"I live in Mexico" … Romance scams targeting women in their 40s increase = Korea

There has been an increase in romance scams originating in Mexico that extort money from women in South Korea.

According to the embassy in Mexico on May 25th (local time), several women in their 40s living in South Korea were victims of romance scams originating from Mexico.

A woman in her 40s living in Gyeonggi-do became a target of crime after meeting someone who said she was staying in Mexico on social media and exchanging messages.

Ms A received photos of her own passport, driving licence and company employee ID card from a person introducing himself as a young man, who sent her a fake identity to reassure her. The passport and other identification had photographs of a beautiful Korean man.

Ms A, who thought the man she was dealing with was a handsome Mexican-Korean man, requested help from the Mexican Embassy when she lost contact with the man after he left word that he had been pickpocketed in Mexico, that he had no money and had been thrown out of a hotel and that he was in prison.

But all A knew was the fact that everything was a lie. It is said that Ms. A had already sent the equivalent of 50 million won to the man under the guise of hotel expenses.

Another woman in her 40s living in Busan, Ms. B, was also the victim of a similar crime. A Korean man who was born in 1991, whom Ms. B met via chat, said that she had been robbed in Mexico City and requested follow-up measures from the embassy, but this was also a romance scam.

The police recently launched an investigation after receiving a report that they sent 100 million won to a man who forged a Mexican passport in Gyeonggi Province.

Bae Yong-ki, police consul at the Embassy of Mexico in Mexico, said, "The suspects pretend to be in the fashion industry or foreign bankers to impress them and then rob them of money." They want you to report it to the Korean investigative agency. In particular, he added that it is necessary to get the attention of family and friends, as there is a high possibility that the suspect will continue to send money to the suspect even if he or she is victimized.