prosperity, but it sites the ingenuity of ask in women and girls like those girls at this secret school risk in captivity are worse for the sake of a dream and life after the taliban. you are watching dw news, close up this next, looking at women's fight against romans. thanks for the january 2021. the attacks on the united states capital, thousands of people took pods and among them some of these manipulative voices. our former high ranking military leaders wanted us veterans 10 the backs on democracy. and what does this mean for the upcoming election? the enemy within stats to lie 12 on d, w the

. this is marie, a german woman who lost 130000 euros in an online romance scan. she's come to a court in nigeria seeking justice in 2018 marie fell in love online with a man using a fake identity. it was a typical romance scam. sometimes called cat fishing. fraudsters make victims believe they've found true love, then sheet them out of their money. now these are all records of the transfers i made, which was i felt under enormous pressure tons, 1751001401900. i feel completely stupid and it's unbelievable what you end up doing in that situation. that's more of that port. most victims never see their money again, and many perpetrators never get caught. but marie managed to do something do victims. can she worked matters cameras,

true identity as i'm sorry. he was supposedly a business man with a good life from italy and the us on. when i expose him, i found out he was in nigeria. now, maria's set to meet the man in person for the 1st time in court in the nigerian capital a boot jack. i'm really nervous because i'm about to look him in the eyes. the oaks on the maurice ordeal began in 2018 with

a short message. as i'm telling you my other than i said, my instagram account to public, to reach more people for my business. and we stay home until yeah, i hear on clips. it's a short time later i got a message that said hello, beautiful. hope i don't bother you. beautiful. hope i don't both are you. is fun. i thought it was nice because he apologized for disturbing me. so we started chatting a decision on set and zip code as of this letter is s, that was the 1st picture he sent me out of the junky, introduced himself as a business man who wanted to collaborate with me pretty much to this is, this is him with his son the what's at this point, they've got my personal and pretty quickly. he told me his back story just said he was divorced and caring for his children season. so hopefully somebody cannot come up, didn't come them or then this kind of picture came along to that. he quickly went into conquests mode telling me i was beautiful, but he thought i was such

a strong woman. of course i was flattered to begin with. i didn't want to contemplate that it might not be real for marie was suffering from depression at the time, but didn't want to burden her family. the man saw his chance, had done all. he suggested trips to the bahamas and other places. i loved the idea of going to the states or having coffee with him by the spanish steps in rome. stuff like that. cuz he to think no spanish and at that one. so i hit the marie gradually began to trust the man before long, they were chatting every day. then he asked her for money. i knew how all my alarm bells were ringing. i saw a truck. oh good. he wants money. bought an s, but i was shocked. with that because it wasn't like that,

it didn't feel like it could actually be a scam, kind of for understood as it's touch base on kevin sign, credit to online because of the he was like know, how can you say that you should know me by now after that he goes to me and didn't get in touch, which made me worry. yeah. that's how he was able to manipulate me psychologically . marie asked for a copy of his passport as secure it to the top. i didn't notice that it was fake and he promised to pay her back quickly. yeah, i thought okay, it's just 1200 euros. not that that's nothing. but it would just be a one time saying, i'm done with this. i need it. but things didn't stop there. back in nigeria, the court cases supposed to have begun the

missing here. i'm just waiting here on my own. maurice lawyer is also wondering why things aren't getting underway. what is happening? i think it said the, because is, does it seem today? the judge is in the conference and all the cases slip that for the today i'll be by judge did x to give you those dates in november. so you will have to write an application to the parts and then there'll be no hearing today, even though marie traveled all the way from germany. come on. wow. it's very different to germany. to watch it, but nobody seems that upset or bothered about it trying to talk kind of what else to do and what else to come on. it seems marie,

may have missed her chance to confront her online scammer. but then this happens hey, how are you? what are you at the courthouse? well, i knew i want to see you come to me. whereabouts are you come to clot 12? 0 god i'm you don't you just called and asked where i was been and i asked him the same thing. he said he was in the court house and wanted to know which room i was in. good order. and what does this mean version told me specific. got it. i'll find it at home. he's on his way. i'm nervous of my hearts pounding and half closed. but the minutes ticked by and the man doesn't appear

