I-Team: Scammer Uses Sports Anchor’s Picture on Dating Internet Site

“I inquired, ‘What do you really need cash for? You work with the army, you need to be getting compensated,'» the lady recalled.

That is whenever she performed a search that is reverse of photo online

Things to Know

• A Massachusetts lady believed she had satisfied the right guy on an on-line dating internet site
• The person seemed to when you look at the armed forces, but he lifted her suspicion as he requested an amount of cash
• Once the girl performed a reverse search of this man’s photo online, she found it had been a image of a NBC ny activities anchor

Sandra Eckenreiter of Fairhaven, Massachusetts believed she had fulfilled the perfect guy.

“He says, ‘I’m performing great, but performing better now that you’re here, my love,’” she stated as she read one of his true texts.

She came across him on Match.com. It absolutely was her attempt that is first at internet dating.

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“My husband’s passed. We have four kids,” she explained. “I work, and I also work all of the time.”

The person informed her his title ended up being Sergeant Hill, a soldier stationed in Kabul, and he was believed by her. She was sent by him photographs occasionally. Him in uniform, holding an us banner; an image of him chilling when you look at the share.

She thought she had been dropping in deep love with a man that is military had the kindest and sweetest words for her. But he lifted her suspicion as he requested an amount of cash.

“I inquired, ‘What do you want cash for? You operate in the army, you ought to be getting compensated,'» she recalled.

It had been at that true point that Eckenreiter requested by by by herself, » just What are We performing?”

Eckenreiter did a reverse search of sergeant Hill’s image on line.

“What starts appearing is he’s a news correspondent, he’s a previous playing tennis player,” Eckenreiter recalled. “I stated, ‘Oh my, this person is here in ny.’”

Eckenreiter contacted NBC ny as the picture of her sergeant had been really NBC New York’s Harry Cicma, which states on recreations.

“I was thinking it absolutely was vital for [Cicma] to learn, since it performedn’t simply influence me personally. He was being affected by it also today,» she said.

Cicma had no basic idea his images had been used because of this.

“To believe on, that’s creepy,” Cicma said when the I-Team showed him his face on a military man’s body that they actually took my picture, spent probably hours in Photoshop, taking my head, putting it.

Cicma claims he has got never ever held it’s place in the army and it has never ever also used an uniform that is soldier’s an outfit. He additionally doesn’t know Eckenreiter.

“To realize she’s struggling, and therefore some body had been making use of my photo. to falsely make her feel better after which these people were looking to get cash, it made me feel definitely awful,” Cicma stated.

The I-Team offered the photoshopped pictures of Cicma to an online site called Socialcatfish.com to see just what they might check out Cicma.

“We had eight pages on various internet dating sites with Harry’s photos and phony brands,” said co-founder Moe Meyers.

That’s eight different pages that may potentially be employed to reel in other individuals. Meyers claims 95 per cent of artificial pages they discover are of army guys.

«I only believe everyone loves a person in consistent,» Meyers stated. «they simply believe, ‘This man isn’t going to con myself, they’re honest.'»

In hindsight, Eckenreiter claims there have been warning flag. No calls, no Facetime. Straight away, they began texting. Eckenreiter says it absolutely was their concept.

«‘I can’t speak to you while I’m for a objective,’ he will say,» she recalled.

Match.com claims Hill’s account had been “…blocked by the complement fraud team” one time following the account was made. The web site says they own a «dedicated staff and advanced technology that patrols for fraudulence.»

Eckenreiter reported this to Match.com, along with to her regional authorities division. But John Jay university cyber specialist Marie Helen Maras claims there’s one even more step.

“You should are accountable to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. That is an internet site that collects information regarding these kind of frauds along with other types of cybercrime,» she stated.

Cicma did this besides. After discovering his profile has been utilized in numerous locations, he hopes organizations can weed the fraudsters out.

«We simply have to find a method to end this and clean it up for everybody. www.farmersonly.com And there must be method to get it done,» he stated.

Cyber specialists state when there is something you really need to definitely never avoid send money to anybody you do not know.

Because when you do, your profile could possibly be identified by fraudsters as a «easy target» and start to become provided among other catfishing sites — causing you to be in danger of future frauds.