【雅思精读】网恋：爱情骗子创造的浪漫骗局

　　【BBC精读】网恋：爱情骗子创造的浪漫骗局，*注：本文选自11月2日BBC News，下面我们就一起来看看详细内容吧，更多美文阅读，请持续关注环球教育！

　　The 'romance scammers’ cashing in on lockdown loneliness

　　“爱情骗子”利用隔离期间的孤独捞钱

　　Lockdown isolation has been a boon for the con artists and catfishers targeting lonely Hong Kong women.

　　疫情隔离期间，骗子利用香港女性的孤独骗钱

　　1. When Yvonne left the bank in Hong Kong, she couldn't stop smiling. She was genuinely happy to be giving a helping hand to her British boyfriend. She hadn’t yet met him, but after a month of intense emailing and a few romantic calls, the boyfriend, who said he was the operation manager on a South American oil drill, had promised to fly over to meet Yvonne in person. However, before he did, he said he needed money for essential rig parts. She happilytransferred HK$40,000 (US$5,160, £3,900).

　　走出香港一家银行的时候，伊冯娜忍不住笑容满面。能帮到她的英国男友，伊冯娜真的很开心。他们还没有见面，但是过去的一个月里面，他们经常打电话，写邮件，他自称是南美一个室友钻探项目的业务经理，承诺要飞过来见她。但是，在来之前，他需要一些钱来购买钻机部件，伊冯娜爽快地给他转了4万港元(约合5160美元，3900英镑)。

　　2. But, soon after, the ‘boyfriend’ asked for another transfer. Yvonne, a 55-year-old hospitalityworker, who requested to withhold her surname for privacy, realised that her online date was nothing more than a con artist. “He told me that his daughter had an accident and needed to raise money for surgery. That’s way too dramatic, and I finally woke up!”

　　但是，没过多久，她的男朋友又叫她转钱。伊冯娜现年55岁，在一家酒店工作，为了保护自己的隐私，她要求匿名。男友再次叫他转钱之后，她终于意识到这个所谓的恋人不过是一个骗子。“他跟我说，他女儿出了事故，需要手术费，这太巧了，我终于意识到我被骗了！”

　　3. Yvonne is hardly alone in falling prey to online romance scams in Hong Kong. According to data from the Hong Kong police, 681 people in the territory were duped out of their savings between January and September this year. It’s more than a 50% jump from last year's figures.

　　在香港，伊冯娜并不是唯一一个走入网恋骗局的人。根据香港警方的数据，今年1月至9月期间，香港有681人被骗走存款。这一数字比去年增长了50%以上。

　　4. The catfishers usually provide a façade of an exotic romance, in which they pose as soldiers, merchants or professionals on social media. They study their victims’ personal information carefully, before using it to strike up a text conversation with them in English. After intense texting, “fraudsters and victims will develop into a closer relationship: cyber lovers,” says a Hong Kong police spokesperson. Victims are then asked to transfer money to overseas bank accounts for scammers’ business purposes, financial difficulties and even requests for customs clearance fees for romantic gifts. “Usually, the victims and the fraudsters have never seen each other.”

　　在社交媒体上，这些骗子伪装成为士兵，商人或者专业人士，给人一种浪漫异国恋的假象。他们会仔细研究受害者的个人信息，然后利用这些信息，给她们发英文消息。香港警方发言人说，在热烈的聊天之后，“这些骗子和受害者发展成为网络恋人。”这些骗子会以商业发展需求，经济困难甚至索要礼物的接口，要求受害者转钱到他们海外的账户中。“这些受害者和骗子都没见过面。”

　　5. The pandemic has increased this risk. With remote working becoming more common this year, many people have become lonelier and grown more desperate for connection. A November study showed “a dire situation with respect to mental health”, with more than 65% of respondents reporting clinical levels of depression, anxiety and stress.

　　疫情增加了女性被骗的风险。如今，远程办公越来越普遍，许多人也变得越来越孤独，越来越渴望联系。去年11月的一项研究显示，“精神健康方面的情况非常糟糕”，超过65%的受访者称自己抑郁、焦虑和压力巨大。

　　6. These changes have provided an unexpected boon for catfishers, according to Hong Kong-based dating and relationship coach Valentina Tudose. “For con artists, Covid-19 has been a great opportunity. They can say that they are stuck in quarantine or another city so they cannot meet in person. [The victims] can’t challenge them easily like before.”

　　香港的约会和恋爱教练Valentina Tudose表示，疫情期间的远程办公以及女性孤独给这些骗子创造了机会。“对于骗子来说，新冠疫情是一个大好机会。他们可以骗他们的网恋对象说由于疫情隔离，他们没法线下见面。受害者也不会对此产生怀疑。”

　　When women feel like they are looking for that missing piece, they become emotionally very vulnerable – Kitty

　　当女人觉得她们在寻找那块丢失的东西时，她们的情绪会变得非常脆弱——凯蒂

　　7. “My career was going great, but my love life is empty,” says Kitty, who requests anonymity due to her career. “Sometimes I feel imbalanced, old and vulnerable. When women feel like they are looking for that missing piece, they become emotionally very vulnerable, and tend to turn blind if people seem nice to them. Some are scared of loneliness.”

　　凯蒂说，“我职场得意，情场失意。”由于事业原因，她要求匿名。“有时候，我觉得很不安，我老了，脆弱了。当女人觉得自己需要寻找生命中缺失的某一部分的时候，她们在感情上是很脆弱的。别人对她的一点点好都会让她变得盲目。有的人很害怕孤独。”

　　8. That loneliness has been a pervasive theme of 2020. And it increasingly looks like many of the changes the pandemic has brought may endure, with many continuing to work from home, and fewer opportunities to travel and socialise. This could only increase the potential pool for romance scammers like those who preyed on Yvonne.

　　孤独是2020年的一大主题。人们继续远程工作，旅行和社交变少，疫情带来的许多变化可能会持续下去。这给了那些骗子欺骗像伊冯娜那样的女人的机会。

　　9. After being scammed and having several other encounters with online dates asking for money, Yvonne has lost confidence in online dating. She says she no longer believes any profiles, and has stopped online dating for good.

　　伊冯娜被骗了几回，她的几个网恋对象向她要过钱。如今，她已经对网恋失去了信心。他说，她再也不相信任何人的网络介绍，也再也不会再网恋了。

　　10. She advises women looking to date online to believe a man’s words only after they meet him in person. Kitty suggests a fundamental change in Hong Kong women’s dating mindset. “Don’t fall head over heels too soon. I learnt how to focus on myself much more after having so many difficulties in my love life. It’s better than looking for someone to complete me,” says Kitty. "I started using online dating to look for my ‘missing piece’, but there’s none. We are all already complete.”

　　她忠告那些想要网恋的女性，要在线下见面之后，才相信那些网恋对象。 基蒂说，香港女性的约会心态发生了根本性的变化。“不要太快神魂颠倒。在爱情中遭遇这么多挫折之后，我学会如何爱自己。这比找到自己缺失的另一半重要得多。我之前利用网络来寻找自己缺失的那一半，但是没找到。我们其实并没有缺失什么。”