‘Be on alert for romance fraud’
A WARNING has been issued about online predators who trawl social media and dating sites to target the lovelorn and vulnerable.
Romance fraud is carried out by criminals who hide behind fake online identities to target and groom those who are looking for love.
While the victims believe they have found the right person, the criminals are doing all in their power to extract money or financial information.
Police have launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the fraud, which is on the rise, and to provide simple advice on how to avoid falling victim.
The campaign is led by anti-fraud specialists at City of London Police and is supported by firms which run some of the sites on which people have been targeted.
Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Alex Rothwell said: “Romance fraud is a devastating crime that impacts victims both financially and emotionally.
“It is a crime that we in policing across the UK are committed to tackling with help from key partners.
“Through this campaign we want to empower people to understand what to look out for and feel confident that if they have fallen victim to a fraud, to report it to us.
“Criminals are experts at impersonating people.
“They spend hours researching you for their scams, especially when committing romance fraud.
“We’re reminding everyone to stop and think: fall for the person, not the profile, it could protect you and your money.”
Only a small number of cases are reported to police and Leicester City Council each year. However, the local authority’s trading standards team believes its caseload is only the tip of the iceberg.
It has helped people who have been taken in by overseas criminals posing as everything from a soft porn star to a US soldier.
The authority said it was also aware of cases where scammers posed as rich business people or widows – often using photographs found online.
In most cases, the fraudsters began to ask for money either to visit the victim in the UK, for medical fees or for an emergency that has arisen
for them or for family, the council said.
Ronald Ruddock, the city council’s trading standards manager, has previously said: “Romance scams are very difficult to track down, because the person who is being scammed is often very unwilling to admit that something might be wrong.
“You might think that only vulnerable people would be scammed in this way, but we have found they can affect almost anyone, so you need to be on your guard.
“If someone says they’re in a rela
tionship with you but it’s been more than a month and you’ve never even met them – you could well be being scammed.
“Don’t agree to talk to people you meet on dating sites offline or via text or phone.
“You should never send money to anyone you meet online.”
Some fraudsters encourage their victims to perform sex acts via social media – sexting – and use the results for blackmail, Mr Ruddock said. Between August 2019 and August 2020, Action Fraud received more than 400 reports a month from victims of romance fraud in the UK.
Losses reported by victims during this time totalled £66,335,239, equating to an average loss per victim of just over £10,000.
During June, July and August this year, Action Fraud received more than 600 reports per month of romance fraud.
Diana Fawcett, chief executive of Victim Support, said: “Victims of romance fraud often blame themselves, but it is important to understand that this is an incredibly sophisticated crime and that almost anyone can be targeted.
“Victims may feel they have not only lost money but also a loving partner or relationship they thought they had.
“Lockdown restrictions meant people could not meet in person for a number of months, which led to many seeking to form new connections online.
“While using the internet can be a great way to meet people and form relationships, there’s also a great risk of being lured into a romance scam as fraudsters know how to take advantage of people’s desire for human contact.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen that circumstances caused by coronavirus were in fact used by fraudsters as a hook to extort money.
“For example, some have invented lies about needing medical treatment, or urgent travel expenses to leave a country, or funds to keep afloat after a bogus job loss caused by the pandemic.
“It’s important to be aware not everyone is who they say they are.”
The top five platforms where victims reported first interacting with the criminal committing romance fraud were Facebook, Plenty of Fish, Instagram, Tinder and Match.com.
Match Group, which owns OK Cupid, Plenty of Fish, Tinder and Match.com, is running romance fraud protection adverts on its platforms throughout October.
George Kidd, chief executive of the Online Dating Association, said: “Dating services have no forgiveness for romance fraudsters and combat them by all means possible.
“No-one goes on social media or a dating service looking to fund someone’s lifestyle in the name of love.
“We use technology and human moderation to block fake profiles, create safer messaging platforms, and the increasing use of video chat and photo-verification makes it harder still to invent a profile and get away with it.”
Fall for the person, not the profile, it could protect you and your money
Det Chief Supt Alex Rothwell