Audio By Carbonatix
Controversial relationship analyst George Lutterodt has suggested victims of romance fraud, deserve no sympathy.
The unconventional counsellor said the motivating factor for anyone to part with huge sums of money cannot be love. In his experience, it is often greed.
The discussion on Ghana Connect follows a coordinated simultaneous raid in Ghana and in the UK which led to the arrest of three Ghanaians part of a syndicate.
Their crime allegedly was that they sweet talked their way into the hearts of their vulnerable female victims.
After winning their trust, they exploited that relationship to take money from their and steal their online personal information for further cash withdrawals and unauthorized internet purchases.
Listen to Counsellor Lutterodt
But what will make a woman fall for a man she just met on the internet and vice versa? And what really is the crime in exploiting a woman’s trust, love and emotion for cash.
Counselor Lutterodt believes if you can part with huge monies on the basis of meeting a person on the internet whose identity cannot be verified, then "you are not normal".
He said he has a case of a Ghanaian woman who took a ¢98,000 loan to help a foreigner clear his car in the hope of marriage and green pastures.
"It is greed not love so when they say it is romance, I don't know where the romance is coming from. People are looking for what is not there and they are hiding in the name of love to disgrace themselves.
"So when you hear somebody is defrauded, legally it is wrong, but socially it is right," he said.
In some of the reactions to the discussions on social media, a woman who works with the NHS in the UK testified to encountering a victim of romance fraud.
She explained that a patient on the verge of a mental breakdown after parting with £15,000 of her life-savings after falling in love with a Ghanaian man.
Listen to the full discussion
Latest Stories
-
Trade Minister applauds GUTA as a pillar of economic growth; Prez Mahama honoured
52 minutes -
President’s brother’s takeover of Damang Mines is ‘untidy’ – Alhassan Tampuli
58 minutes -
It’s not true that gov’t decided not to renew the lease for Gold Fields – Bobby Banson
1 hour -
Ghana to boost tomato production with 60-hectare irrigated farms and processing initiatives
1 hour -
E&P’s takeover process of Damang Mines was very clean – Inusah Fuseini
1 hour -
Damang takeover: There is not going to be any job loss; it is a lease change – Bobby Banson
2 hours -
Gold Fields didn’t stop mining at Damang mines; such claims are untrue – Bobby Banson
2 hours -
Engineers and Planners currently operate only in Ghana – Bright Simons
2 hours -
Lands Minister has no legal basis to restrict lease to Ghanaian firms – Bright Simons
2 hours -
Gov’t’s refusal to renew Gold Fields’ lease was simply untenable – Bright Simons
2 hours -
SOS Children’s Villages Ghana deepens partnership with Gender Ministry
3 hours -
Gender Ministry celebrates Christina Koch, reaffirms commitment to empowering girls
3 hours -
Live stream: Newsfile digs into E&P’s takeover of Damang Mines, OSP powers and Anti-LGBTQ Bill
3 hours -
Moody’s maintains Ghana’s rating at Caa1, revises outlook to positive
4 hours -
Zambia elevates tourism education to national priority as President Hichilema backs continental summit
4 hours