The romance racket is a growing, multimillion dollar-a year industry. Love-related fraud has seen a disturbing, three-fold increase in recent years, with reports of the con tripling to 33,000 between 2016 and 2020, during which time losses quadrupled to $304 million annually, according to the Federal Trade Commission. “I lost…
A woman has told of her horror after scammers used photos of a “silver fox” European politician to trick her out of $108,000. Brit Sharon Bulmer was swindled out of thousands after a fraudster sent her a Facebook message saying he was “lonely” in May 2020. The con artist used…
When Sunita Brittain connected with Michael through Facebook Dating in January, she couldn’t believe how much they had in common. Not only did they have the same birthday but he also claimed to be adopted too. The mom-of-two, 51, from Harworth, said: ”My story parallels with the Tinder Swindler, it…
It’s the season of giving, but for scam artists the holidays are all about taking. Taking your money, your identity, taking whatever they can profit off. As usual in this coverage, online scams are often the fastest way criminals can rip you off. The Federal Bureau of Investigation says its…
For one starstruck fan in Arizona, it was like a dream come true: heartthrob Australian actor Chris Hemsworth had reached out on Facebook wanting to meet. When Hemsworth’s purported manager began requesting $25,000 in cash to arrange the meet and greet, it still seemed too hard to resist. Investigators say…
Dear Quentin, My father is 68 years old, and recently a widower. His wife, my stepmother, had a tight rein on their finances and, as such, he was unable to spend as much or do as much as he wanted. She passed in December. Recently, he has “connected” with someone…
Hoping to find companionship during the pandemic, a Florida woman signed up for Facebook Dating. Within a half-hour, she met “Damian.” He was an orthopedic surgeon who lived a town away, but at the time, he was in Yemen on a four-month UN Peacekeeping mission. “He’s very handsome. He’s very…
