammer who made him believe that he had been dating Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for 15 years. The athlete lost more than R$ 4 million in the scam. As surreal as the story may seem, he is not alone among victims of this type of crime.
Known as “sentimental fraud” or “affective fraud,” the scam occurs when a criminal (or a female criminal) makes false declarations of love or affection to gain advantages, primarily money and assets. The crime caused more victims during the coronavirus pandemic, when virtual contacts replaced more real-life interactions, but it had already been causing harm before social media and broadband internet.
However, not every scammer uses pictures of beauties or handsome men to create fake profiles. For every potential victim, a criminal posing as a Don Juan appears to win them over—not necessarily with beauty, but with demonstrations of interest, admiration, and romance.
For emotional fraud to be proven, fraud or lies must have been used as a strategy to gain money or assets. The victim must have been deceived in a way that benefits the criminal, explains a lawyer specialized in criminal law.
“It is not a crime to make someone believe in false feelings, for example. There must be fraud and the victim must have been induced to error, for it to be considered fraud, even in the context of personal or affectionate relationships,” explains criminal lawyer Fernanda Tórtima.
The tactics for seduction vary, but they share many similarities. For example, it is quite common for the criminal to claim that a gift was sent, and for the victim to receive it, they would need to make a payment. This was one of the strategies used by a gang of 210 people, denounced by the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office in Operation Anteros.
The group operated a fake logistics company and employed dozens of “seducers” to target victims and steal money from them. The Civil Police estimated that more than 400 victims were affected in three years across all Brazilian states. The estimated loss was R$ 17 million. Some victims tried to recover their money when they became suspicious of the stories, but they began to receive threats.
Although it can cause significant financial loss to victims, the punishment for fraud is considered low (ranging from 1 to 5 years in prison), although it can increase by one-third to double if the victim is elderly (over 70) or vulnerable (a person with a mental disability, a child, or adolescent). It typically results in jail time only when the criminal targets multiple victims or also commits crimes such as falsification or money laundering.
“It’s a terrible crime, even though the punishment is ridiculous. And it’s the crime of the moment. During this pandemic phase, with people spending all day on the internet, it’s become the easiest thing in the world,” criticizes Judge Ivana David from the São Paulo Court of Justice.
Read the full article on Metrópoles.