Victims lost £41 million to romance fraud in 2017

Growth In Romance Scams During The COVID Crisis 

Such scams start with a virtual/imaginary profile and trained meeting that develops into a long term relationship involving fund transfers and losses. Many people who are lonely searching for friends online look for someone to spend time with. 

Fraudsters use subtler tactics to impress other people. They are aware of people' inclinations during a conversation, and they know how to respond in the best manner to impress them. 

Covid situation created loneliness for many, who felt relieved of the emotional vulnerability when they received a call from a friend who shared their sentiments and responded emphatically. Such callers often sell sob stories to the victim to get their funds. 

In addition, they claim to be stuck in a quarantine-like situation and in need of urgent financial help to recover from medical ailments. More than 2.3m people were using the online dating apps during the lockdown, and £68.2m was lost towards such scams, and the data suggests people in the age group of 40 to 59 were most targeted. 

Action Fraud reported a 20 per cent jump in the bank transfers connected to it in the quarters between January to November 2020 compared to a year earlier. As a result, the total value of the sum lost increased by 12 per cent to £18.5, where the victims transferred money to unknown accounts through bank transfers and other means. 

How Does It Happen?

Twitter romance scams attempts have grown highly technical and sophisticated with time. The fraudsters encourage the victim to do a small action to extract more information and money later. 

They flatter the other person by telling them "you are smartest" and may ask for the first name, and then as you give them the name, they are encouraged to build on it.  

They may give time to the victim to build up the connection to the level they ask for fund transfer as a medical emergency or a lucrative financial opportunity or money for food and medicine during a covid crisis or a small help during a job loss. However, once the vulnerable person loses all his money on them, they vanish.

They establish emotional attachment where the victim is made to believe they are in a great, secure bond that can provide every type of comfort from money to miracle cures for all your life issues. 

They are good listeners as they appear to empathise and may use other people's concerns to discover vulnerabilities. Those who claim to be based abroad, often citing military postings or charity work, use it to get an excuse for international dialling codes. 

How To Identify?

• They often refuse a video chat or meet in person.

• They may try to shift the conversation of the platform you first met.

• They seek financial aid in a hurry for a time-critical emergency connected to an emotional storyline.  

• They ask the victim not to tell their friends and relatives about the online association. 

How To Protect Yourself?

• Never transfer funds, take a loan (or give bank details) or provide any personal records/papers to the other person you met on social or dating sites.

• Do not exchange parcels with them. 

• The initial excitement of meeting someone can make us dismiss the gut instinct, as we fail to see the red flags during such conversations. 

So one should not rush too quickly and should not agree to get a joint bank account/credit card, commit to marrying, or agree to a common investment towards - shares or buying a home. If you are suspicious – challenge the person online. Criminals will get defensive when they suspect they will be found out. 

Use reporting tools provided by the regulatory agencies to report the crime if you suspect an act like asking for money/requesting for money transfer into an unknown account. You can file a report against their profile to the websites, which can block them. 

Twitter said the authentic accounts will be active and will be awarded the "notable" badge. Some accounts are approved mistakenly, but the platform is working towards identifying suspicious accounts and removing the verified badge of those using the platform for such manipulation. 

If you have made any fund transfer, do not feel ashamed. Instead, use legal options to report the crime to help other victims.