An imposter has pretended to be Prince Carl Philip of Sweden on WhatsApp and conned people out of money, Royal Central has learned.
Royal Central has been contacted by an individual with screenshots of a conversation with someone who they believed was Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. The con artist used a fake passport to dupe the unsuspecting victim out of thousands of pounds.
Upon close inspection of the passport, it is evident that photo manipulation has been used to doctor the image. In the WhatsApp messaging, the person claiming to be the royal calls himself only “Prince Carl” instead of the full name that he goes by “Prince Carl Philip.”
The imposter has since refused to refund any money and blocked the victim.
Royal Central has alerted the Swedish Royal Court who are investigating.
This isn’t the first time someone has pretended to be Prince Carl Philip. In February of last year, the Royal Court sent out a press release alerting people to a false website claiming to represent the Prince.
At the time, the Royal Court said: “A website claiming to represent Prince Carl Philip is sending out invitations to Royal events as well as asking recipients for financial donations.
“The Royal Court of Sweden would like to inform that the website is false and does not represent His Royal Highness nor The Prince Couple’s Foundation.
“The Royal Court of Sweden has reported the website to the Swedish Police Authority.”
How to avoid money transfer scams.
- Avoid sending money to someone you’ve never met in person.
- If you feel that you have to send money to someone you’ve never met, do not send large sums at once.
- Consider making any paying late. Scammers will often try and pressure you to transfer money by a certain date. If you don’t meet their deadline and they contact you again saying the deadline has been extended, you may be dealing with scammers.
