Love scam: She lost everything to a young African she met through the online game “Fortnite”

A woman from Montreal’s North Shore lost everything at the hands of a young African who professed his love for her. The forty-year-old kept all the evidence of this love affair that led her to “hell».

• Also Read: Love fraud: A scammer with multiple false identities was convicted of defrauding single romantics out of more than $230,000.

Nadia Larive did not have a luxurious lifestyle when she met Osman Mbaye on an online platform. Fortnite. She lived in a small apartment on Montreal’s North Shore and worked two jobs.

“It happened without me realizing it. We were in communication 24 hours a day,” she told the show eye Airs tonight, 8 pm on TVA.

Nadia was diagnosed with depression when she met a 32-year-old Senegalese online.

“He was an angel to me. To me he was very kind, very attentive, and he told me: ‘I’m coming to study in Quebec in April,'” he added, talking about the 14-year-old.

He borrows from his mother

The woman then sacrifices herself body and soul in this long-distance relationship, so that she can truly consider the young man as her “spouse”. It was at this moment that he began to exert real mental control over her by constantly demanding money from her.

“I gave you everything I had left in my account. I borrowed again from my mother…I just want to be buried, I’m a shit,” read one anguished text message she sent him.

“I wanted to die”

Nadia Larive transferred about $4,000 to a young man in Dakar.

“I wanted to die there, I couldn’t handle the situation anymore. I can’t see how I’m going to get out of it now.

His testimony^me Larivée will be broadcast on Friday evening, along with the victims of two other Quebec love scandals.

Found in Senegal

Our investigative office went to Dakar, Senegal and met with Ousmane Mbaye in Yoffe, one of the communes in the city of 1.5 million inhabitants.

“I didn’t know he would put her in such a position!” The thirty-year-old defended himself. “As my situation develops, that will be my priority,” he promised us.

At the time of writing, Ousmane Mbe still had not compensated Nadia Larive.

According to many Western governments, West Africa is known to host many scammers who specialize in romance fraud.

Victims are educated but vulnerable

In 2023, Canadians lost $50M to the masters of romance scams, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Who are their victims? Until now it was difficult to know, but a pair of researchers from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières provided answers after conducting the first study on the subject in the country.

After looking at the cases of 17 people who lost large sums of money, researchers draw conclusions that help dispel some of the myths about victims of this type of online fraud.

In general, sufferers…

• Good knowledge of digital tools;
• Good level of education;
• Good capacity for introspection;
• a certain level of emotional vulnerability after a breakup or bereavement;
• Financial loss of $1,000 to $300,000 per person.