There are many ways that criminals ask for money in online only romance fraud. They are known as billing formats. With the exception of some of the military specific ones, any of them can be used across all the format scenarios used by these frauds. They will choose which ones they feel works best for them, or that they have resources for and usually combinations of many.
Buying gifts
These criminals build trust in lots of ways. One of them is buying the victim presents. From Pizzas to teddies, from artwork to paying bills, depending on the resources available to them (from other stolen funds) they will on occasions, make the first move. This is also done to collect your address as part of the data collecting exercise.
Bank Accounts
Criminals may introduce victims to a (cloned) bank account login page which shows that the character has plenty of money to fulfill the work they are doing, or savings from an inheritance. They will possibly ask the victim to make a transfer for them as they are too busy and of course, the victim is trusted. They may also have sent fake notifications where an unusual login attempt has arrived on their device after instructing the victim to do so. Later down the line, this can be used as the reason the online banking has been blocked.
Data for Chatting or Video Calling
A very common ask with these online fraudsters, is to request gift cards (iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Steam and more) for the purpose of buying data so the fraudsters can continue chatting with the victim or to make video calls which may be asked for when they are questioned. Many people don’t realise that the gift cards they purchase and are asked to photograph the front and back of the card to send, CANNOT be used in another country. Unfortunately, people also don’t realise that gift cards cannot be purchased for buying data or wifi.
These cards are traded with other criminals who will make deals for the best rate of the local currency.
Phones may be requested to enable the character to continue chatting with the victim after it has ‘been broken or damaged’. Sometimes they also ask for a contract with the phone citing reasons as to why they cannot get them at that point.
Military specific
Military Leave
The individual will use growing feelings of the victim to push for help with leave so that they can be together. They will imply that the leave needs to be requested and that forms need to be filled to send to a commander. Sometimes, the criminal will have already convinced the victim that they will be together and as the only trusted individual, they will have completed a form which place the victim as next of kin and/or the status of a ‘fiance’ to the soldier in case of emergency. These practices, as well as building trust and a feeling of importance with the victim, are a way for the criminals to collect personal identity information and details for use in other frauds.
The criminals will declare that there is a fee attached to the special leave. The fee will depend on the amount of time being requested. This can also be attached to marriage leave. They will declare that they don’t have access to their bank accounts while away and will ask for a loan until they are back. It is sometimes the case that the criminals will have created or cloned a bank account login page, which they will present as being the characters own. They will give login information to the victim to check and confirm that there is money to pay them back. They may also claim that they need to pay for a replacement.
The criminals may have already introduced the victim to a bank account login page which shows that the character has plenty of money to fulfill the work they are doing, possibly asking the victim to make a transfer for them as they are too busy and of course, the victim is trusted. They may also have sent fake notifications where an unusual login attempt has arrived on their device after instructing the victim to do so. Later down the line, this can be used as the reason the online banking has been blocked.
Early retirement
The criminals will use a similar scenario to ask for help with getting released from a contract for early retirement. The criminal will have built up a story which creates empathy with the victim, possibly using the child. The victim at this stage will want the character created by the fraudster to be back at home and safe and happy. They will likely tell the victim that on release from the contract they will be reimbursed funds which will repay any fees.
Military personnel do not pay for leave (special or otherwise). Leave is earned like in any other occupation. It is requested in much the same way by asking their next in line boss. They do not need a family member to do this.
Emergency transportation or supplies
The criminals may imply that they have an emergency at home and need to fund emergency transport to get back from deployment. The bank account story may be used here too.
Sometimes the criminals will claim that they need money for food or medical supplies while deployed, often citing that the unit came under fire and their supplies destroyed or used and there is need to replenish to survive. In extreme cases they will claim that they need to negotiate to buy weapons.
Military are never required to pay for any transport or food, medical supplies or weapons. The military are one of the wealthiest organisations and military members are considered family.
Package Scams
The package scam is where the criminal will tell the victim that they are sending some important documents and/or gifts to the victim from the place of their current residence.
As with all package scams, the victim will have other characters brought into the cast, this time that of the courier and/or a customs official. In the case of the shipping agent or courier, the characters will send emails to the victim with notifications. This is also the part of the story where other fake websites are created to mimic that of the courier company and the tracking number sent in the email can be loaded into the website, the package can then be tracked as it makes it’s journey. Once at the destination point, the victim will be contacted by customs, this can be via email or a phone call if the criminals have employed a worker (or blackmailed another victim), to impersonate this department where the voice on the end of phone will be the local language. The victim will be informed that there are import taxes due to be paid on the package before it can be released for delivery. If the victim challenges the cost of these taxes with the scammer, they will declare that there is cash in the box to cover the cost when it is delivered.
Inheritance Scams
Inheritance scams can be stand alone scams in other fraud but are used in many scammer scenarios for romance fraud and the military is one of them.
