A self-proclaimed “wine trader” enticed her on the internet for several months with his captivating grin and text messages filled with emojis. He then executed his plan, swindling the tech professional based in Philadelphia out of $450,000 in a cryptocurrency love scam.
This scam, which reportedly left Shreya Datta, 37, bereft of her savings and retirement funds and burdened with debt, employed digitally manipulated deepfake videos and an intricately designed script that made her feel as if her “brain was hacked.”
How this romance scam worksThe fraud is often referred to as “pig butchering,” a metaphor for victims who are fattened by fraudsters with simulated love and affection before the metaphorical slaughter – deceiving them into a counterfeit crypto investment. According to a report in AFP, this rapidly expanding fraud has led to billions of dollars in losses in the United States, leaving victims with little hope of recovering their money.
Like many victims, Datta’s ordeal reportedly began on a dating app, Hinge, where she encountered “Ancel” last January, who introduced himself as a French wine trader residing in Philadelphia.
Datta was taken over by his charm as their conversation within days moved to WhatsApp. The fitness enthusiast with an enchanting smile deactivated his Hinge account to provide her with “focused attention,” a novel experience in the era of transient online relationships.
They swapped selfies, flirtatious emoticons, and had short video calls where the charming but “shy” man was seen with a dog, later identified as AI deepfakes.
Plans to meet in person were continually postponed, but Datta wasn’t immediately suspicious. On Valentine’s Day last year, she received a bouquet from “Ancel” delivered from a Philadelphia florist, with the card addressing her as “Honey Cream.” When she sent him a selfie with the flowers, he showered her with red kiss mark emojis, as per the WhatsApp exchanges viewed by AFP.
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Asked her to invest in Crypto currencyIn between the affectionate exchanges, “Ancel” sold her a dream. “The dream was, ‘I’m retiring early, I’m well off. What is your plan?’” Datta, an immigrant from India, shared with AFP.
“He’s like, ‘I’ve made all this money investing. Do you really want to work till you’re 65?’”
He sent her a link to download a crypto trading app, which seemed legitimate with two-factor authentication, and demonstrated what he termed profitable trades through annotated screenshots viewed by AFP.
Datta converted some of her savings into cryptocurrency on the US-based exchange Coinbase, and the fraudulent app initially allowed her to withdraw her initial profits, enhancing her confidence to invest more.
“As you make astronomical amounts of money trading, it messes with your normal risk perception,” Datta reflected.
“You feel like, ‘Wow, I can do even more.’”
“Ancel” encouraged her to invest more savings, take out loans, and, despite her hesitation, cash out her retirement fund.
By March, Datta’s nearly $450,000 investment had more than doubled on paper, but when she attempted to withdraw the amount and the app demanded a personal “tax,” red flags were raised.
She consulted her brother based in London, who performed a reverse image search of the pictures “Ancel” had sent her and discovered they were of a German fitness influencer.
“When I realized it was all a scam and all the money was gone, I had proper PTSD symptoms – I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, couldn’t function,” Datta confessed.
People lost $3.5 billion to dating scams in 2023Dating sites are teeming with misinformation, with Facebook groups like “Tinder swindler dating scams” and “Are we dating the same guy?” emerging, and researchers highlighting the increasing use of AI-generated profile pictures.
However, the use of romance as a bait to commit financial fraud is causing new concern.
The FBI informed AFP that last year, over 40,000 people reported losses totaling well over $3.5 billion.