Over 100,000 social media profiles are being exploited to scam men out of money using the image of an American pornographic entertainer.
Images of Janessa Brazil, a model from Florida, are being used by con artists to get the lonely to part with their hard-earned money.
She has been dubbed the “modern Helen of Troy” by those offended by the photographs.
Hannah Ajala, an investigative reporter for the BBC, presents a new podcast titled “Love, Janessa” about Ms Brazil.
It involves journalist Simon de Bruxelles, who encountered a woman posing as Ms. Brazil.
The photographs of Florida-based model Janessa Brazil are being utilized by con artists to get the lonely to part with their hard-earned money.
Brazil has been dubbed the “modern Helen of Troy” by those who have fallen victim to the images of the country.
He claimed in the Daily Express, “My involvement began on New Year’s Eve 2018 when I received a Twitter message from an unknown woman.”
She introduced herself as Tammy Anderson and sent greetings from “my world to yours.”
I responded in kind, wishing her and her family a happy new year and asking, “Where exactly is your world?”
Mr. de Bruxelles stated that they continued to converse online and that he initially believed she was a real person.
Ms Brazil is the focus of a new BBC podcast titled “Love, Janessa” hosted by investigative reporter Hannah Ajala.
A fraudster posing as Tammy Anderson utilized an image of Brazil for her social media site.
She then informed him that her employers had not paid her wages and requested $300 to cover her expenses.
This led him to investigate her further, and he used Google’s reverse image search to determine that the image was of model Brazil.
He identified more social media profiles employing the same or similar photographs and succeeded in having the bogus Twitter stream disabled.
Then he made touch with the real Brazil, who confirmed that her identity had been stolen multiple times.
The authentic Janessa Brazil has revealed that her identity has been stolen numerous times by con artists.
In her new podcast, Hannah uncovers how and why Janessa’s photographs have been exploited to scam people out of so much money.
Mr. de Bruxelles continued, “Her career was ruined by the multiple frauds.” A Florida judge apparently prohibited her from posting anything on the internet after a man she had never met claimed to have sent her $2 million.
The podcast takes its audience from the United Kingdom to Italy, West Africa, and the United States.
Hannah examines how and why Janessa’s photographs have been exploited to defraud people out of so much money – sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars – and interacts with victims and those who conduct romantic scams for a livelihood.
Jon Manel, Podcast Commissioning Editor for BBC World Service, remarked, “In this immersive, “unputdownable” investigative podcast, Hannah Ajala draws in listeners, taking them down one unexpected path after another and exploring the many layers of a serious and growing online crime.”
“We are collaborating with CBC Podcasts on three major shows for 2023, beginning with Love, Janessa, and it’s been a pleasure to work with Antica and Telltale on this important, insightful, and frequently jaw-dropping tale.”
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