Friends and relatives of online daters are being urged to help protect their loved ones from romance frauds, with nearly £92 million having been reported lost in total in the last year alone.
People who strike up online relationships between Christmas and Valentine’s Day may be at particular risk of romance fraud, with a spike of 901 reports recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) in March 2021.
Of the reports received in the past year, 20% of victims were aged 50 to 59, 18% were between 40 and 49, and 17% were 30 to 39.
Criminals may claim they need cash to travel to visit the victim, pay for emergency medical expenses, or even for lucrative investment opportunities. Or they may pretend to be military personnel or working overseas.
Weeks, or sometimes months later, these criminals will ask for money for a variety of emotive reasons
Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Matt Bradford
Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Matt Bradford, from the City of London Police said: “Typically, romance fraudsters will spend weeks gaining their victims’ trust, feeding them fabricated stories about who they are and their lives – and initially make no suggestion of any desire to ask for any money, so the victim may believe their new love interest is genuine.
“But weeks, or sometimes months later, these criminals will ask for money for a variety of emotive reasons and, as the emotional relationship has already been formed, victims often transfer money…
