The Civil Guard remembers how to avoid being victims of what is known as ‘love scam’ or ‘Romance Scam’, the main hypothesis that investigators are considering in the murder of three elderly brothers in the Madrid town of Morata de Tajuña.
The Armed Institute has advised citizens to be wary of online relationships that “move too quickly”, to verify the identities of the people with whom they chat online, to refrain from sending money and, finally, to notify family members and friends about those relationships.
With these four tips, the Civil Guard wants citizens to know how not to fall into a ‘Romance Scam’, which is a criminal method that begins with the creation of false profiles on social networks or dating applications.
To capture their victims and conceal their true identity, they pose as prestigious professionals residing outside of Spain.
After a period of time in which they gain their trust, in some cases making their victims believe that they are in a romantic relationship, they suggest certain financial needs that are financed by them.
A settling of accounts for a debt related to a love scam is the main hypothesis of the triple crime, two sisters aged 68 and 70 and a brother aged 70, in Morata de Tajuña, as indicated to Europa Press this Thursday by sources from the investigation.
Those close to the family of the deceased have told the agents that at least five years ago the sisters had contacted two alleged soldiers, with whom they entered into a pseudo-amorous relationship at a distance.
After some time, one of the alleged soldiers informed them that the other had died and that he needed a significant amount of money to be able to collect an inheritance. Since then, one of her deceased women began to send money to the account of her ‘boyfriend’ Edward, who kept asking her for more and more amounts with various excuses.
Although friends and family alerted them that they had fallen into so-called ‘love scams’, the sisters insisted that the romance was true while they went into debt to satisfy the demands of the supposed lover, going so far as to ask several acquaintances for money.
Investigators believe that they could have asked for money from the wrong person, who wanted to settle the debt by ending their lives. In fact, the neighbors talk about how a while ago a man came to their house with a machete to demand that they return money.
