– I always had control over my finances and have always had a good job, so I think this can happen to a lot of people, says Cecilie Fjellhøy. The story of the Tinder scammer, a man who defrauded women of several millions, has become world famous through VG and a separate Netflix documentary. But the nightmare is still not over for those who were defrauded. Cecilie Fjellhøy was one of these women. Cecilie Fjellhøy became world famous after telling her fraud story to VG and Netflix. Photo: Stig Jaarvik / news It is four years since she was defrauded. Today, she has a debt of over NOK 3 million that grows every day. She believes there is a lack of legislation that protects fraud victims well enough. – I think a lot of people can become disabled like that and I don’t think it should be that difficult to take their life back again, says Fjellhøy. 8 out of 12 of the country’s police districts are experiencing an increase in the number of fraud cases, according to news’s overview from March this year. Luxury trap Fjellhøy has been subpoenaed by four banks and has gone through two court cases where she was sentenced to repay the loan – with interest. – The banks must take more responsibility. They take fraud victims, like me, to court. And then they win cases, because there are no laws to protect us.’ Recently, she received help from the Luxury Trap. Now she also gets approval from SV, which calls it a disclaimer. Cecilie Fjellhøy met the fraudster through the dating app Tinder. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – Today, the banks go after the victims, and not after the fraudsters who carry out the criminal acts, says Kari Elisabeth Kaski, who is fiscal policy spokesperson at SV. The Minister of Justice must get involved, Kaski believes. – The police must prioritize and gain increased knowledge about these cases going forward, she says. Believes Norway is lagging behind Next year a new Financial Agreements Act will come into force which will ensure better protection for consumers in case of misuse of Bank-ID. An important point in the new law is that the banks are given greater responsibility in cases where consumers are victims of identity theft fraud. But despite the new law, Kaski does not believe it will automatically help fraud victims. – It is already illegal to cheat today. Nevertheless, well-known, named fraudsters with known residences get away. Kari Elisabeth Kaski from SV believes that fraud should be prioritized better by the police. Photo: Stig Jaarvik / news Will not help victims of love scams Marte Eidsand Kjørven is a professor and expert in consumer law at the University of Oslo. She does not believe that the new agreement will help those who are victims of love scams. – The new rules only apply when others have taken out a loan in your name, but in the case of love fraud the victim has often taken out a loan or transferred money in his own name, she explains. In other words, the law will not help future victims in the same situation as Fjellhøy. Finanstilsynet estimates that Norwegians were defrauded of over NOK 240 million last year. In addition, the hidden figures are probably large, as many cases of love fraud are neither reported nor notified to the bank. Fraud victims have to cover losses even Fjellhøy believes that it was a simpler process in the UK, where she lived while she was defrauded and still lives today. Professor of private law, Marte Kjørven, believes that Norway lags behind compared to many other countries when it comes to the protection of fraud victims. Photo: Willy Hage – They set up a scheme for you to get on in life, not as a punishment. The penalty is that you have to pay back the amount of the fraud. Marte Kjørven believes the difference can be explained by the fact that Norway has long lagged behind when it comes to fraud prevention. – We have had legal practice that has been very strict towards fraud victims in general. They have had to cover most of the loss themselves. Storting report under construction In a written response, the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness points out that fraud is a major societal problem. – The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness has specified that the work to combat economic crime must be prioritized in the time to come, writes State Secretary Hans-Petter Aasen from the ministry. He clarifies that they have initiated work with a report to the Storting on economic crime in particular. – It is important that both banks and public agencies use the tools they have to prevent this type of crime. Also stops love scams Finans Norge believes that much has improved since the debt register was put in place. This makes it easier for the banks to get an overview of how much loan a possible borrower has from before. – Many fraud attempts are already being stopped. Love scams are also largely stopped by the banks, says director of information Tom Staavi at Finans Norge. He believes that the legislation is already solid, but that the banks also do a lot themselves. – We do what we can to prevent people from being exposed to emotional manipulation, Staavi continues.
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Became a victim of a love scam – still little help to be had – news Culture and entertainment
