PSNI: Over £200,000 handed over in romance scams last year
Warning ahead of Valentines day as two women looking for love targeted
Two Northern Ireland women have been conned out of £105,000 in the last fortnight, after making payments in elaborate romance scams.
The fraudsters contacted the women online claiming to be from the US army and built up a relationship over several months.
They then asked for money to help them to get out of the military.
Chief Superintendent Simon Walls said:
"Unfortunately, we continue to see members of the public lose very significant amounts of money in online and telephone scams.
"In both of the cases reported to us in the last fortnight, both women were tricked by fraudsters they had been befriended by two men online who duped them into sending substantial amounts of money.
"The first report, made to us on Monday 4th February, involved a woman who had been befriended by a man online claiming to be in the US Army. The pair were in touch for around a month before things took a romantic turn. From May last year, the man told the woman a number of stories, including that he was being detained by authorities in Africa, in a bid to get her to give him money.
"The woman believed the man's stories, and was conned into sending him £65,000. She truly believed this man was genuine as she had found a profile online that matched his details.
"The second report, involving a woman in North Down, was reported to us on Sunday 10th February It was reported the woman had entered into an online relationship with a man claiming to live in the USA where he worked as an engineer. They had been in touch since November and the man eventually asked the woman for money for projects. She trusted the man and believed his story, and sent him payments totalling £40,000."
He added: "Sadly, for these two women they will not get their money back as they gave it to the fraudsters voluntarily. These reports illustrate how scammers don’t care about their victims; that they’re happy to take advantage of people’s vulnerability and good faith. Unfortunately, there is no end to the methods fraudsters will use to dupe people into giving them money."
The PSNI also revealed the extent of romance fraud in the past year:
"Last year, between 1st January and 30th September there were a total of 39 reports relating to dating scams in Northern Ireland when more than £218,000 was taken/scammed from people.
"While these are alarming statistics we believe romance scams are significantly under reported.
"We think many people are simply too embarrassed to tell us they have been scammed in a romance fraud."
Although these two incidents were similar, they are not thought to be linked.
The force is also stressing that it is not just women who can find themselves targeted:
"Romance scammers don’t prey on a specific gender, sexuality, race or age.
"They target everyone, just don’t let it be you. Don’t let yourself become a statistic. Protect yourself if you want to use the internet in search of love or companionship."
The Senior PSNI officer had this advice for the public to stay safe online:
"Start off with a reputable website.
"Look out for someone asking lots of questions, but not giving any detail about themselves.
"Don’t ever hand over any money or send goods such as iPhones or iPads.
"Never let anyone you don’t know or trust transfer money into your bank account.
“If you want to buy that something special for someone on Valentine’s Day, make sure you shop from reputable websites and that you keep your details safe.
"There will be lots of enticing offers so think smart and stay scam wise"