Conned out of £20k by online date scam artist
Retired dentist, 75, took out payday loans to send money to this ‘girlfriend’ but the woman in photo was a US porn star
A RETIRED dentist was cheated out of £20,000 after sending money to a fake African girlfriend he met online.
Smitten Simon Frost, 75, could not believe his luck when he was matched with Eva – a young beauty who spoke of setting up home with him.
But the woman in the pictures was really US porn star Briana Lee, 28, whose photo has been lifted repeatedly by cheats for this very purpose.
Grandad Simon turned to internet dating after his wife of 10 years left him. He joined a website called Real Sex Contacts in February 2017 and two months later was introduced to Eva, supposedly a hospital worker from Ghanaian capital Accra.
She sent a picture, Simon fell in love and he was persuaded to part with more than £19,000. In an exchange of messages she even teased out information about his bank cards.
GENUINE
But when the time came for them to meet in the UK in August this year, Eva didn’t show up and he has not heard from her since.
Yesterday Simon, from Soham, Cambs, said he was speaking out to stop others falling for the same scam.
He said: “I genuinely believed the relationship was real. I don’t understand why anyone would treat me like that. I had good intentions and was looking for a genuine relationship.
“It has put me off trying anything like this ever again.
“I would rather be lonely than go through all of this trauma.”
Simon said he and Eva had called each other “babe” and “husband” and talked of buying a house for a new life together. But she was spinning a web of lies to get him to part with his dosh.
She said she needed cash to get court documents so that she could access her father’s £5million inheritance which included a stash of gold. Simon sent £6,000 savings, £3,000 on credit cards and two £5,000 advances from payday loan company Amigo.
He also paid £1,600 for Eva’s flight to the UK in August this year – when he expected her to repay him. But Eva failed to turn up and when he was unable to contact her it became clear he had been scammed.
Simon said: “I was sold a complete sob story and was completely used.
“I believed everything she said. I thought I’d be able to clear my debts and we’d be able to enjoy the money and buy a house together.
“But she clearly had no intention of coming here. I was lonely, and I still am, and I was looking for company. Eva seemed genuine. But I was obviously an easy target.”
The loans come with a huge 49 per cent interest rate and Simon now needs to pay £595 a month for two years to clear his debts. His bank account is locked following suspicions over his transfers to Ghana – so his daughter is having to pay his bills. Diabetic Simon was so stressed that he contemplated suicide.
He has reported the scam to police and Action Fraud.
According to AF there were 3,557 reports of romance fraud last year as con artists pocketed £41million – an average of £11,500 from each victim.
We used to call each other husband and babe. I fell for a complete sob story... SIMON FROST VICTIM OF INTERNET DATING SCAM