Online daters warned over romance after Shropshire men scammed

Fraud investigators from West Mercia Police say the number of internet romance scams is on the increase across the region and are warning people to be on their guard.

A vulnerable man with learning difficulties from Telford became friendly with a Ghanaian who was going to move to the UK to be with him. The victim sent nearly £1,000 to pay for a visa before the scam was exposed.

Another Shropshire man met a woman on a dating site last October. They formed a relationship and she introduced him to a lawyer who offered investment opportunities regarding a cocoa plantation in Africa. He sent more than £16,000 to people in Ghana and Holland.

And an elderly Shropshire man lost £25,000 sent to various people in Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe. The victim used Skype to speak to others from all over the world who shared similar interests. He then began to receive unsolicited contact from a woman in Ghana and eventually the conversation became sexual.

Someone purporting to be from a newspaper in Ghana then made contact, saying they were going to report him to the courts. He was then contacted by another person saying they could represent him in the High Court and money was forwarded to pay for a "fine".

The scam came to light when court documents sent to him were found to be fake.

Money

Detective Constable Tina Athwal, a fraud investigator with the Economic Crime Unit for West Mercia, said: "As use of the internet for dating purposes increases, so do the number of scams associated with it and the amount of money lost.

"Most dating scams stem from online dating websites or forums, whereby criminals using fake personal profiles dupe victims.

"Once fraudsters have gained the trust of their victims, they begin to request money under the guise of various false eventualities. These could be anything from a medical problem they have to claiming to be military personnel based overseas and needing funds for flights home or early discharge.

"In other instances, as the online relationship develops, the exchanges become more intimate and the victims might be asked to share intimate pictures or perform sexual acts in front of a webcam.

"These images or videos are then used by the criminals to blackmail the victim into handing over money."

DC Athwal said people should think twice before taking a relationship "offline" and be extremely wary about sending money to people following internet contact.

"We are dealing with people who become victims as a result of doing nothing more than look for a relationship and, after believing stories they've been told, have parted with large amounts of their hard-earned money."