saw side or you think your kid is 2 different risk, irresponsible, unreasonable, or some part of those nonsense? i wonder it was under the doctor. is there an alternative plan? we've done everything to prevent a divorce, but nothing weren't showing that. it's time. you were a suite of them when generation now on the computer industry, this kind of fun. it feels like the this is marie,

a german woman who lost 130000 euros in an online romance scam. 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 the one 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 out her scamarus true identity and he was supposedly a business man with

a good life from italy and the us on. when i exposed him, i found out he was in nigeria. now maria's set to meet the man in person for the 1st time in court and then jerry and capital a boucher offensive. i'm really nervous because i'm about to look him in the eyes. the oaks on reading the, the maurice ordeal began in 2018 with a short message. and i said my instagram account to public,

to reach more people for my business. and we stay home until yeah, i hear on a quick the type of show 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 fine. my thought it was nice because he apologized for disturbing me. so we started chatting the cnn set the intake boot as it is. that is, as 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 the same with his son? the what at this point got my personal and pretty quickly he told me his back story . she said he was divorced and caring for his children, seeking us. so somebody cannot komatt didn't come or then this kind of picture came along to that. he quickly went into conquests mode telling me i was beautiful. i think 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. poor 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. coffee to think no spanish and apparently. so i hit in 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. oh, i saw a truck. oh good. he wants money. a lot of us, 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,

printer, online because of what he was like. know how can you say that you should know me by now? i have, i mean, 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 security. on the top, i didn't notice that it was fake. 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 see 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 it's does it seem today? the judge is in the conference and all the cases slip that for the to be i'd be mad . don't get eggs 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. and nobody seems that upset or bothered about it trying to to all kinds of also the and what else is 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? 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. can you just called and asked where i was already been. and i asked him the same thing. he said he was in the courthouse and wanted to know which room i was in. good order, which is this vision told me since just got it. i'll try to come. 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

more 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 look, 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 of being or white ring. she told

them about her experience spa, i'm to begin with. i might have been emotionally dependent of a means and it turned into something more like being a prisoner. i wanted to get out, but i couldn't have, i was always confident. yeah. i so i need 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 who spend everything else you saw hitting it, screeches issued interviews, they chum, you, they make you feel secure. is this a will do free speech? you're going to be for skip one. the thing have i had got to didn't. so he was there at the time when i needed help. when i wasn't doing well with me, i'm going to be filled, the void. i was feeling the oddities dog dispute. he knew what he was doing and just thought that will give us this understanding. was he groomed you quoted me rep, if i felt paralyzed you. everything hurt to be a good time explicitly,

smith with the beast. and you've been through so much. i'm sorry, the 1st thing, it's including no need to apologize on the hope to have such respect for what you've decided to do. i think everyone had that courage to scan is, wouldn't stand a chance. can you do you have to postpone your knowledge to the general public? this, this, the pride in 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. 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 at the thought it wasn't what i would have expected. then the police couldn't have offered to help me then and there filed a complaint and encouraged me to file one. no, i'm sorry. go to norman or michelle. if it 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 need to see the title on fucked. is that i can tell you that if a complaint is made in this matter, we will investigate vague. and now what's in fact, as an answer, the question of why the investigation was so incredibly slow when i filed the complaint for that. and i couldn't understand it because i passed everything onto the police, all the fake documents. he sent me chat, transcripts, and so on. why does the victim have to do the detective work themselves of these or

do they do them in terms of that? like why can't the police do it? is this is getting as soon as it becomes about another country, it gets very difficult time because you need law enforcement treaties home in the book. we're 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 codes, the how many light that you missed? in the german state of the various police received more than 450 reports of online romance scams. 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 list myself, i've done drunk strength in content and image, all costs shots and quinta, i've lit a candle because i prayed for protection for the trip to nigeria. yeah, so it's a bit and also to give thanks that i made it through the last 5 years. let me just

put that in case i think i've got it will stay in nigeria, the court hearing has been postponed and marie doesn't know whether the man she met online will show up for their arrange meetings. if she gets stood up again for a whole trip will have been in vain. does she think he'll still come a? d might. but i'd say it's unlikely find on the i have been calling the the lawyer is representing and i hope you can join us and a lawyer has been given me, excuse me, and he's no longer became his phone call. and that shows that step when they have

us do this, we make sure peskin too bad for me. i wrote that i'm here, but he hasn't responded to me so sweet. okay, well, thank you. thank you. no problem. no, really about today. i'm good was i'm, i'm, 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 on flies, the money. my biggest hope is that we can agree that he'll give me my money back as soon as possible.

