Page 13 - IAV Digital Magazine #623

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Romance Scam Victim Travels 700km ‘To Marry French Beauty Queen'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsudiZjSAng
Paulin Kola, BBC News
A Belgian man has travelled 760km (472 miles) to meet a French beauty queen he had been led to believe would be his future wife, only to realize he had been a victim of online romance fraud.
Michel, 76, turned up at the home of Sophie Vouzelaud in France but was met
by the model's hus- band.
He told Ms Vouzelaud's husband, Fabien, he had paid €30,000 ($35,000) to the scammers and thought he had been in a romantic relation- ship for several weeks.
"I am an imbecile," the man said to the couple as he contem- plated taking the long journey back.
Michel's misadven- ture became known after a video of his unfortunate encounter with the couple was shared online by Fabien.
For weeks, the Belgian - a widower of four years - had been communicating on WhatsApp with who he thought was Ms Vouzelaud, former Miss Limousin and first runner-up to Miss
France in 2007.
He turned up outside the couple's property in Saint-Julien, some 420km (270 miles) south of Paris, on 9 July and according to Fabien said: "I am the future husband of Sophie Vouzelaud", to which he retorted: "Well, I'm the current one."
Ms Vouzelaud, 38, then tried to explain to him that he had been swindled and the couple urged him to go to the police to file a complaint. It is not clear if he has done so.
Romance fraud is when someone is conned into sending money to a criminal who convinces them they are in a genuine relationship.
They may have sent, or be planning to send, money to someone they have never met in person. Advice for protecting yourself against scams includes:
• Be suspi- cious of any requests
for money from some- one you have never met in person, partic- ularly if you have only recently met online
• Speak to your family or friends
to get advice
• Profile
photos may not be genuine, so do your research first. Performing a reverse image search using a search engine can help you find photos that have been stolen from somewhere else Advice for supporting a victim of a scam includes:
• Reassure your loved one you
How to avoid
romance scams
According to Action • Improve
Fraud, signs of romance fraud include a person being secretive about their relationship or becoming hostile or angry when asked about their online partner.
your own understand- ing about romance scams
•
Remember to look
after yourself too - supporting someone through romance fraud can be tough.
are there for them and it is not their fault
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