Nowadays the Internet has become an important part of people’s life. We use it for different purposes: entertainment, shopping, work, communication, others. However, all advantages of the virtual space could be used in a negative manner. In the Internet, everyone can become a target for criminal minds or fall for different types of online scams. In this article, we would like to tell you a story of our client Anita, who became a victim of Internet fraud.
Internet scammers usually play with people’s feelings and their willingness to help. Anita has found herself in the same situation. The story has started innocently: Anita saw an advertisement asking for help. In the following advertisement, the owner of two cats was looking for someone who could adopt them, in view of the fact, he had to undergo surgery and nobody couldn’t take care of the cats.
With sympathy in her heart, Anita wanted to help in this sorrowful situation. She reacted to the advertisement and got an email from the owner. In the email, the owner said he did not want money for the cats. However, due to the fact that he lives in Poland, it was only needed to pay for cats’ transportation to the Czech Republic. The owner suggested using the services of a certain transport agency assuming that they are very professional and loyal. After the first payment to this agency, Anita has received a new request from a scammer, asking for more money for various things such as travel crates and pet insurance. This time Anita has become suspicious and began to ask questions to the owner. Unfortunately, she did not get the answers back. The owner stopped answering her emails…
What was Anita’s next step?
After discovering that she was scammed, Anita had decided to report the police about this criminal accident. For this purpose, she contacted our agency to help her with managing the procedure. Our consultants were glad to provide Anita with whole support and full service. The next day, we accompanied Anita to the police station to inform about all the details of the scam. Our Expat & Immigration Consultant Gabriel Hakulín helped to translate Anita’s story to the police, fill in a report form and answer questions about details of the scam. We hope that the police will work on the case and catch the felon very soon.
The Internet is mostly perceived as a safe space but it is always good to be aware of possible online frauds and to do a “reality check” in suspicious situations.
Last year, there were several frauds concerning Trade Licence Register, you can find out more information in the other post on our blog. Foreigners is always ready to help in different situations as we care about our clients and do our best to make them feel safe and satisfied with our services.
Photo source: Pexels
Eye opening incidence and article. It seems that scammers are always two steps ahead and mostly target sentimental people…