that's not him. the lower lies the psychological warfare is typical for him. if he gets in touch and promises something and then doesn't come through hello, well i you, you want to talk to me. yeah, i want to see you. i want to let look into you guys. ok. i'm bring your good. uh, also. okay. bye. okay. by the marine, the man agreed to meet in the evening together with their lawyers. they'll discuss an out of court settlement. but there's no knowing whether he'll actually show up the before leaving for nigeria. marie met with cause cross from

a german victim support organization called advice serving or white ring. she told them about her experience is fine. i'm to begin with. i might have been emotionally dependent about me then it turned into something more like being a prisoner. i wanted to get out, but i couldn't have, i was, i was confident. yeah. i so, and you see somebody can see here one things for certain your not to blame in the slightest. yeah. we work on so many criminal cases and we know that every perpetrator is specially trained when it comes to the way they talk to you and everything else is so hitting it screeches issued into cuz they chum, you, they make you feel secure. this, this and we'll do 50. you're going to be false. keep one, the thing has got to didn't. so he was there at the time when i needed help. when i wasn't doing well, he filled the void. i was feeling the oddities dog dispute. he knew what he was doing and just had the actual cuz most viewed his understanding was he groomed you

quoted me rep, if i felt paralyzed video, everything hurt to be a good time. let's smith with a piece and you've been through so much. sorry for us, and it's including no need to apologize on the hope to have such respect for what you've decided to do. but i mean, everyone has that coverage to scan is wouldn't stand a chance. can you do? you have to postpone your knowledge to the general public. this, these people, i did my cfo marie 1st contacted the police at the end of 2018, but they didn't take her seriously. now she's decided to try again. hello, i'm officer cross. can i see it? yes, of course at that point it says that the quantum it does off and back then the police man couldn't do anything about my situation. he couldn't help me. and in fact,

he made fun of me. that was a real slap in the face because i knew myself that i'd been stupid, and i'd already been really critical of myself. and then to then hear the police say, you've been such a silly girl. as i thought it wasn't what i would have expected. then the police could have offered to help me then in their filed a complaint and encouraged me to file one. no, i'm sorry. go to norman or michelle. if they'd acted properly back then, i'd probably have got out of the situation much sooner. and i wouldn't have lost so much money and i do feel that title on me fucked. is that i can tell you that if a complaint is made in this matter, we will investigate taking our law what's in fact as an answer, the question of why the investigation was so incredibly slow. when i filed the complaint for that, i couldn't understand it because i passed everything onto the police, all the fake documents, he sent me chat, transcripts,

and so on. a white is the victim, have to do the detective work themselves of do the do the do that i'm in terms of at life. why can't the police do it? is this is getting as soon as it becomes about another country, it gets very difficult. so i might because you need law enforcement treaties. women were working on that. but sadly, we're not yet to the point where we can call somebody nigeria and say, we have this case here. see what you can do with the mountain guns. does somebody like that you missed the in the german state of the various police received more than 450 reports of online romance scans in 2023 alone. all in, all scammers took around 5300000 years. the permission is cloud based on say it has always been a part of my life where i can lift myself. i've done drawn strength in content and image, all costs shut some content. i've lit a candle because i prayed for protection for the trip to nigeria. yeah,

sort of this and also to give thanks that i made it through the last 5 years. miss baton cares. i think that's the franchise in nigeria, the court hearing has been postponed and marie doesn't know whether the man she met online will show up for the arrange meeting. if she gets stood up again for whole trip will have been in vain. does she think he'll still com a community might but i'd say it's unlikely times on the i've been calling the the lawyer to represent you and i hope you could join us on the lawyer has been given me, excuse me, and he's no longer picking this phone call and us use that step when move us

