Police in St. Thomas are looking for a pair of suspects after they say a woman was cheated out of nearly $30,000 in a romance scam.
They are looking for the public’s assistance in tracking down 26-year-old Katelyn Smith and 23-year-old Aizeyosabor Osazuwa, both are believed to be from the Mississauga or Bramtpon area.
In these incidents, police say scammers typically prey on emotionally vulnerable people on internet dating sites. They make several connections with different people and spend a majority of their time communicating online, usually showering their victims with attention and messages of affection.
Once a victim believes they are actually in a relationship, police say the scammer will then start asking for money, sometimes a lot of it, typically for some personal emergency.
Victims then get caught up in the urgency to free their loved one and agree to transfer their life savings or receive fraudulent cheques with requests to wire the funds somewhere. Once the money is sent, the relationship ends.
That is when the scammers break off contact: no more emails or messages, Facebook pages are deleted, and phone numbers are cancelled.
Police say the best weapon against these types of crimes is education.
In this particular case, the scam was not sophisticated and did not cross continents, which police say should make it easier to track down the suspects. In most cases with these scams, police say the suspects are based out of the country which makes it nearly impossible for authorities to track down suspects.
If you know the whereabouts of the two suspects, you’re being asked to call St. Thomas Police at 519-631-1224, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.