UNKNOWN SOLDIER’S £1M TRAIL OF BROKEN HEARTS
Online romance fraudsters exposed as victims reveal the awful toll
This US soldier is the unwitting frontman for one of the world’s biggest dating site frauds preying on women looking for love online, we can reveal.
The photograph of the handsome soldier, in full dress uniform, has been doctored and used countless times by crime gangs as they persuade victims, from around the globe to send them money.
Estimates suggest dating site fraud costs Scots up to £4 million a year and, around the world, bogus online profiles using the American soldier’s photograph are estimated to have raked in up to £1m. One Scots victim, a 54-year-old widow, today tells how she lost her £17,000 life savings to the fraudsters after being contacted by a man pretending to be the soldier on an online dating site.
Now battling depression, she said: “I tend to take people at face value. I never thought people could lie and cheat like this. He made me feel special and I gave him all I had. I might have been gullible but I don’t deserve this. No one does.”
The soldier’s photograph has been used on a series of dating sites in Europe and America, often with
He was so special and I gave him every penny I had...but he didn’t even exist – Romance fraud victim yesterday
other men’s heads superimposed, and is now thought to be deployed by a number of different fraud factories. Following our investigation, politicians and charities have demanded greater online regulation and urged internet firms to do more to root out organised crime gangs preying on vulnerable victims.
Figures obtained by The Sunday Post reveal the number of cases reported to Police Scotland’s fraud unit is likely to double this year, with 24% of victims aged 66 or over.
Detective Sergeant Gary Dalgleish, from Police Scotland’s Economic Crime and Financial Investigation Unit, said: “Online romance scams are happening daily. Most days we will come in and there are a few cases that have come in overnight. We’ve seen cases where people have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds to someone they believe they are in a relationship with.
“The number of cases recorded has increased in recent years, but the ones we hear about are just the tip of the iceberg. Fraud in general terms is massively under-reported and the same is undoubtedly true for romance fraud.
“It may be due to embarrassment or a reluctance to relive what has happened but it is important to realise that those responsible are organised, cunning and clever.”
Police Scotland was told of just 67 victims of suspected romance fraud in Scotland in 2018/19, involving £251,000. This year’s figure is expected to top 130.
But specialist officers believe that is only a small proportion of cases, with romance fraud costing British victims up to £40 million a year and Scots losing up to £4m.
DS Dalgleish, who has been investigating these types of crimes for the past five years, said women were often targeted via dating websites with fake profiles but also via social media.
He said: “Romance fraud often happens when people meet potential partners on dating websites or accept friend requests from people they don’t know on social media sites like Facebook.
“They lure them into what they feel is a real relationship, then start asking for money. It’s usually small amounts at first, then larger sums.
And before they know it people have parted with substantial sums of money.
“One of our biggest, most recent cases involved contact being made on an online dating site that developed into a physical face-to-face meeting and that’s when the deceit and extortion began.
“It ended up being a four-year campaign of taking control of their wages – but not paying mortgage or bills and keeping the money for themselves.
“They were living in the house, so easily intercepting mail to cover their tracks.
“It resulted in the house being repossessed. The person was convicted of a £60,000 fraud but the true figure was probably north of £100,000.
“The impact on the victim is not limited to the loss of money but also the loss of the relationship. In some cases the loss of the relationship was far harder than the loss of money.”
Politicians yesterday demanded urgent action to regulate online sites and impose greater responsibility on operators to identify suspicious behaviour. Critics say tighter vetting and checks on applicants to join dating sites and a greater use of facial recognition and other security technologies could help curb fraudsters.
Julian Knight, a member of the Culture Media and Sport Committee in the last parliament, said: “Sadly these figures are not surprising. Behind every statistic is a wrecked life, so I would join in calling for the dating