Showing passport to reassure and build trust
Then extorting money with claims like "I was pickpocketed"
"Romance scam, report to Korean investigative agencies"
Recently in Mexico, as romance scam crimes deceiving women in Korea and stealing money have been occurring one after another, diplomatic authorities warned that the amount of damage has reached hundreds of millions of won and urged caution.
According to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Mexico on the 25th (local time), a woman in her 40s living in Gyeonggi-do recently got to know a man who said he was staying in Mexico through social media and exchanged messages with him.
Photo of a suspected fraudster's 'Mexican passport' sent to women in Korea [Photo by Embassy of Mexico]
The man, who introduced himself as a young male, sent the woman photos of his passport, driver's license, and company ID card to reassure her.
The ID photos the woman received showed a handsome Korean man with distinct facial features.
Then the man suddenly cut off contact after saying things like "I was pickpocketed in Mexico," "I was kicked out of the hotel because I had no money," and "I was unjustly imprisoned."
The startled woman asked the Mexican Embassy for help, but all the man's claims were false.
Moreover, it was reported that the woman had sent about 50 million won to the man under the pretext of hotel fees and other expenses.
Another woman in her 40s living in Busan also requested follow-up measures from the embassy, saying, "A Korean man born in 1991 whom I met through chatting was robbed in Mexico City," but this was also found to be untrue.
Additionally, in Gyeonggi-do, a report was received of a victim who transferred about 100 million won to a man who forged a Mexican passport, and the police are currently investigating.
Diplomatic authorities emphasized that these are typical romance scam crimes.
Romance scam is a compound word of "romance," meaning love, and "scam," meaning credit fraud, referring to a scam method where the perpetrator approaches victims as if looking for a lover on social media and then extorts money.
Baeyoung-gi, the police consul at the Korean Embassy in Mexico, said, "The suspects gained favor by claiming plausible jobs such as working in the fashion industry or foreign banks and then stole money," urging anyone aware of similar cases to immediately report to Korean investigative agencies.
He added, "Since victims may continue to send money believing the suspects even after being harmed, attention from family and friends is also necessary."
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