近日,iOS应用WePhone的创始人、开发者苏享茂被前妻勒索千万无奈自杀的消息引爆了舆论界。事实上,苏享茂的死只是冰山一角,像他这样遭遇“婚骗”的例子还有很多。今天,我们就来讲一讲国外婚恋网站的诈骗乱象,即所谓的“甜心陷阱”。
英国诈骗情报局的数据显示,从2013年至2016年,网络婚恋诈骗案的数量和诈骗金额都在呈逐年递增的趋势。
According to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, there were 3,889 victims of so-called romance fraud last year, who handed over a record £39 million.
根据英国诈骗情报局的数据,2016年遭遇网络婚恋诈骗的英国人达到3889人,损失钱财达到3900万英镑,创下新纪录。
Action Fraud, the UK's cyber-crime reporting center, says it receives more than 350 reports of such scams a month.
英国的网络犯罪报告中心Action Fraud称,他们平均每个月会接到350个此类诈骗案的报告。
美国的此类案件也非常的多。根据互联网犯罪投诉中心的数据,2015年美国有5900名“甜心骗局”的受害者,损失金额将近9000万美元。
援助婚恋诈骗受害者的网上声援组织Romancescams.org的创始人Barb Sluppick说:“受害者必须要面对的一个惨痛的事实是——骗子是绝不会谈什么怜悯的,钱送出去,就别想再要回来了。”
下面就让我们看几个受骗的案例:
47岁的南希是来自英国北约克郡的一名单身母亲,自己做生意。2015年离婚后,她在全球知名婚恋网站Match.com上注册成为会员。
After a few days she made contact with someone calling himself Marcelo from Manchester, an attractive Italian who was working in Turkey, with whom she had "a rapport and similar values".
注册后没几天,南希在网上遇到了一位来自曼彻斯特、名叫马塞洛的魅力男子,他称自己祖籍意大利,目前在土耳其工作。他们“非常默契,有相似的价值观”。
没过多久,“马塞洛”说服南希退出婚恋网站,两人开始通过聊天通信软件联络,从早到晚,好像总有说不完的话。
After about six weeks, Marcelo said he had been mugged in Turkey and was unable to pay his workers before returning to the UK, when he and Nancy were due to meet. He also said his son was in hospital and needed surgery.
六周后,“马塞洛”告诉南希他在土耳其被抢了,没钱给工人开工资,这样他就没有办法按时回到英国跟南希见面。他还说,他的儿子生病躺在医院,需要手术。
Nancy said she was uncomfortable with the situation but ended up "reluctantly" sending 3,650 euros (£3,160).
听到这些,南希起初觉得不舒服,但她还是“不情愿地”给“马塞洛”汇去3650欧元。
但没想到“马塞洛”接着又向她讨要更多的钱,理由也是越来越五花八门。
"It escalated unbelievably quickly, so straight away it was the medical fees, then it was money for food, money needed to pay rent, money for taxes to get out of Turkey.
“他很快就找我要更多钱,让人难以相信,马上就要医药费,接着又说没钱买吃的,没钱付房租,甚至让我帮他支付离开土耳其要交的税。”
尽管三番两次要钱让南希已经产生了怀疑,但她还是对“马塞洛”抱有最后一丝幻想。天真的南希前前后后给“马塞洛”汇去了35万英镑,这让南希倾家荡产。
直到现在,南希也不敢重提旧事,因为一想起那个名字,她就会感到恐惧。
"That's really frightening, and the other aspect is that somebody's got inside your head, and they've just brutalized you emotionally. In some ways I'm not sure I'll ever recover from that."
“太让人恐惧了,这种感觉就像有个人走进了你的大脑,然后在精神上不断地摧残你、折磨你,我不确定能从这段伤痛记忆中恢复过来,”南希说。
Philip Hunt, 58, met a "young and beautiful woman" calling herself Rose via a website and paid out the money to help her come to the UK from Nigeria to start a new life with him.
58岁的英国人亨特在一家约会网站上遇到了一名自称“露丝”的“年轻美丽的女子”,为协助她从尼日利亚来到英国开始新生活花了很多钱。
这期间,亨特借贷、透支、外加重新抵押自己的房子等,至2009年8月,亨特竟然欠下了高达82000英镑的债务。
But, within months, Mr Hunt, who suffered from depression and had two failed marriages, had "insurmountable debts" and took his own life near Hessle, East Yorkshire, in August, 2009.
亨特患有抑郁症,还有过两段失败的婚姻。几个月后,他就欠下了巨额债务,2009年8月在东约克郡赫斯勒附近自杀。
Eventually he became so hopelessly mired in debt that he committed suicide by lying down in front of a train.
最终,他身负巨债。在绝望中,他卧轨身亡。
至死,可怜的亨特也没搞清楚他爱慕的“露丝”到底有多美,因为,他从未见过“她的真容。事后,据调查此案的警方说,从亨特留下的遗言和文件来看,他死前已经意识到自己上当了。
Judith Lathlean, 68, a university professor living in Hampshire, fell victim to a fraudster when she tried online dating in 2015, using the website Parship.
68岁的朱迪斯-莱瑟琳居住在汉普郡,是一名大学教授。2015年在Parship网站尝试网络约会时被骗。
She matched with a man calling himself John Porter from London, who said he was an interior designer. He said that he too was a Christian, and his profile emphasized honesty and trust.
她与一位自称来自伦敦的约翰-波特交往。约翰自称是一位室内设计师,也是位基督徒,简介中强调自己诚实守信。
But he contacted Ms Lathlean from what he said was a business trip in South Africa, claiming he had lost his passport and saying he would lose a contract as a result.
但有天他联系莱瑟琳,说自己正出差在南非,丢了护照,因此可能会错失一个合同。
莱瑟琳说,约翰给她发的邮件语气越来越焦急,还打电话说自己很担心会丢掉合同。莱瑟琳很相信他,于是答应借钱给他,而且一借就是五万四千英镑。
Weeks later, John got in touch to tell Ms Lathlean he had £15.5m trapped in a safe deposit box in Amsterdam. He asked her to go and release it, and she agreed.
几周后,约翰又联系莱瑟琳,说他有笔1550万英镑的巨款存在阿姆斯特丹的一个保险箱,让她帮忙去取,她答应了。
于是,她又因保险箱管理费被诈骗1.6万欧元,然后拿到一个存有100美元的保险箱……
Ms Lathlean estimates she lost a total of £140,000 through several scams by whoever John Porter was.
莱瑟琳估计,自己前后被约翰骗走了14万英镑。
专家支招:如何识破婚恋骗局
躲避诈骗陷阱的关键还在于用户自己。要提高鉴别能力和判断能力,不要轻易地被博人同情的故事冲昏头脑,也不要轻易透露自己的财务信息。以下是国外专家给出的几点建议:
1)在短暂的接触后,如果对方说“我爱你”或者想和你发展更深入的关系,这个时候要警惕对方可能是骗子,因为过于完美的往往暗藏陷阱。
2)如果对方向你要钱,让你开账户,或者邮寄东西,那也很有可能是骗子。
3)如果在交往一段时间后,对方说要去国外工作、旅行或是服兵役,那这很有可能是个危险的信号。
4)刚开始的交往要限于婚恋网站,不要轻易把个人电邮和电话告诉对方。
5)不要透露自己有多少钱,骗子一听钱就会动贼心。
6)慢慢发展关系,骗子没工夫浪费时间。(作者 方程)
来源:BBC、国际在线
翻译&编审:yaning