WATCH: Fife woman scammed out of £97,000 by boyfriend she met online

A Fife woman is telling Forth News her story of being scammed out of £97,000 by her boyfriend in order to raise awareness of so-called 'romance fraud'.

40-year-old Michelle Szombara from Methill met Alan Clarkson from West Lothian on a dating website and they began a relationship.

But over a four year period he manipulated her in to thinking he was in debt and couldn't access his bank account. He even produced forged bank documents to convince her.

That led to Michelle giving him small amounts of money that added up to around £97,000 and eventually led to her losing her house and declaring herself bankrupt.

In February, Clarkson was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Now she is leading a Police Scotland campaign against romance fraud and warning others of the dangers.

Police Scotland figures from April to December 2018 show the number of reported fraud incidents, including romance scams, increased by 21 per cent.

Detective Superintendent Nicola Shepherd said: “Romance fraud is largely unreported and we want more victims to come forward.

“It can have a shattering effect on people who may be embarrassed that they’ve fallen victim to a scam and don’t want to speak about their experience.

“Criminals can be extremely convincing and they prey on people who are emotionally vulnerable, particularly online.

“It can be easy to get caught up with the attention you receive but it’s important to stop and think if a stranger’s actions are genuine.

“There are warning signs for these scams and one of them is a request for money. Don’t send money to someone you’ve never met, or even recently met, regardless of the story they tell you.

“We need to raise awareness of this type of crime and encourage people to speak to us so we can gather evidence and target offenders."