Romance Fraud

Romance Fraud - criminals lie to gain your trust and build a relationship with you. They make everything about the romance feel normal but their aim is to get money or personal information. Romance fraudsters are experts at manipulating their victims. They will usually create a story that sounds believable and start the relationship  in a normal way, gain your trust over time, invent a problem or situation where you may feel like you want to send money or gifts to help them and isolate you from friends and family. 

Signs to look out for:

There are some signs to watch out for, they may make conversation more personal to get information form you but they may not tell you much about themselves that you can check or verify. They may send a photo to earn your trust, this could be a real photo of them or stolen from someone else. They may give you an excuse why they cant meet you in person, their excuse may seem reasonable. If you met them on a dating app or website they may steer you away from there, preferring to talk via email or text /phone. Sometimes the fraudster will need money for an urgent medical operation or an ill family member, they may say they need to pay off debt or that there is a critical situation to encourage you to act quickly. They may ask you to invest money or buy Amazon / iTunes Vouchers to send them. They may not ask for money direct but hope that you will send it out of kindness. They may ask you to keep the relationship secret, a tactic to isolate you. And they may introduce other people into the conversation to make the fraud seem more real. 

What to do if you suspect a fraud: 

If you are suspicious of someone, tell a friend or family member, sometimes it is hard to see the truth when you so close to it. Remember that fraudsters are experienced and want you to feel isolated. Never send money or personal information, never invest money or transfer money on their behalf, never take out a loan for them or send them gift cards. Do not send or receive parcels on their behalf. It is also illegal for someone to threaten to share sexual pictures, videos or information about you. 

Contact your bank if you suspect a fraud or if you have sent money to someone you are now suspicious of, call 159 to speak to your bank. This is a national hotline which most banks have signed up to. 

You can also contact your bank using the phone number on the back of your bank card. 

If you are a victim of fraud you can get help and advice from Victim Support or call their 24/7 support line on 0808 168 9111. 

It is important to remember that romance fraud is never the victims fault. If you or someone you know is a victim of romance fraud you can report it. You can also report anonymously via crime stoppers website or by calling 0800 555 111