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Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam is a three-part documentary series based on the true experiences of three women — Roxy, Annette and Gaby — who got caught up in a highly developed online romance scam.
The scammer employed stolen photos and a series of fake identities to trick these women into emotional relationships that eventually led to them losing large amounts of money.
Every woman's case is different, but they have one thing in common: they were targeted at a time of weakness in their lives and manipulated through a lie. The documentary not only delves into the financial impact on the victims as well as the emotional toll but also describes how they sought the truth and justice.
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The victims' backgrounds and how they were targeted
The three women in the series, as reported by Decider, are from various locations around the globe: Roxy from Connecticut, Annette from Ontario and Gaby from Frankfurt.
Each one of them was going through emotional difficulties when they were targeted. Roxy and Gaby had long marriages but felt lonely, while Annette was newly divorced and experiencing personal loss.
They were first contacted by the scammer via social media sites before the discussions moved to WhatsApp, where the interactions were more intimate and heated. The scammer utilized the same collection of stolen images — those of Brian Haugen, who's a Los Angeles makeup artist — to construct an authentic and appealing character.
As per the Decider, the scammer was systematic in his approach: he began with loose conversations, progressed rapidly to compliments and started messages with "Hey beautiful" most of the time. The scammer built trust and emotional closeness over time, leading the victims to feel unique and nurtured.
Financial and emotional impact
According to the Decider, as the relationships were established, the scammer started requesting cash, also under various emergencies, including supplies for an oil rig or even heart surgery.
As per reports, the women all sent money, the quantities widely different; one victim lost more than $30,000, while another revealed to have given her Social Security details to the scammer.
These were always made under compelling, realistic narratives intended to trigger sympathy and an immediate response. The monetary losses were huge, but the emotional toll was equally big. The victims spoke of their feelings of betrayal, frustration and disorientation when they learnt the truth.
According to reports, the scam not only drained their pockets but also left them questioning their judgment and trust on people. Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam points out how sophisticated technology, like deepfakes and AI, has facilitated it for scammers to work under the radar and target emotions at a deeper level.
Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam: The quest for answers and resurrecting lives
As per reports, after the women discovered that they had been duped, they took matters into their own hands.
They reached out to one another, shared their experiences and started researching the individuals behind the fictional names. Their actions are captured in Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam as they collaborate to find out about the scammer's techniques and attempt to expose him.
As per Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam, they found out that the scammer used several names and targeted others apart from them. With the assistance of a cyberintelligence analyst, the women found out more about the scope and sophistication of the scam.
In their investigation, they found that the scammer belonged to a large group of online scammers, which makes it difficult to trace an individual. Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam also portrays the victims' recovery efforts after the scam, emphasizing their resilience and determination to inform others about the risks of online romance scams.
For more details, watch Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam on Hulu.
