Woman loses nearly $1M in LinkedIn romance scam
A message from a stranger on LinkedIn probably would not set off alarms for most of us.Especially when that person appears connected to someone you already know.
That is how Gaby's story began.Gaby recently joined me on The CyberGuy Report podcast at cyberguy.com/podcast/ to explain how an online relationship that began in 2019 grew into a devastating romance scam.
Over roughly two years, she says she sent close to $1 million to a man she never met.The person Gaby thought she had fallen for was using the photos and likeness of a real man named Brian Haugen, who also joined us to explain what it has been like watching scammers use his photos to target women around the world.Gaby described how quickly the attention pulled her in.
"The words that he spoke, it was like a drug," she told me.The compliments kept coming, the relationship grew more intense and eventually the requests for money began.
Her experience is also part of Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam, the three-part Hulu docuseries about women who believed they were communicating with the same man.AI IS CHANGING MODERN DATING, BUT EXPERTS WARN IT'S MAKING PEOPLE 'RELATIONALLY STUPID'Scammers used photos of Brian Haugen, left, to build trust, fabricate emergencies and convince Gaby, right, to send nearly $1 million.(Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)What makes Gaby's story so revealing is how slowly the deception took hold.
The scammer built trust over time, returned some of the money she initially sent and always seemed to have another explanation when they could not meet.By the time the biggest requests arrived, the relationship already felt very real.NEW! Join our upcoming CyberGuy LIVE class: Get Better Healthcare With AIIn this free live online class, Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson will show you five practical ways AI can help you take a more active role in your healthcare.
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