
One of Canada's most prolific romance scammers - axiomdata316
https://www.chatelaine.com/living/romance-scammer-canada-marcel-andre-vautour/
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apozem
> “What people don’t understand is how the victims in these scams are
> manipulated and groomed. For the criminals, this is their job and they are
> extremely good at it,” says Roy Beauchamp. In most cases a fraudster will
> start with “love bombing,” either online or in person. The
> technique—flooding a person with affection and attention to fast-track
> intimacy and build dependence—is also used in cult recruitment strategies.
> Mirroring—reflecting a person’s experiences, likes and dislikes—is another
> effective tool for creating the illusion of having found one’s “other half.”

It is easy to scoff at other people’s mistakes, but ultimately, we’re all a
mess of biological impulses that want to be loved.

I like to think of myself as reasonably smart, but against someone like the
guy described in this article? Who’s had tons of practice conning others? It
would probably be like like going in the ring with a pro MMA fighter.

> A Federal Trade Commission survey from 2013 found that participants who had
> experienced trauma—a death, a divorce, a stressful career incident—in the
> previous 24 months were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to have
> experienced fraud than those who had not.

Astonishingly cruel.

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sjg007
I think the strategy is to avoid someone who doesn’t have a job locally that’s
verifiable and not give them money.

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finaliteration
The challenge is that even having a strategy fails when you’re in a vulnerable
place and someone comes along and says and does all of the “right” things.

Many people are deeply lonely and will do and believe anything someone says if
that someone is offering love and affection.

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DoreenMichele
This goes places that probably aren't going to be much appreciated on HN. This
is a hard problem to solve and it's complicated.

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voldacar
valuable and insightful comment

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brohee
Vautour meaning vulture in French, nice aptonym.

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axaxs
This is a really big spectrum, and I wonder what the true cost is. Due to my
position, I have a lot of firsthand knowledge from people who have either been
unknowingly or knowingly 'scammed'. That is, some guys knew the women just
wanted money in the end, but didn't mind because they loved having someone to
talk to. Many were married. Some even 'married' women and brought them to the
USA, under a relationship more akin to a caretaker than a wife. I guess both
sides benefit in some way, but in reality, it's still a scam, if not to anyone
but the US Government. And some truly just want money and disappear, which is
what the article references. This happened to my aunt, and she wrote off her
family for trying to stop her. Really sad.

I consider all three scams of some sort, and the real money involved would
balloon.

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mandeepj
You know what's interesting here? - The steps/trap or the playbook that these
scammers have mastered

