Nothing is real. Not when it comes to Béatrice Boistard.
She was gorgeous, she was mysterious and she had created an online audience of several hundred thousand followers. The thing is, she also stole the
identities of disabled or sick people to get it.
But she was just one fake account part of a much wider and complex network. One piece of the jigsaw puzzle. But for what purpose?
Jeff Yates of Radio-Canada investigated.
There are three levels of accounts:
- Feeder: The gateway. They don’t share sexy pics but share click-bait. And in their posts they tag fake profiles – the bait accounts.
- Baiter: Share links to fraudulent dating sites, videos to porno vids and to publish enticing photos and tag the deeper fake accounts – the hunters.
- Hunter: This is where the serious fraud happens. They create the perfect environment for sextortion to take
place. Fake accounts lure in users via private messages with the intention to get them live on webcam. They entice the user to get naked, or even do the dirty on video, then voilà – leverage.
The purpose: at the ‘bait’ level is a CPA marketing service aimed at converting visitors on fraudulent dating sites – claiming their credit card info. The real sextortion happens when the Hunter gets their prey. They threaten the user with video footage in exchange for a payday.
Who is behind this scam? Let’s call him “Mehdi.”
Read the full story in this beautifully portrayed online investigation. ?
|