The Alicante Civil Guard have arrested a 39-year-old man and his girlfriend, in Guardamar for defrauding a woman from Teulada of 57,000 euros through an ‘internet romance scam’.
The man faked a virtual romantic relationship for 14 months, posing as a national police officer, the son of a wealthy family from Elche. Under this profile, he deceived the woman about his alleged family problems and asked her for money with the promise of returning it, something that never happened.
The two arrested, with a record of similar crimes, were dealt with by the judicial authorities in Dénia with the man being detained in custody.
Although the image was not real, the woman said that she was attracted by the physique of her virtual partner.
The couple exchanged dozens of messages a day and the victim was convinced that they had a sentimental relationship. For this reason, the woman asked to meet him in person, but this never materialized. He always made up some excuse not to go to meet due to last-minute work and personal problems.
He also told her that she had a troubled teenage son, was taking care of his ailing mother, and that he was trying to rebuild the family business, as a business partner had led it to ruin. He even said in the course of the virtual relationship that his mother had died.
The arrests were made following a complaint by the Teulada victim who claimed to have been scammed by a man she met over a year ago through the dating application Tinder. The woman said that she had made a number of bank transfers for the benefit of her supposed lover for eight months. She sent him 57,000 euros, money that was quickly withdrawn from his account by the fraudster without leaving a trace.
