AS VALENTINE'S DAY approaches, police in Northern Ireland have urged people to be alert to romance scams.
As part of their warning, the PSNI revealed one victim in Northern Ireland was conned out of more than £100,000 by a romance fraudster last year.
The force has also offered advice on how to avoid falling victim to scammers and said that any victims should not feel embarrassed about coming forward.
'Promise of quick profit'
"Nationally, throughout the UK, around £96m is lost in romance scams each year," said Chief Superintendent Gerard Pollock, chair of the ScamwiseNI Partnership.
"Locally, we've seen losses ranging from hundreds of pounds to more than a hundred thousand pounds.
"One of the most significant in Northern Ireland last year involved the loss of £112,000 where a woman had met the scammer via a dating app and went on to develop what she thought was a genuine relationship.
Chief Superintendent Gerard Pollock, chair of the ScamwiseNI Partnership (Image: PSNI)"She was persuaded to put her money in cryptocurrency, with the promise of a quick profit.
"This never materialised — and unfortunately she was left out of pocket and devastated financially and emotionally."
Ch Supt Pollock revealed scammers seek to build a relationship quickly before requesting money.
'Charming'
"Initially, they are charming and appear very interested in you, but will have lots of excuses for not being able to meet face-to-face," he said.
"Then they'll ask for money to help them sort out their problems, or to help them pay for travel, or some investment opportunity.
"They'll promise to repay the money, but the harsh reality is they have no intention of that and, sadly, for some people looking for romance online, they find a scammer trying to swindle them out of their money.
"It's despicable and it's heart-breaking."
Safety tips
Ch Supt Pollock said that while scammers can target anyone at any time, those targeted are more frequently aged between 30 and 60, with women slightly more likely to lose money than men.
While pointing out that most people online are genuine, he offered advice to those using dating apps on how to spot and avoid romance scammers.
This includes keeping communication limited to the dating app, checking if a user has a social media profile and that it matches their app profile, and performing reverse image searches on profile pictures.
Further advice and information can be found at www.nidirect.gov.uk/scamwiseni or the ScamwiseNI Facebook page @scamwiseni.
Those affected can also contact Action Fraud via www.actionfraud.police.uk or by phone on 0300 123 2040, or call police on 101.
