Trick-y tryst

Two new scams that victimized midwives and gullible men have been exposed by police.

Kaitlyn Braun, 25, of Brantford, Ontario, Canada was arrested in March over complaints by midwives whom she had sought out for massages from June 2022 to February 2023. On 7 December last year, she pled guilty to charges of fraud, mischief and committing indecent acts. A Brantford court set her sentencing on Valentine’s Day.

According to court documents cited in a report by CBC News, Braun pretended to be pregnant with a stillborn child and hired 19 doulas during the eight-month period. Claiming that she was a victim of rape, the doulas did not charge her out of compassion.

Some of the victims told CBC News they quit their profession after they were severely traumatized and they lost valuable time and money over the fraud.

In India, police in the Nawada district of Bihar state arrested eight suspects behind the “All India Pregnant Job Service” Facebook page which victimized hundreds of men. Few victims, however, dared to file a formal complaint due to shame.

Two victims who requested not to be identified revealed the syndicate’s modus operandi to BBC News. They said the scammers recruited those who responded to their Facebook offer of an irresistible job.

Willing applicants paid sign-up fees and they were then told to pay for court documents, a safety deposit and taxes on their supposed advanced remuneration of 500,000 rupees deposited in a bank account. The contract, receipts and legal papers turned out to be fake.

The scammers lured many men for the job of getting a childless woman pregnant for a fee plus a reward of 800,000 rupees if she conceived, reports said.

The cyber conmen, who talked to the victims via WhatsApp and social media, showed pictures of beautiful women and asked them to pick one whom the syndicate said it will book in a nearby hotel for them to meet and have sex with.

“The scammers lured them with a promise of free money and free sex, which is a deadly combination. In situations like this, prudence often takes a back seat,” said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, according to BBC News.

Bihar police are hunting for the alleged mastermind, Munna Kumar, and the other suspects behind the sex service scam.