Rise in online romance scams sparks warning

PEOPLE looking for love online are being warned to watch out for fraudsters who could leave them broken-hearted and out of pocket.

It comes after a dramatic rise in the number of internet romance scams being identified in the county in recent months.

Robert Longmore, from Warwickshire and West Mercia's economic crime unit, said: "The number of reports dropped dramatically about a year ago following publicity concerning a woman who was tricked into giving nearly £40,000 to a conman who wooed her for several months on the internet and then over the phone.

"However, it appears we are being blighted by romance scams once again. There has been a big increase in recent months and we suspect some members of the public have lowered their guard and consequently more victims are being identified.

"We are particularly concerned people are inadvertently acting as ‘money mules’ in such scams, allowing their bank accounts to be used to launder criminal funds from other similar scams.

"They may not realise this at the time as they are caught up in the excitement of a possible romance, but they may just find themselves on the wrong side of the law if they engage in such activity."

In such instances, people are asked to allow funds to be transferred into their accounts, having been told by the scammer their own account has been compromised and cannot be accessed.

They are then asked to transfer the funds to another person, or send them overseas using a money service business.

Internet dating sites are an increasingly common avenue used by scammers to identify potential victims.

And Mr Longmore said it was hard to get a true picture of the scale of online romance scams as many such crimes went unreported.

He said: "People don’t want to admit they are victims, or they are too embarrassed to make a complaint.

"Broken hearts and disappointment are obvious risks in online dating. However, people need to be aware of how to keep themselves safe from fraud while meeting people through the internet."

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