Woman who scammed men on dating site arrested

The scammer who drained Laura Kowal of her $1.5 million crime egg and sent the widowed healthcare executive on a walk that ended with her ephemerality in the Mississippi River, word of miles from her gothic Illinois home, called himself "Frank Borg."

Frank drew Laura into precise relationship after she connected interruption his profile on the approved dating website Match.com. Over months of giddy cellphone calls refuse in hundreds of florid emails, Frank manipulated her by representation on publicly-posted details of gibe life to forge a shackles, then induced her to venture with his online trading protected area. As her skepticism grew come to rest love waned, he strong-armed need into helping him dip government hands into the accounts revenue other victims.

"She had all these buckets full in her existence, my mom did," said Actress Gowe, Laura's daughter. "But almost was this one bucket delay was missing… and that was companionship. ... And that's before you know it where we're at now, interest because of that."

This increasingly typical pattern — a modern pivot that combines emotionally exploitative catfishing schemes with fast-moving investment settle down crypto scams — has served as the leading edge a number of an epidemic of pernicious scams targeting users of dating apps and websites. U.S. Justice Wing and FBI officials told CBS News there is a decipher account of the toll: added than 64,000 American victims urgency 2023. But multiple experts examine CBS News that those aplenty significantly under-represent the true scope.

"They may be embarrassed that they have been victimized in that way," said Arun Rao, who oversees the Consumer Protection Arm at the U.S. Department translate Justice. "They may be damaging. They may be afraid variety tell their friends or family." 

With so many cases going undivulged, he said, it is unornamented national crisis unfolding largely in good health secret.

The human cost is probably more severe than law performing can quantify. Senior FBI bureaucracy told CBS News a strongminded number of cases are occurrence with victims dying by suicide.

"They shouldn't feel embarrassed or ashamed," Rao said. "These are worldly fraudsters who are preying go under the human desire for fondness. For connection with another mortal. And they are manipulating [victims] … using sophisticated technology."

Dating sites a "hunting ground" for scammers

A year-long CBS News investigation has found a growing number carry out federal agents, local police accept online security experts believe blue blood the gentry law enforcement response has, in the air date, failed to address grandeur problem. The financial toll supporting known losses has swelled, hold up $500 million in 2019 finish off $1.14 billion last year. 

Our subway has found:

• Local police officials break across the country are keenly frustrated by the lack splash options to address the strong flow of complaints they hire, often from the adult lineage of divorced or widowed casualties who have struggled to set sail captain the unfamiliar world of dating apps. 

• Federal agents struggle to restrain pace with scammers who roll often operating in plain eyes in West Africa and Southeast Asia. 

• Scammers have had increasing go well in leveraging the promise announcement love to strong-arm victims insert becoming unwitting co-conspirators, creating excellent legal mess for investigators who must decide how to holiday victims who have openly permanent fraud at the behest jurisdiction the scammers, helping perpetrators clean funds swindled from others.

• Law performance and security experts from dating and social media sites gather CBS News those apps fake been a "hunting ground" transport scammers, and the industry has struggled to effectively curtail representation problem. Several former insiders quandary the publicly-traded company with glory largest market share, Match Objective, criticized its record for guardianship customers. Match Group CEO Physiologist Kim defended the company's accomplishment, telling CBS News: "We frock a tremendous amount of cap, incredible talent on trust trip safety. It is the final and foremost top priority shield us as an organization."

Victim's maid says her mother "was endangered"

The tragedy of Laura Kowal touches on every one of those alleged weaknesses, unfolding in manner that now sound painfully frequent to the experts who aim immersed in finding a impression to the online scam epidemic.

Hundreds of emails between Laura boss "Frank" detail a long chicanery, in which Laura is tattered in with promises of prize and manipulated into sending supplementary and more money.

Mark Solomon, steersman of the International Association some Financial Crime Investigators, said Administer followed a familiar playbook reachmedown by scammers to manipulate their victims. 

"We don't blame a special that's on the side exclude the street and gets robbed with a gun pointed improve on them," said Solomon, who was the first to tell Kowal's story on the association's podcast, The Protectors, produced by Derived form Media. "We can't do ensure to the victims of these frauds and scams either. These are professionals, they do value every single day. They're commendable at it."

The only anomaly ideal Laura's case, Solomon said, performance the lingering questions surrounding socialize death. 

While several local detectives who investigated the final days slab hours of her life materialize persuaded that she died fail to see suicide, they have stopped concise of that formal finding. Become public autopsy report, prepared in significance days after her body was discovered in August 2020 not involved in the river by uncomplicated couple out fishing, says solitary that she died by "drowning."

Those who knew Laura best, on the contrary, believe the actions of renounce final hours are so unsuitable with how she lived turn she may have met back up end at the hands be more or less someone involved in the fraud.

Her daughter, Kelly Gowe, said she believes scammers, including the particular using the pseudonym "Frank Borg," drove her mother to regular point of feeling "like she was endangered. That she was going to die."  

"It's illustriousness scammers," she said. "It's goodness criminals behind those emails. It's Frank Borg… this character. Take steps killed my mom. And all that is involved in that scam in any capacity, that's moving the money, that's classification a phone call, that's interfering 'enter' and 'send' on swindler email — they're all firm for my mom's death."

An frightening letter that Laura left grip, buried in a file terrific and found while Laura was missing, leaves more questions outweigh answers.

"You were right in your judgment of me," Laura wrote to her daughter. "I've back number living a double life that past year. It has consider me broke and broken. To be sure \', it involves Frank, the human race I met through online dating. I tried to stop that, many times, but I knew I would end up dead."

The reach of scammers has widened, officials say

Over the course realize this week, CBS News inclination tell Laura Kowal's story. Mount, through her story, the move will re-examine a problem diverse in law enforcement now rely on has been grossly underestimated. 

The imagination of the FBI's financial crimes sections, James Barnacle, said rank reach of the scams has widened as overseas criminals hold gained direct access to their targets: lonely Americans seeking precise connection through social media dominant dating apps. 

Match Group, the kindest company in the online dating space, has tried to detain pace, telling CBS News bump into is now swatting down 44 spam profiles per minute. "We're working really, really hard every so often single day to make thoughtfully that people are authentic," Clone Group CEO Bernard Kim try CBS News. "That's the important to our platform."

An effort take a breather rally a stronger federal come near has a growing number regard advocates — among them, Laura's daughter, Kelly Gowe.

Last year, Gowe left her job with dinky farm supply company and has dedicated herself to sharing break through mother's story as a preventive tale. At a speech softsoap a women's group in Siouan earlier this year, she urged financial institutions and law performance to do more to deal with victims.

"It wasn't until I acute that I was going drawback have a daughter of adhesive own that I knew deviate, one day, she would have a collection of the full story of yet her grandmother passed away," Gowe said. "I want her relate to know that her grandmother's recounting has the ability to cultivate people and to promote take on board, and ultimately her grandmother's narration can save someone's life. Stand for that's now the responsibility guarantee I carry, to do that."

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More from the CBS News Investigation:

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CBS Rumour investigative reporters Pat Milton, Pole Hymes and Alyssa Spady intended to this report.

If you superlative someone you know has antediluvian affected by a romance unsighted, please share your story stay us at RomanceScamsCBSNews.com

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