How Brazilian Woman’s Stolen Photos And Videos Deceived Men Around The World

Stolen footage of an adult entertainment star is used to scam victims out of thousands of dollars

For over a decade, stolen footage of a former adult entertainment star has been used to dupe victims out of thousands of dollars. How does it feel to be the unwitting face of so many love shots?

This text contains podcast spoilers. “Love Janessa” from the BBC and CBC podcasts.

Almost every day, Vanessa receives messages from men who believe they are having an affair with her – some even think she is his wife. They are angry, confused and some want back the money they say they sent to pay living expenses, hospital bills or to help relatives.

But it’s all a lie. Vanessa doesn’t know these men. Indeed, her photos and videos – taken from her past life in adult entertainment – have been used as bait in online romance scams dating back to the mid-2000s. Victims were extorted for money through fake online profiles using the name or the image of Vanessa, in a type of coup called in English catfishing.

The flood of messages containing stories of lost money and ruined lives took its toll on the Brazilian’s life.

“I started getting depressed and blaming myself – maybe if my pictures weren’t out there, these men wouldn’t have been scammed,” says Vanessa – We don’t use her last name to protect her identity.

For about eight years, Vanessa worked as a “camgirl”, broadcasting explicit material live over the Internet via webcam. Since she was a bit shy when she started out, she decided to create an alter ego called Janessa Brazil. “It’s not actually me, it’s Janessa, so I won’t be ashamed,” she thought.

She chose the surname Brazil not only because it is where she was born, but also because it is one of the most popular search terms on the internet. It was a smart decision. “I hate that name,” she says now. “But she helped me become popular quickly.”

For a while everything worked fine. Vanessa appreciated her relationship with her fans, who paid up to US$20 (about R$100) per minute to watch and interact with her. “I wanted to please them. I wanted to have fun with them. And they were thrilled,” she recalls.

At the peak of his career, he says he made about $1 million a year. Janessa had her own website, a successful brand and a strong online presence. But in 2016, her online profile disappeared.

It took nine months to find her to produce the podcast Love, Janessa. When we finally met Vanessa at her modest East Coast apartment, she told us that part of the reason she stopped producing online content was to try and stop the scams. “I don’t want to empower them to ever use anything of mine again,” she says.

Vanessa realized that the scammers were posing as her when a man commented in a live chat that he was her husband and she had promised him that he would stop filming. She thought it was a joke but she asked him to email her.

Other victims have come forward with similar stories, posting comments at her concerts and asking her to prove her identity. Scammers also came up with strange requests — like wearing a red hat — images that they used to trick victims.

The constant comments, emails and tense atmosphere started to affect their business. “It was a nightmare,” says Vanessa. “But I felt bad for these kids. What am I supposed to do?”

At first, he tried to answer every email, which took hours every day. She says her then-husband, who was her manager, also began monitoring her messages. She told scam victims that he and Vanessa weren’t responsible for the money the men lost.

“If I made all the money these guys sent to scammers today I’d be a billionaire, I wouldn’t be sitting here in my little apartment,” he says.

Vanessa thinks it’s in the nature of many men to want to take care of women, which would explain why they send money to someone they don’t know personally.

“Even if they don’t have any money, they’re still willing to give it away, just to feel loved,” she says.

Roberto Marini, a 30-year-old Italian man, was kidnapped by a fake Janessa. It all started with a Facebook message from an attractive young woman named Hannah, who complimented him on her startup business: a sustainable farm on the island of Sardinia.

After three months of exchanging photos and loving messages, he started asking for money. At first she was into little things, like a broken phone, but soon she needed other things. She told him that she had a difficult life: when she wasn’t taking care of sick relatives, she had to make a living in adult entertainment.

Roberto wanted to save her, feeling a “fatherly energy” towards her. But he was frustrated that they could never talk in person: every time they scheduled a call, his phone broke or something else happened.

He ended up discovering thousands of photos and videos of Hannah online. The pictures were, however, of adult entertainment star Janessa Brazil — and many were more explicit than any Hannah had already sent him.

