What is terrifying 'Loverboy' sex trafficking method allegedly used by Andrew Tate

TikTok users have been reacting to the news of Andrew Tate’s arrest in Romania by explaining the terrifying 'Loverboy' sex trafficking method which he has been accused of using by authorities.

The 36-year-old former kickboxer and controversial social media influencer was arrested as part of a human trafficking investigation last week. He was detained in Romania on Thursday 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group, prosecutors said.

Some of the suspects allegedly used the “loverboy” method of trafficking, which involves a man luring a victim into a relationship in order to sexually exploit them later, DIICOT said. It is claimed that the alleged the victims were transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county, which surrounds Bucharest, where they were coerced into making pornographic content, it is alleged.

Now, videos have been shared online by TikTok users which explain the "loverboy method".

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Victoria De Vall, a content creator who studied human trafficking at NYU and previously worked for a sex-trafficking non-profit, is one of them.

Speaking to her 372,000 followers, she said: "The majority of sex trafficking is simply not going to be someone snatching you up. It's going to be someone that you know manipulating you."

De Vall explained that cases typically involve men dating women and getting them to believe that they are their boyfriend in order to manipulate them.

"Once she is in love with them, they coerce her into sex trafficking so they can make money off her," De Vall said.

Luna Voyd is another TikTok user who has spoken about the “lover boy” method, explaining that it’s not like the scenario from the film Taken, where a woman was taken from her hotel room by a stranger.

She said it’s "not just thinking it's someone kidnapping you in a Target parking lot”, but instead human traffickers tend to people victims know who develop trust with them.

"Those types of guys usually get the girls to trust them, give over all their passports, everything like that because this is her boyfriend, she's in love with this man even though to him it's not that," she said.

"It's most likely to be a partner, a family member, someone who has gotten close to you — not a random stranger."

Tate reportedly posted an apparent reference to his arrest on his Twitter account, which has recently been reinstated. “The Matrix sent their agents,” he said, referring to the blockbuster film. A spokesperson for Tate told the Daily Mirror Tate has “the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help”.

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