POLICE officers in Ireland have issued a Valentine’s Day warning calling on members of the public to be vigilant against romance scammers.
“An Garda Síochána is asking members of the public to be vigilant of romance fraud,” they said in a statement today.
“Romance fraud happens all year round and not just around Valentine’s Day,” they added, before confirming last year’s worrying statistics.
“In 2022, 70% of all victims of romance fraud were female,” they said.
“Last year €1,958,089 was stolen, up 23% on the previous year,” they added, before confirming: “A total of €5,923,869 has been stolen in romance fraud since 2019.”
The police force revealed a series of incidents of romance scamming that occurred in Ireland over the past 12 months.
They included a female pensioner who lost €100,000 after she met a man on a dating app who claimed to be working abroad and needed the money.
Another female, aged in her late 40's, lost €27,000, as a result of meeting a man through social media.
She believed she was in a romantic relationship and sent money to an account as she thought the scammer was moving to Ireland to start a life with her.
A man, in his 40’s was caught by scammers after befriended a woman online. He forwarded €20,000 to the woman after he was convinced to deal in cryptocurrency.
Another woman, aged in her 20’s, believed she was in contact with a man online who stated he was in Yemen. She forwarded €4,500 to this person to assist them in travelling to Ireland.
Officers are urging people to be wary of online relationships “especially if you are asked for money or to invest in a scheme or business”.
Romance fraudsters may try to get their victims to send them money to cover the cost of travelling to see the victim, for emergency medical expenses, customs duties or other bills, or for a business opportunity which would see the victim make a quick profit.
“There is an ever-increasing link between romance fraud and investment fraud,” Gardai explain.
“In many cases, scammers will ask victims to invest in a fraudulent scheme or business.
“Such investments ultimately see the funds transferred to the fraudster through a number of linked accounts.
“Members of the public are advised to be vigilant as there are huge risks involved in investing in cryptocurrencies and not to share any money with someone they meet through online websites or apps and to get professional and legal advice before investing," they add.
An Garda Síochána works closely with Europol to disrupt the activities of romance scammers, particularly organised crime gangs that engage in this type of criminality.
They also monitor dating sites for romance scammers.
