LONELY MUM Romance scammer conned me of £6k but saved my relationship
SIX weeks into lockdown, Tanya Bloor was feeling lonelier than ever... and an online conman sensed he had an easy target.
Tanya had got chatting to the internet Romeo after she and long-term love Paul Singh moved into separate bedrooms.
Their 18-year relationship had broken down and she had no one to turn to.
So when the random stranger sent her a Facebook message saying “Hi, how are you?’’ Tanya replied – thinking she had nothing to lose. But she did... both emotionally and financially.
For within weeks she would be more than £6,000 out of pocket and racked by shame and embarrassment.
Tanya cleared out Paul’s inheritance money and savings of £5,500 and handed it to the online rat who she believed was a muscly, bearded man aged around 40.
She even pawned jewellery and paid over the family’s £870 monthly benefits.
Yet in an extraordinary twist, Paul has forgiven Tanya, 41, after she confessed all and begged forgiveness. Now the pair say their relationship is back on track.
Paul, 49, said: “It was a terrible betrayal on every level. When Tanya told me what had happened my heart sank. I felt the ground go from beneath me.
“I just felt so hurt. But I’m staying with her because I love her. This proves that the grass isn’t always greener.”
TRAPPED
Tanya fell for a conman calling himself Robin after weeks of messaging on Facebook and WhatsApp from the start of May. “Robin”, who claimed to live in London, told Tanya he loved her and promised they would meet after a work trip to Turkey in mid-June.
But he later claimed the deal had gone sour and he was trapped in Turkey, being threatened by a hotel manager and customs officers who demanded money so he could finish the job.
Bit by bit, Tanya handed over a small fortune – and she feels terrible.
She said: “I feel absolutely awful for what I’ve done to Paul. I can’t believe I did it. I was totally taken in. I was feeling really vulnerable and down, although that’s not an excuse. I was so naïve.
“I’m so lucky Paul has forgiven me and it’s ironically brought us closer together than we’ve been in years.”
The couple, who have three children aged eight, 11 and 13, live in Leamington Spa, Warwicks. They have reported the crime to Action Fraud and, after some DIY detective work, believe Tanya was ripped off by a fraudster in South Africa.
Paul is full-time carer to Tanya, who suffered a debilitating back injury in a fall before they met. “Paul was my knight in shining armour,” said Tanya.
“But I spent years on pain medication and when I came off it a couple of years ago I felt totally different about myself. I felt more alive but Paul and I had slipped into the role of carer-patient so we moved into separate bedrooms and planned to split up.
“I was feeling lonely and depressed when Robin messaged. I typed ‘ hello’ and within days we were spending all day talking via Messenger. He told me he didn’t have children but had divorced his first love two years ago and he hoped I’d be his last
love. We exchanged pictures and he looked pretty handsome. He said he was an engineer who built performance sports car engines and he had a big deal in Turkey.
“I told him, ‘ You sound too good to be true’. Within weeks he told me he loved me and I could feel myself falling in love with him. He made me feel special and wanted and I hadn’t felt like that in a long, long time.”
Robin told Tanya he was flying to Turkey on June 13 for a month and vowed to meet her on his return to London. But two days later he sent a message claiming to have lost his bank
I blurted out what I’d done and, incredibly, Paul has forgiven me tanya bloor WHO WAS CONNED BY FACEBOOK RAT
cards and was facing eviction from his hotel unless he paid £1,000.
Tanya said: “I told him to call his bank. He said they cancelled his card and he wouldn’t get another for days.
“I asked if he could go to the consulate but he said they wouldn’t be able to help. I knew Paul’s inheritance of £ 4,500 was sitting in the savings account so I told my first lie.”
Tanya told Paul her 21-year-old daughter from a previous relationship needed money to rent a house with her baby – so he lent her the cash.
She transferred £500 to a Turkish account and £500 through Moneygram so Robin could buy food.
But two weeks later the begging bowl was out again as he claimed customs was holding engines and tools – attaching a fake letter saying it would cost £12,000 to release them.
“I told him there was no way I had that sort of money,” said Tanya.
“Hours later he said he’d managed to find £10,000 and could I send the rest. I decided to transfer money but this time without telling Paul.”
SUSPICIOUS
For two weeks, Robin continued to woo Tanya online, vowing to repay her. But in late July, he sent another SOS, saying seven engines had vanished and he needed £17,000 to replace them or he wouldn’t get paid.
Tanya said: “I was getting suspicious but he said we’d soon be together. I did what was unforgivable and cleared out our savings and Paul’s money. All £2,500. Robin said to transfer it to South Africa, which I thought was odd, but he said a friend would get it to him. I’d now given Robin £5,500. I was also sending £100 here and there so he could pay the hotel and eat.”
But the leeching trickster wouldn’t let go. In mid August, he told Tanya he had a flight home on the 31st and sent a copy of his ticket.
Days later he said he needed £750 for a work permit. Convinced she was about to be reimbursed, Tanya sent him the family’s monthly benefit.
She added: “I felt really, really terrible by now but thought I’d have the money back in days. I’d given him well over £6,000. I even pawned a watch and jewellery to send money.”
The penny dropped when Tanya realised Robin was messaging, asking for more, when he was meant to be on the way home.
She searched online for his flight code and nothing came up. Frantically, she then put the photo he said was of him into a search engine and it popped up in relation to a romance scam, in which a conman had cloned the image from someone’s passport.
“I felt sick,” said Tanya. “I realised I’d been conned. I panicked and didn’t know what to do so I turned to Paul.
“I didn’t know how I was going to tell him so just blurted it out. He was shocked but also worried about me.
I can’t believe how understanding he’s b e en. He’s incredible. It’s weird that a conman should bring us back together. We’ve researched this man’s number and have traced it to South Africa and we’re determined to track him down.”
Paul said: “I look at Tanya and I put it down to her depression before lockdown. Even when we moved into separate rooms I always hoped we could get counselling post-lockdown and get ourselves back on track.
“This man had it all planned and Tanya and I were both victims.”