Scammers are eager to know everything about you, including your surroundings. Sometimes scammers say that they want to know you better and for this to happen you should use a webcam. They use web cams as a psychological tool. When you turn on your webcam, you make yourself vulnerable in front of them. They will use your vulnerability to strengthen the relationship with you. People involved in romance scams tell you how beautiful or handsome you are which creates a strong between you.
The fraudsters somehow convince their victims to perform intimately while they are having a video chat. This strengthens your relationship with the scammer and takes your romance one step further. The victim believes that they are sharing an intimate moment with their partner. Sadly, all the love is just one-sided. When the victims discover that they have been a part of some elaborate romance scams and their intimate moments have been watched by many people, they feel violated.
The Blackmail:
They specially set up different tools to capture your private moment on video. When the romance scams reaches a point where you are not sending them any more money they will then start blackmailing you. They use your video to create pictures and as they have chatted with you for so long they already know your personal information. They then start threatening you by saying that all your pictures would be sent to your friends, family and colleagues unless you pay them a said amount.
It is not a good idea to pay them off as once you start making the payments, they will start asking for more. If all this fails, they start threatening to sell your photos and videos to an elicit site for the whole world to watch.
Once the scammer realises that you are not afraid of anything and won’t get any money out of you, he will eventually go away. The golden rule over here is that you should never turn on your web cam for someone who is unknown to you. Don’t turn it on until and unless they have turned on their web cam. Even then, you have to be careful as there are advanced software which can create phony web cam videos.
Steps to take when dealing with romance scams:
- Block and delete the fraudster from all your contacts i.e. home and work.
- Don’t answer your phone, just unplug them. If the scammer is still persistent, then change your number.
- Inform people at your work of the dilemma that you are facing so that they can help you in handling the situation.
- Contact Peer Counsellor of romance scams so that they can provide you with one-on-one assistance.
- Do not respond to the fraudster. Just ignore him so that you do not give into their demands.
- Make a copy of these threats and documents everything that has happened.
- Always remember that these are just threats. They use these techniques to manipulate you so that you continue sending them more money and they benefit from these romance scams.