Once trust has been built and the relationship secured, the scammer will discuss with the victim that they have had notice that a distant family member or friend has died and that they are listed as the beneficiary. There will be a problem that they are unable to conduct the necessary legal requirements whilst they are away in another county and that inheritance laws there would mean a risk to the payments (or a similar scenario). The victim, as the only trusted contact, will be asked to deal with the lawyers to sort out the estate.
There can be two scenarios here. One is that the scammer asks the victim to open a bank account so that the funds can be deposited and kept safe while the character is away from home. This is one way in which scammers create a story so that they can use the victim as an unwitting money mule. Criminals need ways to launder money and romance fraud victims are used to do just this. The money is safe, as the victim believes they are in a relationship and this money has been sold as helping to secure their life together.
The other scenario is that the victim, when communicating with ‘the lawyer’, will be told that there is an inheritance tax to pay to get the funds released. Stuck on deployment, the scammer cannot access funds to sort this problem, so the victim is asked to comply with the request in order for the inheritance to be released.
Contracts
The criminal will imply that the contractors have increased the costs associated with the completion of the project. The project, or companies (which scammers often create fake websites for) will be incredibly close to finishing, which also means that the character will be able to come home, to be with the victim or the victim come to them. In most instances, the criminals will declare that they have managed to raise say 90% of the remaining cost through other stakeholders or business associates and friends (this may be evidenced). They will then say that it’s the last thing they wanted to happen but that they needed to ask if there was any possibility that the victim can raise the remaining money, because they have been locked out from the online banking while away.
The victim is now faced with a time pressured decision to make, so that the person they are in love with doesn’t lose the dream they have been building and also the completion of the project which would bring the character home. There may also be feelings of guilt that they did something wrong when logging in to the account which has caused the issue in the first place. In some victim’s frauds, the fake bank websites (often cloned with real details) will have ‘contact us’ information and the victims may be directed to try and sort out the problem as it was their device details that logged in. The ‘bank staff’ will respond and tell the victim that unfortunately the account owner will need to go in branch to unfreeze the account.
The fraudsters may give two possible scenarios; one is to loan the money until their return and the other is to invest and be given shares in the new project, where they would then benefit from the growth and profits. In this instance, another cast member (this time a lawyer) would contact the victim with all the relevant forms to make the investment legal. There would of course, be pages created to make the lawyer look legitimate. This is also an opportunity to get personal identity documents and other personal data for use in other frauds.
Plane tickets
A common exploitation tactic used in many formats will be where the criminal’s character has asked the victim to send money for a plane ticket. Of course, after some time the victim is hooked and entrenched in the fake reality that has been created around them. ‘Agents’ will contact the victim via email or text and send invoices for the cost of tickets, which the fraudsters will of course have created documents to mimic real ones. The victim will be eager to finally get to meet the person they have spent the majority of many months talking to and paying for flights would be the way to get them home. There may be photos of the airport to help secure belief of the victim.
Trouble at the airport
In some scenarios, the criminals will declare that here has been a mix up at the airport and that someone has tried to smuggle something in their case or that possibly, materials they used in the project have been found to be stolen or inferior quality and on inspection the project manager was being blamed. The character may declare that their passport has been taken and they are being held by the authorities until something can be sorted. It is here that a lawyer may once again be in contact explaining that the character needs legal help to get his documents back so he can travel. The victim will be reminded that the character has money (possibly seen in a bank account) and that with help, they hope to see them soon.
Nanny or Boarding School fees
These criminals will often claim they have a child whose mother either died of cancer, in a car crash, in childbirth or that they cheated (the 4 C’s). With a job that takes them away from home and with the character being orphaned or with just an elderly relative, there is need for someone to look after their child. As with all the scenarios, the scammer will claim that they haven’t got access to their bank account and will ask for help in keeping their child’s care safe.
This is also one of the ways they get victim’s to unwittingly launder money. The criminal will ask the victim if they mind receiving a payment from a business contact or invoice that is being paid and forward it on to pay for the nanny or boarding school fees.
Medical fees
One of the most classic traumas that occurs in these frauds is that someone is injured or has fallen sick and doesn’t have the ability to pay the bills because of the bank accounts being frozen (this will have been built in to the story earlier on). It can be the character themselves, an elderly relative or the child who may be visiting the father abroad. This format of course is playing on the emotions and good nature of victims, causing fear that the person they have fallen in love with might die.
Other trends
There are always new trends being used in these frauds.
- Over the pandemic, we know that many business’ folded or struggled. When using an ordinary profession, such as a barber or fitness instructor, they may claim that they are struggling paying bills for their mortgage and other life necessities. They may claim that phones have broken and they can’t afford a new one which means business will be even harder and they won’t be able to chat with the victim.
- Requests may come for help with visas to get to another country.
- A character affiliated with the stock market crashing. They offer to help you and your future funds or investments.
- When a victim is out of funds, fraudsters are now suggesting that they use an insurance policy to collect more money. Of course this puts the victim in a position of commiting insurance fraud which is a prisonable offence.