Catfish and fake tickets
Woman, 56, caught in scam
TRICKED into thinking her new online admirer was really “trapped in a Turkish hospital” and, desperate to help him, a Geelong woman with fake tickets to see rapper Post Malone convinced unsuspecting fans to send her money.
Divna Matin, 56, appeared at Geelong Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to deception charges that involved scamming Post Malone fans with fake tickets in order to send her catfishing love interest iTunes gift cards.
The court heard that during
April 2019, two fans came across Matin’s “tickets” and deposited $150 and $75 respectively into her bank account.
When the tickets did not arrive, the fans reported the deception to police.
When confronted by officers, Matin claimed she had met an Australian man on a dating app who claimed to be “in hospital” in Turkey and in need of money.
It was unclear whose idea it was to use fake Post Malone tickets.
Once she obtained the money from her victims, Matin placed it on iTunes gift cards and sent pictures of them over the dating app to her catfish.
But the court heard she soon became “suspicious” of the person at the other end of the dating app and “ceased communications” with him.
Her defence lawyer made it clear Matin did not “get any benefit herself”, but said she did agree she should not have been in contact with the man.
“There is a degree of naivety here,” her defence lawyer said.
Magistrate Michelle Hodgson said it “cannot be that simple” for Matin and insisted there “has to be a degree of knowledge to her that things were well and truly not above board when she was receiving those funds” via her victims.
“I am told that at this point you were somewhat vulnerable to someone you met on a dating site, but it beggars belief what, in these stories, people do when they are being catfished,” Ms Hodgson said to Matin.
She told the woman to “conduct her affairs” more seriously in future.
Given Matin had spent
“55 years offence-free before the court”, Ms Hodgson fined her $300 without conviction and ordered restitution.