but this time, the man does show up, together with his lawyer. both want their faces blurred on film. yes, my artist is indeed 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. he 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. because when i put to the bottom, i do actually think he showed remorse and comfortable. a good type but it's still not clear whether marie will ever see for 130000 euros again the, the re is still dealing with the emotional effects of what happened in 2018. it's

been been a small painting, allows me to get away from my problems and find peace, things along on them. and i've a whole total with other kids. i'm trying a picture where there's a landscape emerging from the fog to monitor, often need to have for clones. that's the, that's how you feel when you're being scammed. you enveloped in this fog? tightened them on discomfort, and i'm beginning to emerge from it. i definitely need the plaza on is 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 oh, i don't know. at some point, he was in hospital for an operation. he sent this picture, this equipment, and it happened this class and how i'm good with me. i called and emailed the hospital. when do you have the officer? and they said they didn't know of any such patient calls. let me know that was a gosh, 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 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, or have i done? i condition 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. in the video, he and his cousins and some friends are walking by an elephant fountain. an electronic component on mine is off, the fountain is quite distinctive. so i took a screenshot and use google image search to find it copies done then in the fun for me it's new. it'll be a real cool in delta state. and i jerry of that have states in the near for a place called mccarthy beach beach. no

marie was able to expose the man and his network. she informs nigeria as financial crimes authority. the fcc justice. 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 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 this big and i'm here to get a sense of how it all works when invest stuff in, in to see to investor telemundo. yeah. this is solomon,

who 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 priest. after the contact with his friends got in touch it and threatens me, all is on rooted. he told me that if i didn't pay this thing of the priest would curse me and my family to now who though my name from the number of the can get really upset me. me as my teeth get 12. hm. i was scared laurise decided to find out for herself what's behind the practice the the. 6 the

1st, the due to priest demonstrates his supernatural powers day. let them think well as devised mouth. we'll have to proof as power they stump to brooms together and lifted me up with them. they're not, even though you might expect them to come a part. of course, i know the physics behind it. what does that mean? hangs, bye bye, sweetie. physics must be physically. it's not magic, just physics. i'm fine. know, civic you know, well what would you like to do? kill him. what he wanted to do for you know, 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 you was how do you do rituals? are common in nigeria, the significant kind of stuff?

did you please come on? the power that goes from the heart of the price, the priest does, is like desperate power the father, the comfortable in the name of business. this is papa. i have his business and i wanted to have to make a 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 because i'm the fever i felt before has subsided. thank you very much. now. yeah, i finance goose fund of to have top 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 plain. i'll check my bank account and see that the money's arrived. 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 in june time tomorrow. i went to the gym today, gave me the students name and lucy tomorrow. all right, 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 help her solomon remains in been in city. he's made contact with a group of scammers. in nigeria, they're known as yahoo boys, a term for young man who want 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 the day activities. another that's good news is here we. we also call it tells us the boise will be on 9th dollars that we've, we've done. it's quite a bone being for a glance. so these boys are looking for when they are driving. so i get it in full 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,

you have any money comes from shirts. 604240 ethics is to present that to you. didn't want to tell the client then that works okay. sounds good. what's your name was in to my name is tom tongue. yeah. ok. i'll hold on. ok. island. ok. she said ok. nice name and say just to go level and i'll go about the lack of moving to the use of sale 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 are from india, they will not respond to you. you know, they were not married name is thomas bell tires g. now the words she doesn't want to do that. yeah, i don't have to do and it's sometimes if you sort of has 10000 feet in loss. 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. this is i, this house has some kind of demand, hasn't yet been found guilty in court, which feels strange. i just, i just because i have to present all the evidence most valuable because there used to be sympathy and understanding processes and maybe also him of told him about stairs because our house and it's clear he's been lying to me the whole time i was looking for and i gave him so many chances to tell the truth. he never did her best. the only little by little after i was able to prove i knew who he really was there ever because my trusted him and he took advantage of me. yeah. so

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 worked up and i can't concentrate on the touch. take your time to the with the hearing about the start, we have to take our cameras outside the later that afternoon. marie is relieved for statement and court went,

well this bottleneck, 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 added content is a week ago. i was still so scared to be here and i still felt trapped on the cut. all the prejudices have a bab rated. my jewelry is a really friendly country and i've met some great people or they can. i'm glad i'm glad that you have 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 of you guys as decision 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 in my mail, the

each tells my story of the people who planned me build dedicated van lines to me. i am not to dom depends the all the online made in the centuries they billed me. they created something and had to watch as i work destroyed. i have month, my city's days, full centuries and accompanied my country until the day i

nearly vanished stuff, july 18th on d. w. the i imagine you log into your online banking one day and your account is completely drained, filled out by the likes of cyber criminals. identity theft is on the rise with really occasions where people like you and me, but how do these criminals operate? and how can we protect ourselves from attacks? one way scam as laura and the victims, by impersonating celebrities like 11 musk frosts, those have long tried capitalizing on the name of the u. s. entropy under more on that later. but just recently, a defect of even mosque was streamed over several hours on youtube drawing tens of thousands of you.