Shreya Datta, a 37-year-old Indian-American tech professional residing in Philadelphia, became a victim of a sophisticated online love scam.
She lost $450,000 (INR 3.73 crores) in a cryptocurrency investment scheme orchestrated by a scammer posing as a French wine trader named Ancel.
The scam unfolded over several months, with Ancel leveraging deepfake videos and emotionally charged conversations to manipulate Datta’s trust.
This fraudulent tactic, dubbed “pig butchering,” involves luring victims with false affection before exploiting them financially.
Datta’s ordeal began on the dating app Hinge, where she met Ancel, who quickly moved their interactions to WhatsApp, showering her with attention and promises of early retirement through lucrative cryptocurrency investments.
Despite numerous red flags, including postponed meetups and demands for additional investments, Datta’s trust remained intact until she attempted to withdraw her profits and encountered a suspicious request for a “tax.”
Upon discovering the scam, Datta experienced significant emotional distress, highlighting the psychological toll of such exploitation.
The prevalence of romance scams, coupled with the reluctance of victims to report due to shame, underscores the need for increased awareness and vigilance in combating online fraud.
In 2023 alone, dating scams accounted for over $3.5 billion in losses, reflecting the alarming scale of this issue.
As victims like Shreya struggle to recover both financially and emotionally, the impact of these scams extends far beyond monetary loss. Friends and family judging her as stupid for getting scammed for love also hurts the victims like Shreya Datta a lot.
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