Fraudulent romance scam targets woman in Czech Republic

A woman from the Břeclav region fell victim to a sophisticated romance scam orchestrated by an individual posing as a foreign airline pilot on Facebook. The perpetrator gained her trust by claiming he intended to visit her in the Czech Republic and used elaborate tactics to appear legitimate, including involving a fake daughter in communications and presenting forged employment documents.

The scammer convinced the victim to pay various fees for travel, tickets, and purported work-related expenses. South Moravian police spokesperson David Chaloupka noted that the victim even filled out a fraudulent electronic leave request and received a fake confirmation of approval, which was conditioned on payment. In total, the woman lost 232,000 CZK. Police have warned the public to remain extremely cautious when individuals they have never met in person request money, noting that scammers are increasingly using professional-looking documents and emails to facilitate fraud.