00:00 You just want to love and seek happiness and joy,
00:04 but the happy ending you were hoping for has turned into sadness.
00:08 We will be targeting different modes and we will not miss it.
00:12 Here on...
00:13 Skank Alert!
00:16 Oh my, the scamming is now high-tech,
00:20 that's why many are now using it online.
00:22 This morning, it's a heart-breaking news.
00:24 We will talk about what we call catfishing.
00:27 And we have with us today, her victim,
00:30 we have with us Althea,
00:32 her real name is not Althea.
00:34 Good morning.
00:35 Good morning.
00:36 Thank you.
00:37 And we also have with us to help us avoid these scams,
00:40 Dr. Joshua James,
00:42 Regional Counter Cybercrime Advisor of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
00:47 Dr. James, good morning.
00:50 Thank you for joining us.
00:51 Dr. James is visiting from Bangkok.
00:53 Dr. James will be teaching our law enforcers and judges
00:59 on how to deal with these types of crimes.
01:02 First of all, Althea,
01:03 please tell us how you met your knight in shining armor, Sana.
01:10 Go ahead.
01:12 Alright.
01:13 We met through an online dating app.
01:17 And then we were in a relationship
01:20 until we moved to a messaging app.
01:24 And then he introduced me to Adrian.
01:28 And he's a working student.
01:32 And then until I got his condition,
01:35 I sent him financial help.
01:39 How long did this relationship last?
01:42 More or less, two years.
01:45 Okay.
01:46 In those two years, how did you discover that the person you're talking to and the person you're in a relationship with is just a girl?
01:55 Yes.
01:57 Actually, every time we video call,
02:01 the guy,
02:02 the guy,
02:03 Adrian,
02:04 The guy you're thinking of?
02:05 Yes.
02:06 I noticed that he doesn't know me.
02:08 So that time, I was like,
02:12 something's fishy.
02:14 So he's looking for a guy?
02:16 Yes.
02:17 So apparently, he's coaching you while you're talking to him?
02:21 Not exactly coaching,
02:22 but for example, the guy is doing a live on a social media,
02:27 and then he'll come in and say hello.
02:30 And then he'll enter me and introduce me.
02:34 And then the guy will say hello to me.
02:37 And then I noticed that he doesn't know me.
02:41 Okay.
02:43 Maybe you can share with our viewers,
02:46 how did you fall for Adrian?
02:49 Of course, during the pandemic,
02:52 that time,
02:53 he was sending sweet messages.
02:57 He was sending pictures that he's really real.
03:02 So we were able to get along.
03:06 And then we became okay.
03:08 And then promise, promise, until…
03:11 How did you fall for him to the point that you gave him money?
03:15 And you reached…
03:16 He's his mother.
03:18 You gave him a total of 100,000.
03:21 But how did you fall for him?
03:23 How did he make you fall for him?
03:25 He told me about his situation.
03:28 He's a working student,
03:29 and he's studying at that school,
03:32 like dentistry, his course.
03:34 So of course, knowing that med school is expensive,
03:39 I felt sorry for him.
03:41 But in those two years, didn't you agree to meet up?
03:44 You didn't think of meeting up?
03:47 Actually, we have plans,
03:49 but every time we have plans,
03:51 he doesn't continue.
03:53 He would cancel?
03:55 Yes.
03:56 Or he doesn't really chat or something.
04:01 So what did you do when you heard about it?
04:03 I confronted him.
04:06 And then until then, he confessed,
04:09 but he really didn't chase me anymore.
04:12 That's the mode of catfishing,
04:15 the type where you have a relationship,
04:17 but you don't know,
04:19 your relationship is just a peck,
04:21 like in this case,
04:22 it's a different person, a woman.
04:24 Now, let's talk to Dr. Joshua James,
04:26 the Regional Counter-Cybercrime Advisor
04:28 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
04:30 Dr. James, your thoughts on Althea's case?