To him the love between the two seemed real. He then wondered if he had decided not to reveal his true identity to preserve the relationship.

Confused, Roberto entered one of Janessa Brazil’s online live concerts. “Is it really you?” he typed in the chat. He says he didn’t get the answers he wanted, that he paid by the minute, so he didn’t stay long.

In his quest to uncover the truth, Roberto also emailed Vanessa.

“Hi. I need to talk to the real Janessa Brazil,” she wrote in 2016. She replied an hour later, “I’m the real Janessa Brazil.”

He asked a few more questions trying to find out if they had talked before. That email exchange was the first and only contact they ever had.

But for Roberto the story didn’t end there. He says he sent the scammers a total of $250,000 (R$1.2 million) over four years, draining their savings and borrowing money from friends and family, as well as taking out loans.

We found Roberto through his online posts warning others that fake accounts were using stolen pictures of Janessa. But even after all that had happened to him, part of him still believed he had a deep connection to the real Janessa.

That’s a sign of a successful scam, says Aunshul Rege, a Philadelphia-based criminal justice expert who has studied online love scams.

He says the messages are often sent by criminal networks that work as a team to lure victims in by sharing images and information. He even found a sample of the manuals they use: how-to guides that also list excuses for avoiding a phone call that might expose them.

The scams follow a pattern: lots of love, threats of separation and then requests for financial help, presumably to allow the couple to finally be together. The tactics are so formulaic they’re awfully familiar to anyone who’s ever received them, but they work.

“As human beings, we are programmed to help each other. That’s how we were built,” says the specialist.

Vanessa says she hates these cruel tactics. “They show love and then back off. Guys are desperate and willing to do anything to get it back,” she says.

Aunshul Rege believes it is probable that Roberto’s coup was carried out by an organized group. He says there are large networks operating around the world, with significant numbers coming from Turkey, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Nigeria and Ghana.

One of the places Roberto was invited to send money was Ghana, home to a group of online scammers called the Sakawa Boys. We tracked some of them down in Accra. “Ofa,” a soft-spoken young man, told us that impersonating people online is time-consuming and requires a lot of administration, if only to keep an eye out for lies. He admitted that the job made him “feel bad” but that he earned more than R$50,000 (R$260,000).

After seeing pictures of Janessa, Ofa said she’s never used them, but understood why they’d be a favorite with scammers. She also said that for a scam to work she would need a variety of photos showing women in everyday situations, like cooking or at the gym.

Vanessa thinks her photos were used in part because she shared so many candid moments from her daily life. “I was completely dedicated to myself, so they had a lot to work with,” she says.

But he draws a clear line between his professional alter ego and his real self. “Vanessa has panic attacks. Janessa doesn’t,” she says.

Over time, the tide of scam victims morphed into “a monster” that traumatized Vanessa.

Having to perform on camera every day started to take its toll on her mental health and her marriage. Exhausted, she said she started drinking before shows. She says she hates watching videos from that era because she can see her own unhappiness.

In 2016, Vanessa says she couldn’t take it anymore and decided to give up. She says she packed her bags, left her home and her husband and left for a new life. She is now studying to be a therapist and writing a memoir, regaining control of her own story.

Vanessa has never gone to the authorities to report scammers using her image. She doesn’t think they would take her complaints seriously. “They’ll look at me like, ‘You’re a porn star,’ and they’ll laugh in my face,” she says.

Over the years, she has gotten stronger emotionally. She knows that scammers can never stop pretending to be her, and she understands why some victims fall into the trap.

“When it comes to love, we can be pretty dumb,” she says. “I know, I’ve been there. It’s like, ‘Damn! How did I fall in love with this!’ It can happen to all of us.”

Reportage by Hannah Ajala, Laura Regehr, Katrina Onstad and Simona Rata

Art by Jenny Law

This story is told on the podcast Love, Janessa, produced by BBC World Service and CBC Podcasts. Listen to Love, Janessa in English.

– This article was originally published on https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-64772071

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.