A GWENT woman who lost almost £25,000 through an online romance scam has told her story as part of a bid to stop others from falling victim.
Gwent Police victims were scammed out of more than £451,000 thorugh online dating last year.
Anna (not her real name) is in her 50s and was defrauded out of almost £25,000 in a romance scam. She believed that she was in a relationship with a man working abroad on a ship. They met through a dating app and then began to talk through WhatsApp.
After a while of building trust, the fraudster told her he was struggling to access his money and needed her help to get him to fly home and be with her. She sent him money in varying sums.
He would keep asking for money, using different excuses including ‘it was not received’, ‘the price has increased’, ‘I need to send you a parcel, but you’ll have to pay for the postage.’
Eventually, her bank stopped her sending money and her family were alerted.
Gwent Police’s PC Jeni Cavill, financial abuse safeguarding officer, said: “This scam had a huge effect on the victim and her family, both financially and emotionally. Romance fraud is a particularly callous offence, involving exploitation of an individual’s emotional needs and caring qualities.
“Romance fraudsters will typically spend weeks to months gaining their victims’ trust, feeding them fabricated stories about who they are and their lives – and initially make no suggestion of any desire to ask for any money, so the victim may believe their new love interest is genuine.
“We want to encourage all those who think they’ve been a victim of romance fraud to not feel embarrassed or ashamed but to report it to us. We’re calling on family members and friends to talk to their relatives who may be online dating to help make them aware of the warning signs that they could be falling victim to fraud.”
Gwent Police is supporting Action Fraud’s national campaign to raise awareness of the signs of romance fraud and urging people to be vigilant and cautious when dating online.
MORE NEWS:
What is romance fraud?
Romance fraud is most commonly an online scam where the fraudsters deceive their victims into a false relationship with the aim of stealing money or personal information.
What are the signs of a romance scam?
Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of a romance scam should contact their bank immediately and report the scam to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or the police on 101.
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