Scammer cracks during trial for conning people looking for love
WestAfrica3.5million scheme federalunraveling/threeUSresidentsconvicted. No ownexplicitmuletransfer/death/sentence factsborrowed fromIllinoisarticle.
Reported caseData from The GDELT Project · Reviewed and interpreted by RSRC
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Find reporting by topic, place or language. Open a record to see why it was included and what the available evidence supports.
The chart uses every search filter above and all matching records, across every results page. The percentage denominator is all included URLs in the same dates, before theme, language, country or text filters.
Distinct included URLs matching these filters in each observation month. Select a point to explore its records. On small screens, scroll the chart horizontally.
A URL counts once per month and can appear in several months or themes. Themes describe the current record assessment; months show URL observations, not when events or each claim first appeared. Warnings, allegations and reported experiences are all included when coded. Partial months, collection gaps and changes in sources affect both measures. A higher share does not establish a higher risk to victims.
| Observation month | Matching URLs | All included URLs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 591 | 591 | 100.0% |
| Feb 2025 | 1,629 | 1,629 | 100.0% |
| Mar 2025 | 561 | 561 | 100.0% |
| Apr 2025 | 390 | 390 | 100.0% |
| May 2025 | 398 | 398 | 100.0% |
| Jun 2025 | 209 | 209 | 100.0% |
| Jul 2025 | 522 | 522 | 100.0% |
| Aug 2025 | 447 | 447 | 100.0% |
| Sep 2025 | 613 | 613 | 100.0% |
| Oct 2025 | 483 | 483 | 100.0% |
| Nov 2025 | 392 | 392 | 100.0% |
| Dec 2025 | 333 | 333 | 100.0% |
| Jan 2026 | 530 | 530 | 100.0% |
| Feb 2026 | 1,106 | 1,106 | 100.0% |
| Mar 2026 | 360 | 360 | 100.0% |
| Apr 2026 | 491 | 491 | 100.0% |
| May 2026 | 785 | 785 | 100.0% |
| Jun 2026 | 842 | 842 | 100.0% |
| Jul 2026 | 1,143 | 1,143 | 100.0% |
| Aug 2026 | 640 | 640 | 100.0% |
| Sep 2026 | 638 | 638 | 100.0% |
| Oct 2026 | 30 | 30 | 100.0% |
Each record represents a source web page, not a verified incident. Different URLs can describe the same event. About these records.
WestAfrica3.5million scheme federalunraveling/threeUSresidentsconvicted. No ownexplicitmuletransfer/death/sentence factsborrowed fromIllinoisarticle.
Reported caseAnne falseBradlife-savings andEFCC stepsin followingpetition title. Owninvestigation bridge notcharge/guilt, Nigeriansallegations notverifiedlocale.
Reported caseFalseBradAI Romance headline plus genericnewsboilerplate; no specifictarget amount/persona/clinical fact fromothercopies.
Reported caseFrench53 falseBradAI lifesavings report, no clinicalharm or Nigerianlocation fromtruncated ownparagraph.
Reported caseClarkCountyLibrary Chase/LasVegasMetro freeeducation announced, notheld/attendance/effectiveness. Plannedservice stagepreserved.
Prevention & supportMalayalamHomeMinistry warns dating-appseduction/theft. Prospectivewarningsnotactualnewpaidcase orpassedlegislation.
Prevention & supportArabicFrenchfalseBradNigeriasuspicion/reputationfeature; countrycharacterisationnotverifiedoperationlocation/networkcount.
Reported caseSixsignsguide onearlymoneyrequest/socialchannels/report/block. Prospectivewarning notactualpolicereport orfinancialloss, nofabricatedpersona detailed.
Prevention & support72Germanwoman contactrepeatedly sinceNovember2024. No ownamount/falsemusician orlocation fromfullerSalzburgcopy; repeatedapproachsourceexplicit.
Reported caseWu76 accusedcourier arrested claimsprior warzone-romancemoneyloss leadingtooffending. Participantclaimingvictimization distinct from proveninnocence, coercion orconviction. Current source-specific layer: All24 codes assessed. Wu76's reported790000 personal Romance loss differs from five cash collections totaling4000000 facilitation funds. Preserve her contested participant/victim roles rather than presuming coercion or legal innocence. Douyin warzoneUkraine persona is impersonation, not operator nationality/location. Separate48 female Facebook/LINE parcel/customs120000 payment and770000 further demand lack their own romantic bridge and are not all Romance losses or Wu's funds. Police trap, arrest/referral not conviction, actual repayment, family/housing/clinical harm, extortion, formal forged ID or verified network. Poverty alone is not post-scam harm; financial-disruption application remains explicitly her attributed claim. Bare last-year-Nov/yearlessJan15/17 not normalized from observation dates.
Reported caseSalzburg LoveScam headline/boilerplate, noage79000musician borrowedfromfullerfamilymembers.
Reported caseFrenchannualthousandbrouteursvictim estimate andsourcepsychologicalsuffering; title self-blamequotedsource not researchendorsement, denominatorunknown.
Reported caseNordsachsenLoveScam andnude-imageblackmail combinedreport. Sextortion keptmixedscheme/sourceassociation, notallRomancevictims sexualabuse.
Prevention & supportAnne falseBrad virtualrelationship ownparagraph; amount/actualloss notin ownexcerpt, no borrowedfinancialtotal.
Reported caseUnmatchPH2025 CICC/privatepartners launched awareness. Proposed effect not demonstrable uptake/benefit.
Prevention & supportTaketa30male180万円 Romancepolice announcement; notexplicitinvestigation orcopiedfullmethod.
Reported caseFalseBradAIfeature63kInstagramsexualextortionaccounts removed2024 isseparateissue fromRomance. NoallsextortioncodeforFrenchvictim orfinanciallossfromallaccounts.
Reported caseUtsunomiya61malephysician8259.38万円cryptotransfer suspectedRomance explicitinvestigation; cryptoassetnotinvestmentpromise withoutownbridge.
Reported caseNagasaki2024 provisional168mixedSNSinvestment/Romance11.08億; not uniqueRomance-onlylosses ordetailedmechanisms.
Research & trendsFalseBrad865000 impersonationcase/prevention. No ownexplicitAIformat fromAIguideheadingorclinicalcause.
Reported caseSalzburg72Germanresident79000falsemusician repeatedchannels sinceNovember2024 complaint. ATresidencenotDEvictimcountry; sourcecontactsnotcountcases.
Reported caseFrench53 all-savings falseBradAI, seekingNigeria suspects not independently verifiedlocation or completedinvestigation.
Reported caseIzumo60maleHanada datingapp/LINEjointfuture example; clippedinternet phrase notcompletedinvestmentword/actualfinancialloss.
Prevention & supportFlorence/Isabelle/Nathalie reportedshame,guilt andeffects onfuturelovelives afteronlineRomancefraud. Emotionalrecoverymonthsnotclinicaldiagnosis/selfharm orfinancialsum.
Reported caseFalseBrad Frenchvictim Nigeria oriented sourceenquete/personalleadnotnamedauthoritycompletedinvestigation. AI claimformatunknown.
Reported case