"Lure & Release": Ankara Woman Had Love Spell Cast on Her Boyfriend; However... (!)

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 27 February 2026)

                      If it sounds too good to be true...

Ayşegül K. sought a love spell over her boyfriend through an account 

called ‘Medyumgamze’ on social media. Using come-ons such as 

‘protective shield’, ‘astrological incompatibility’, and ‘backfire spells’, 

she  paid 41,500 TL (about $1,000) in installments for Hasan, the man 

she wanted the spell cast on. Upon realizing she had been scammed, 

she filed a criminal complaint. The prosecutor's office subsequently 

opened a case against five suspects, all men, seeking up to 15 years in 

prison.

Ayşegül K., residing in Ankara, came across an account on social media 

on June 30, 2024, that presented itself as "Medyumgamze," offering 

services such as "resolving domestic disputes, marital problems, 

reconciling separated couples, breaking spells, love spells, protection 

against the evil eye, personalized talismans, personalized charms, and 

opening up opportunities." Ayşegül K. began communicating with this 

account. The individuals using the account convinced her by claiming 

they could help with spell casting and breaking, promising a refund if 

the spell didn't work. The suspects using the "Medyumgamze" account 

then directed her to a WhatsApp account.

Ayşegül K., wanting a love spell cast on her lover, deposited the requested 

6,000 TL into the provided IBAN. After some time, a person identifying 

herself as Gamze messaged Ayşegül K., saying, "Hasan Bey's mother, 

Hanife Hanım, has performed a protection ritual on her child. This ritual 

(to ward off the evil eye) was done so that the child wouldn't be afraid at 

night, but it's also affecting our ritual. We need to remove this ritual. 

That is, we will remove the part that is affecting our ritual. The price is 

8,500 TL. If it doesn't work, the two fees you paid will be refunded." 

Ayşegül K. requested a discount, and after negotiation, the price was 

reduced to 7,500 TL.

Some time after this message, another message arrived from an account 

named Gamze. This time, it stated that there was a "star mismatch," (!) 

and continued, "The binding ritual we performed, while breaking the spell, 

was done in such a way that the person who cast the spell would cause 

a backlash if the spell was broken. It backfired and caused estrangement 

between you. Therefore, we need to perform a star mismatch ritual, sister.

A star mismatch ritual definitely leads to marriage and creates an eternal 

bond of love between the individuals. 16 grams of gold are needed for this 

ritual. The price of this gold is 24,000 TL." They requested money again. 

Ayşegül K. sent this amount to the provided IBAN.

Ayşegül hanım was given some choices...

After a while, the scammers sent the young woman a message saying 

that the money she sent was blocked in a pool and that all the money 

would be returned if she sent more. Following this message, Ayşegül K. 

deposited another sum of money. In this way, the young woman deposited 

41,500 TL in installments into the IBAN shared by the scammers. 

Following this transaction, the suspects blocked Ayşegül K. on WhatsApp 

and Instagram and did not issue any refund. After a while, realizing she 

had been scammed, the young woman filed a criminal complaint with the 

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. As part of the investigation, it 

was determined that the money the young woman deposited was 

transferred to crypto accounts by the suspects, and that the WhatsApp 

number used belonged to a foreign national. Following the investigation, 

the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit against 5 suspects, all male, in the 

Ankara 9th Criminal Court of First Instance, demanding up to 15 years 

of imprisonment for the crime of "fraud using information systems, banks 

or credit institutions as tools."

The suspects whose statements are included in the indictment did not 

accept the charges. Some of the suspects, who blamed each other in 

their statements, said, "I gave my account to friends, I was deceived," 

while others defended themselves by saying, "I acted as an intermediary 

but I didn't know."

The suspects were advertising themselves through their social media 

accounts.