through this with mixing pest can how to bad for me. i wrote that i'm here, but he hasn't responded to be so sweet. thank you. thank you. no problem. thank you. no, really. he bought your desk and it was a month i'm expecting a tall man to walk in to be able to look him in the eyes and see that he is really lying. the police police on flies, the money goes. and my biggest hope is that we can agree that he'll give me my money back as soon as possible. just maybe we'll just sort of get

but this time, the man does show up, together with his lawyer. both want their faces blurred on film, yet smiley face. indeed we thought it was a case of sitting opposite him and really giving him a piece of my mind. mister ball, you could sense that he had done something bad or to have becky looked at the floor . he looked away. he was subdued and quiet. nice. he used to shout at me when something didn't happen the way he wanted me to be forced to know. he was like a dog with its tail between its legs, requesting to put to the bottom. i do actually think he showed remorse through customer a good site. but it's still not clear whether marie will ever see for 130000 euros. again the

various still dealing with the emotional effects of what happened in 2018. it's been, it's been a small painting, allows me to get away from my problems and find peace in so long on a commitment i have a whole total weight of this present. i'm trying a picture where there's a landscape emerging from the fog. often need to have 4 homes. that's only that's how you feel when you're being scammed. you enveloped in this fog? type them discomfort and i'm beginning to emerge from it. i definitely need the plaza on it often be costing me. as the ordeal went on, marie began to see things more clearly. as, as

a speech i read on him later when i knew he was a scammer, i asked for more and more photos. on the slide and it started getting ridiculous. wow, how doesn't. and so in this one, he just photoshop the head on top. it doesn't look really at all. i don't know. at some point, he was in hospital for an operation. he sent this picture to come in when it happened, this class, the house, i'm glad i called and emailed the hospital. do you hear me out? and they said they didn't know of any such patient. you know, i'm kind of was let me know that was a got punched in a school district, but marie kept playing along with their scammer. she even gave him more money so as not to lose his trust. eventually she persuaded him to have a video call on that, and there was this guy looking at me and the result i told you,

i have to pay the fee and then you'll get your money back and you pay $1750.00 us dollars tomorrow and then you'll have it back soon. the man got increasingly careless. marie was on the verge of discovering his true identity. an item glitch and i was actually relieved that he no longer had to lie to me and he sent me a whole lot of photos of himself. his family and friends find some district on the end of them. he also sent a video you and the video he and his cousins, and some friends are walking by an elephant fountain, and the mind is off. the fountain is quite distinctive. so i took a screenshot and use google image search to find it, published on the fun. for me, it's new. it'll be a real cool. and delta state, and i jerry a, have states in the near for a place called mccarthy beach beach or no

marie was able to expose the man and his network. she informs nigeria as financial crimes authority. the fcc does this. this is what the fcc posted after they arrested him. not in my in the back in nigeria. larisse quest isn't over yet. now isn't that we've come to been in city because it's a hot bed of fraud. you could, you couldn't even take workshops here to learn the best methods to scam people on, on the speaking, i'm here to get a sense of how it all works when invest stuff in,

in to see to investor telemundo. yeah. own, this is solomon says that he's going to help me stay safe and let him about. and also show me places where there are scammers. but 1st marie and solomon decide to visit a ju ju, please contact. one of his friends got in touch it and threatened me, call it on wooded. he told me that if i didn't pay this thing of the priest would curse me and my family to mount, who though my name from the number of them i can get really upset me. me a s my tiskus hoffman. i was scared laurise decided to find out for herself what's behind the practice or the. 6

the 1st the do, do priest demonstrates his supernatural powers day let them think well as divides the mouth or to proof as power. they stem to brooms together and lifted me up with them. did not even though you might expect them to come a part. of course i know the physics behind it. what does that mean? hang bye, bye, sweetie. physics must be physically. it's not magic, just physics. i know civic you know, well what would you like to do? kill him. what do you want to do for the last year? at least we do. you want to be there. we don't want to, i don't want him to hot and you don't want to accommodate the issue was how do you

