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Some Internet users, less familiar with social networks or more fragile, can easily fall into the trap of online scammers.
DIGITAL – Online scams continue to multiply. With new technological tools such as artificial intelligence, they are becoming more and more sophisticated. Like Anne, the woman who thought she was chatting with Brad Pitt, many users less familiar with digital technology than their juniors are being fooled. But often, their children or loved ones are there to alert them.
This is the case of Thomas*, who rescued his aunt from the clutches of a scammer on Facebook. The 30-year-old young man regularly communicates with his 80-year-old relative, a Facebook and TikTok user. When one day, she tells him that she has “ met someone through messenger “. What first alerts him is that this person came to talk to him for no apparent reason.
« She had already maintained epistolary links with people via Messenger, but met on groups of common interest. But there, she tells me that he came to talk to her “by chance” “, he remembers. While talking with his aunt, he realizes that she is talking to him about this man, with whom she has been talking for three weeks, as if he were a “ real person ».
« She tells me that he lives in Paris and that she is happy because he has the same tastes as her, that he really likes decoration, works in construction… She gives me his entire CV », explains Thomas. As he has doubts, he asks his aunt to send him his name. “ I see the profile of someone who has 28 friends, only women my aunt's agehe describes. And when I look at his photo, it's that of a 50 year old man, while my aunt is 80. »
“The photo is of a well-known Italian actor”
By doing a reverse search of his photo on Google, his suspicion is confirmed: “ I realize that it is that of an Italian actor, who does not live in Paris at all but in Milan, who is well-known,” he remembers. He then came across several articles explaining that his photo had already been used on numerous occasions to create fake profiles. He takes screenshots and sends them to his aunt.
Sonia*'s father was also contacted by a stranger, but on LinkedIn, a professional network. Retired for several years, he is almost 75 years old. But he always seeks to be useful and socially active, when a man contacts him to make him a tailor-made employment offer.
« He was the LinkedIn equivalent of the Saudi princesummarizes Sonia. He introduced himself as a Gulf businessman and praised his CV and his professional background, while explaining that he was looking for someone exactly like him. » Sonia's father, whose area of expertise is quite specific, is flattered.
-He spoke about it one day to his three children, who were immediately suspicious of this perfect recruiter who had fallen from the sky. For Sonia, it is a “ evidence » that they are facing a scam. “ There was the fact that they had absolutely no connection in real life. And too much enthusiasm in the proposal, like “It has to be you”she lists. I know my father's intellectual abilities, but on LinkedIn, he's a “random”. He doesn't have 300,000 subscribers. He has been retired for several years. »
“Discovering that you are being hit on by a bot”
When she explains to her father that it is definitely a fake profile, she feels ” a real sadness, a real disappointment » at his parents' house. “ And I understand. It's like finding out you're being hit on by a bot », she concludes, still a little reassured that her parents had verbalized this story before launching into a conversation with this stranger.
On Thomas's side, upon receiving the evidence of the fraud, his aunt feels ” completely betrayed “. She collapses, cries, is really very sad. The relationship seemed to him “ real »: the man she had been chatting with for three weeks even sent her videos of his daily life. “ He was interested in her and he is someone who has major psychological problems. He took advantage of itregrets Thomas. She spoke to him a lot about the death of her son, about her life, about intimate things. But at this point, he had never asked her for money before. »
However, this was indeed his objective, as the end of the story shows. “ AftereShe wanted to write to this person to tell him that she had understood everything, that she had done research and that he was not being honesthe says. And then the person called her on the phone for the first time to apologize. “It's about a young man, living in a North African country, who does this.” to earn a living “. She accepts his apology and blocks him.
« I deduced that he was a beginner, because three weeks without asking for a credit card code is a lot of work! », jokes Thomas. Since then, he has taught his aunt to spot the signs that should alert him on social networks and how to check the origin of a photo. But she remains traumatized and no longer even wants to make a purchase on the Internet. “ She read articles, she realized that she was not alone, which reassured her a little », concludes Thomas. She should therefore not be fooled by a fake Brad Pitt or some other Italian actor.
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