In the North, cases of hypnosis scam are increasing

Lionel Gougelot 11:05 a.m., February 18, 2022

This is an unusual scam technique: theft under hypnosis.

In the Hauts-de-France, the testimonies accumulate.

Stripped women say they have been victims of "mental manipulation".

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Three years after the unfortunate event, Mina, a 70-year-old retiree, is still traumatized by her misadventure.

That day in Tourcoing, she was approached by a stranger at her bus stop.

The man slips a black stone into his hand and presents himself as a kind of medium mixing clairvoyance, hypnosis and speech in Arabic, esoteric and religious.

“He asked me to remove all my jewelry”

Within minutes, Mina finds herself under the influence.

"He asked me to remove all my jewelry, everything I had in my bag and I gave it all to him. I was no longer in control of myself. I didn't even know what I was doing. I saw a black hole. My feet were downright frozen. I only woke up afterwards and this story lasted a quarter of an hour," she says.

Fatima, daughter of a victim, put a name to this phenomenon: the "samawi".

A scam technique that comes from Morocco and has been spotted in Belgium.

The targets often have the same profile: elderly women of Arab-Muslim origin.

And each time, the same approach: hypnosis or mental manipulation, but maybe not only.

Were the women drugged?

"All these victims are going to tell you about this famous black stone that they are given in the palm of their hand. Now, was there a substance in this famous black stone? Were they dogues? That, we will never know. These women lose all discernment and yet they are absolutely not known to have psychological problems, "explains a lawyer from Lille who grouped these complaints.

She now hopes that an investigation will be opened by the courts.

According to her, this network of scammers continues to make victims.