do rituals? are common in nigeria, this significant kind of stuff? did you please come on? the power that it goes from the are the prices. the prices desk is like desperate power. the fund comfortable in the name of business is papa. i have his business and i wanted to have made the proof of his business associates and other people. it seems that the man who cheated marie out of her money also has his own ju ju priest . to break the spell, marie is told to cook some yam. the priest says that she'll get her money back in 3 days to an answer. so it looks nice, but it doesn't have much of an effect on me anymore. is it on the feet or i felt before has subsided. thank you very much. no, yeah, i sent it to respond of to have tom. and let's see if the magic works to send

advanced up the focus victims, defense unemployment, or maybe on sunday when i'm in the plane, i'll check my bank account and see that the money's arrived to remove marie still wants to find out more about how the scammers operate, but she has to cut short her trip to been in city because there's surprising news from a bu jeff. all right, i'm going to be searching, but i am. and yet i'm tomorrow. i went to the judge so they gave me the highest degree. his name am lucy, tomorrow's call. thank you bye. and it looks like the court hearing is happening after all. so marie is heading back to a budget the

but her helper solomon remains and been in city. he's made contact with a group of scammers. in nigeria, they're known as yahoo boys, a term for a young man who wants to make a quick buck online. their boss is willing to give an anonymous interview about his business. oh yeah. look into america. we just want to get information from you on do the activities. another that's good news is here we. we also because it tells us the way the world, the 9th dollars that we've, we've done, it's quite bumping for a glance. so these boys are looking for one. they are driving so i get them from and you'll be like from the streets and he's going to the work. so in utah,

so from the streets. so it goes out to hardness. if on next 24 months, yes, the money comes from shirts. $64240.00 ethics is to present that to the client. then that works okay. sounds good to what's your name was in. okay. my name is tom on. yeah. ok, i'm hold on. okay. i want ok. she said ok. nice that you can say just to go live. okay, that will go about like causing the intro to use the same that hi. hello. how you doing? beautiful. how's your day going from day use? because there's all stuff on there to use. um, false features can see how even though you have them and yeah, they will not respond to you. you know, they would not. my real name is thomas bell tires g. now the words share it with you. i know how to do it. it's something that if you sort of has

10000 feet and most meanwhile, maria's back in court and a boot you when we get the nice my heart is pounding. i just hope i can get through it. because i how the man hasn't yet been found guilty in court. but feel strange by just because i have to present all the evidence most valuable. and because there used to be sympathy and understanding processes and may be also in love to him about stairs because our house and it's clear he's been lying to me the whole time we have sports and i gave him so many chances to tell the truth. he never did her best the only little by little hope after i was able to prove i knew who he really

was there ever because i trusted him and she took advantage of me. yeah. so but it was my dignity back before giving evidence in english, marie talks to the prosecutor and her new lawyer, one more time. i'll do my best. it won't be good if i'm nervous and work to but i can't concentrate tons and then take your time to the with the hearing about discharge, we have to take our cameras outside the

later that afternoon. marie is relieved or statement and court went well, the, it was such a relief on this round because i was finally able to let go of everything. invited and is on my list. last that in content is a week ago. i was still so scared to be here and i still felt trapped. the good all the prejudices have a back rated. my jury is a really friendly country and i've met some great people north of kent. i'm glad. i'm glad that she has had the experience because it's nice to see that not everybody nigeria i'm really hopeful for the end of the case because i believe most, if not all also get to see if you guys are interested in coming here has definitely been worth it little by little, i'm getting back to being the old me. the person i was before i was scammed, been in my am on

the of each tells my story. of the people who planned me build dedicated van lines to me. i am not too dumb to tell the online may in the centuries they billed me, they created something and had to watch as i brought the story. i have month to my cities, days for centuries,

and accompanied my country. hours until the day i nearly vanished stuff to lie, 18 o d w the so between the age of 17 to 23 are so 645 times a week. by 6 it's. it's a shame for money i get, they make money doing it. so you can't say much against it and people up for it to go down. books should prostitution be allowed? sweden's answer to this question has been entirely different than germany's and

which country is the situation better for the.