Canadian arrested over $340,000 Facebook romance scam

Beware of romance scammers looking for more than love. Yonhap

By Jung Hae-myoung, Jung Min-ho

A Canadian man has been arrested after allegedly bilking a Korean woman out of more than 380 million won ($340,000) in a romance scam.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Monday, the man, 50, was arrested on charges of swindling 387 million won from the married woman in her 40s, who thought he was in love with her.

When they started talking to each other on Facebook in January, the man introduced himself as a U.S. soldier named “Bright” set to retire soon. After building trust, he asked her to send him some money, saying he needed to cover legal expenses to receive his pension of $3 million.

Between Jan. 18 and March 29, she sent him money 12 times.

She later told her husband what had happened and police arrested the man while he was visiting Korea as a “friend of Bright” to swindle more money from the woman.

A romance scam is a confidence trick involving feigned romantic intentions toward a victim, gaining their affection and then using that goodwill to commit fraud. Scammers usually target older women who are emotionally vulnerable.

The crime has become a social problem here, with an increasing number of victims. Scammers use social media such as Facebook and Tinder to search for targets.

In another case, a man surnamed Oh, 38, bilked three women out of more than 11 million won while pretending to be a doctor.

Oh, who has not had a college education, posted photos of himself wearing a doctor's uniform on social media to deceive the women.