04:34 Is this something that you see a lot of
04:36 in the region, in the Philippines?
04:38 Unfortunately, this is exactly the type of thing that we see.
04:41 What you have to realize is that
04:43 these scammers are professionals.
04:45 They are professional con artists,
04:47 and this is what they do all day long,
04:49 and they have a script to go by
04:51 that sounds exactly like this case.
04:54 They have a script, they go by,
04:56 are you saying these are also organized?
04:58 I mean, is there anybody handling them,
05:02 teaching them, giving them the tools they need to scam?
05:05 Of course.
05:06 For their con activities?
05:08 In the rise of scams that we see online,
05:11 not just romance scams, but all types of scams,
05:14 they have this organized crime element to it
05:18 where they're learning from each other,
05:20 they are organized crime groups
05:21 that can do the money laundering side of things.
05:24 So, some scammers are just completely independent,
05:27 but most are really related to some type of organized crime.
05:29 Please tell our viewers,
05:30 are there red flags you can easily identify
05:33 so you won't fall for these scams?
05:36 Unfortunately, I mean, a lot of people,
05:38 especially during COVID times, fell for this
05:40 because of the isolation and the loneliness,
05:42 and that's really what these social engineers are excellent at,
05:46 getting us to feel for them
05:48 and getting us to feel like we're special.
05:51 Really, the best thing you can do is
05:55 think about things like exactly this situation.
05:58 If you're trying to meet, are they backing out eventually?
06:03 If you're trying to--
06:05 As the relationship progresses, are they asking for money?
06:09 When do they ask for money?
06:10 Have you met them before,
06:11 and are you trying to send any financial information?
06:14 And I think that's the biggest red flag, right?
06:16 If somebody you barely know suddenly asks for money,
06:20 tells you these sad stories,
06:22 that's already a red flag, a big red flag.
06:25 That's easy to say because it feels like--
06:27 But I guess the issue is you feel like you already know them,
06:30 and that's the whole basis of it.
06:32 So you think you already know these people,
06:34 and then you send money because they're your friend.
06:36 They're someone who loves you, right?
06:38 So they really play on your emotions.
06:40 So what I would say is step back from the emotion.
06:43 Tell your friends and family about the relationship,
06:46 and then maybe they can help you
06:48 to kind of see outside of this love bubble.
06:51 Maybe somebody objective can give you--
06:54 maybe knock you into your sense of self.
06:56 Exactly, and a lot of times these scammers will attempt
06:58 to isolate you from your friends and family
07:01 to make sure that they actually have that protection.
07:04 So really try to speak with your friends and family
07:06 about new relationships online,
07:08 and that will at least help you be a buffer.
07:10 That's what he's saying, my dear.
07:12 Let's find a different perspective for our families,
07:16 for the people who love us,
07:18 so that we might be able to bloom
07:20 because we're now in true love.
07:22 Dr. James, what are your thoughts on dating apps?
07:27 Dating apps--there's nothing inherently wrong with dating apps.
07:30 It's a perfectly legitimate way to meet people,
07:33 but with every dating app, every app online,
07:37 you have to be aware that you don't know the person behind the app.
07:41 So always be a little bit skeptical of everything that's said
07:44 until you meet the person and really make that connection.
07:48 But until you--while they're online,
07:51 just be a little bit wary.
07:53 Althea, do you have any final words for our viewers?
07:56 All right.
07:57 So everyone, it's much better to make sure
08:00 that our online relationships are real.
08:05 And I hope this will be a lesson for everyone.
08:09 Thank you, Althea.
08:10 Thank you for your trust in our story.
08:14 And Dr. James, thank you for sharing with us your expertise.
08:16 Thank you.
08:18 And my fellow victims of scammers,
08:21 please share this with us so we can all be alerted for scam alerts.
08:26 I'll be back soon.
08:27 [music]
08:30 [silence]
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