Canadian Suzane Thayer, 64, was jailed in Hong Kong for being a drug mule all as a result of precariously communicating with a catphisher she "met on Facebook"
A few months ago, I read a brief review of a book entitled "I've Been Conned. A Book For Dummies" by Suzane Thayer, a widow from Barrie, Ontario. She wrote of her ordeal in jail as an unsuspecting drug dummy and her love story with online scammers.
For nine harrowing months, she languished in jail, accused of bringing in "cocaine in buttons" from Ethiopia. But why was she in that African country, in the first place?
Viral Was The Way To Go
Just last week, two Filipinos were beheaded in China for drug cases. This indicates how the Chinese Government is uncompassionate and unforgiving when it comes to drugs.
Already frantic, Suzane's daughter Angela sought the help of advocates in Asia and in Canada.
Time was of the essence. She was aware of what awaited her mother if she does nothing to let the truth come out.
Angela flew to HK to visit Suzanne and meet with Catholic priest, Fr. John Weatherspoon, an advocate for women used as drug mule.
Unfortunately, 15 was all she had to see and talk to her mother in the HK prison. She appointed for a second visit. However, Angela was told there was a Covid infestation and that the prison was closed to outsiders for a number of days.
Angela let the cat out of the bag. She relayed her mother's most embarrassing and mortifying "love story" that brought her to jail.
They listened. In fact, this was serialized by investigative journalist Avery Haines on Canada TV's W5 program. The story was retold over and over again on YouTube and on social media platforms until it went viral with millions of views. It enticed interest from other groups, online appeals and reactions. Canadian lawyer Michael Arthur and Canada authorities helped until the very end.
After 270 days in prison where she was known as "Prisoner 14000", Suzane's cases were dropped. No reasons were given.
Reverse Image Search
Before the James experience, Suzane met a certain Walter Williams, 63, an alleged US military doctor, from the same FB site.
Walter, her blarney, sweet-talking first online BF, referred to as "the good doctor" in the book, successfully scammed Suzane of a total of Cdn$205,000!!!
The distraught Angela soon discovered that her mother's savings and pension coffers had ran dry. Suzane even started borrowing money from children and friends just so she could send dollars to Walter. At this point, Angela sought the help of tech-savvy friends to look into this person.
They did a reverse image search using the photos posted by Walter. True enough the group confirmed the pictures were of another person's!!! Walter Williams was a professional catphisher. (There is a Google app that allows checking of true identity of people through photos.)
A Second Online BF?
All along, Angela thought her mom had learned a lesson from the Walter experience.
Little that she know that Suzane had fallen into the same online quagmire and got herself a second online BF? Angela wondered if her mom was too lonely to hanker for attention of strangers. Or, could Suzane be entranced and charmed through verbal incantations?
Anxious family and friends kept warning Suzane that "James" could also be "Walter" ... but to no avail.
Staying Safe Online
How many Suzanes are still out there?
In the Philippines, this online romance scam is prevalent. Fake online accounts are created to lure unsuspecting victims into a relationship or fraudulent scheme.
While many younger Filipinas dream of a good life and open themselves to get hitched by an AFAM, they resort to online dating sites. (AFAM is a slang for "A Foreigner Assigned in Manila".)
Indeed, there are legitimate dating sites.
FB is an ideal and unrestricted site for scammers. FB-registered phishers target lonely, vulnerable senior ladies!!! How can we prevent that?
We can only share admonitions on how to avoid social catphishing: Be prudent in connecting online with people not personally known to you; Check their social media profile before adding as friends; Be wary of profiles with just a few information (About), photos or posts; Watch out for "red flags" like unfamiliar topic or asking for money, and Use online tools like Reverse Phone Lookup or Search services to verify identity.
Please be circumspect. Think before you click!
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