As many prepare to mark Valentine’s with a significant other, Gardaí are warning of romance scams.
Fraud appears to be on the rise and there are many elaborate schemes – one in particular which pulls at the heart strings.
More than €7million has been stolen from the victims of romance-fraud in the past five years.
Of 245 victims that came forward most were female and their average financial loss was around €28,000 with the highest figure of €450,000 stolen in 18 transactions from one woman in Ireland while one man had more than €380,000 taken.
Local Garda Robert Rasmussen says it’s easy to get caught out telling KCLR News; “Victims of the scam believe that they have met their perfect match online but the other person is in fact a scammer using a fake profile to build the relationship, they slowly gain the victim’s trust with a view to eventually asking them for money, romance fraudsters often attempt to move the relationship along at a quick pace, seek lots of personal information and send multiple messages daily and then nothing for a period of time”.
He adds; “Romance fraudsters try to get their victims to send them money using the following excuses to cover the cost of travelling to see the victim, for emergency medical expenses for the scammer or family member, typically a child, a business opportunity which would allow them to live together comfortably”.
And Garda Rasmussen has this advice; “Use trusted dating websites, do not share personal details, particularly personal or intimate photos, do not send or receive money, think twice before using your webcam and trust your instincts and if you believe you’re a victim of romance scam or if you think your identity or personal information has been compromised contact any garda station to report the crime, please be reassured that An Garda Síochána will treat all reports in confidence and also to check out garda.ie for information and advice”.
