Latest news with #romancefraud
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Kent Police chief constable to face questions on romance scams
Antisocial behaviour and romance fraud will be among the topics discussed when Kent's chief constable answers questions on BBC Radio Constable Tim Smith will appear in the hot seat on Thursday, answering presenter Dominic King's questions on his programme live from 10:00 Kent Police boss will also answer questions on pay and working conditions in the will be his fourth time in the hot seat. Appearing on the programme in January, Mr Smith said Kent Police had asked the government for funding to help with the "huge costs" of enforcing the ban on XL bully has worked for Kent Police for 31 years and started as chief constable in chief constable reports to the police and crime commissioner and is responsible for Kent Police's direction and managing its budget.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Romance fraudster targeted widow, 81, who was heartbroken by death of her husband and fleeced her out of £27,000
An 81-year-old widower was fleeced out of £27,000 after being targeted by a romance fraudster who took advantage of her loneliness. Doreen Daniel became the victim of the scammer shortly following the death of her husband Gordon, leaving her family devastated. Romance fraud is when scammers pretend to be interested in a relationship with their victim in order to gain their trust before manipulating them into sending money or personal information. Doreen, from Angmering in West Sussex, received messages and calls on WhatsApp from a man claiming to be a financial advisor called Adam, living in Switzerland and Monaco. After building a friendship with her, he convinced the widower to download an app that let him take remote control of her devices and transfer money out of her bank accounts. The fraudster convinced Doreen that the money would be entered into a raffle for a chance to win £100,000. Her family said they did not know that she was being scammed until her bank card was declined while food shopping. After going through accounts, they became aware of huge amounts of money that had been taken out of Doreen's account. The scammer had also archived all of the messages on WhatsApp so her family 'didn't find them for ages'. The family believe she was targeted by the scammer due to the fact she had been recently widowed. Karen Daniel, Doreen's daughter, told the BBC: 'To hit on someone who is that vulnerable when they have just lost their life partner, it makes me feel sick. How can somebody been so cruel to do that?'. They also believe Doreen had been victim of several other scams before the romance fraud including ordering diet pills through dodgy social media links. Another incident saw the family find a man in her house attempting to persuade her to buy water softening product for £4,000. Doreen's granddaughter, Jasmine El Samad, a journalism student, recorded a conversation with her grandmother to gain a better understanding of the scam. In the recording, Doreen admitted that Adam made her feel 'special' and sounded 'very knowledgeable' but added that he wouldn't let her see him on a video call. Believing she was entering a raffle to win the digital currency bitcoin, Doreen said she continued to allow the investments despite thinking something didn't feel right. Jasmine said: 'He'd complimented her appearance, saying things like, "you can't be 80". 'Flattery would have got you anywhere with Nan quite frankly at that point, after Granddad passed away. 'Making her think that she had this friend that was also going to change her life financially - it was the perfect combination of an attack really. Doreen's family were able to get around £18,000 back from the bank but the crime was never reported to the police. The 81-year-old died in November 2023 after suffering two mini strokes which her family believe was brought on by the loss of her husband and the stress caused by the scams. Fraud makes up 40 per cent of all recorded crime in England and Wales, Home Office figures show with Action Fraud saying that in £92m was lost by victims to romance scams in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024, the cases of romance scams reported to Action Fraud have increased by 27 per cent.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- BBC News
Romance fraud: Widowed grandmother conned out of £27k
The family of an 81-year-old widow who was conned out of £27,000 in a romance fraud say they are heartbroken scammers preyed on her Daniel, from Angmering in West Sussex, became the victim of scammers shortly after her husband Gordon fraud is when someone is conned into sending money to a criminal who convinces them they are in a genuine Home Office says fraud makes up 40% of all recorded crime in England and Wales, with Action Fraud saying £92m was lost by victims to romance scams in 2024 alone. Cases of romance fraud reported to Action Fraud have increased by 27% between 2020 and 2024. 'Had to be a secret' Doreen's family said they were not aware she was being scammed until her bank card was declined at a they looked at her accounts, they saw a large sum of money had been transferred Daniel, Doreen's daughter, said: "When we realised what was going on she told us she couldn't tell anyone and that it had to be a secret. "To hit on someone who is that vulnerable when they have just lost their life partner, it makes me feel sick. "How can somebody been so cruel to do that?" she said. Karen's daughter, Jasmine El Samad, said a man had been messaging and calling her grandmother on WhatsApp. He claimed to be a financial advisor called Adam and said he lived in Switzerland and said he had convinced Doreen to download an app, which enabled him to take remote control of her devices so he could then transfer cash. He had convinced her the money would help her enter a raffle with a chance to win about £100, and Karen, say they believe Doreen was targeted because she had recently been widowed. "He'd complimented her appearance, saying things like, 'you can't be 80'," Jasmine said. "Flattery would have got you anywhere with Nan quite frankly at that point, after Granddad passed away."Making her think that she had this friend that was also going to change her life financially - it was the perfect combination of an attack really," she added. Diet pills scam Jasmine said Adam had archived all of the messages on WhatsApp "so we didn't find them for ages".Doreen's family say they believe she had been the victim of a number of scams prior to the romance fraud, including ordering products such as diet pills through suspicious links on social said at one point they found a man in her house trying to sell her a water softening product for £4,000. Karen said: "I believe that once you're scammed once these scammers just sell your data on to the next one and the next one." Jasmine, a journalism student, interviewed Doreen after the family discovered she had been conned, to get a better understanding of what had the audio recording, Doreen said Adam had made her feel special and sounded very knowledgeable, but wouldn't let her see him on a video the recording Doreen said she believed she was entering a raffle to win the digital currency bitcoin. She admitted she had thought something wasn't right, but kept allowing the investments. Doreen's family say they believe they missed some warning family were able to get around £18,000 back from the crime was not reported to police. Doreen went on to have two mini family believe losing her husband and the stress and anxiety the scams caused, led to a rapid decline in Doreen's died in November 2023. How to avoid romance scams According to Action Fraud, signs of romance fraud include a person being secretive about their relationship or becoming hostile or angry when asked about their online may have sent, or be planning to send, money to someone they have never met in person. Advice for protecting yourself against scams includes:Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met onlineSpeak to your family or friends to get adviceProfile photos may not be genuine, so do your research first. Performing a reverse image search using a search engine can help you find photos that have been stolen from somewhere else Advice for supporting a victim of a scam includes:Reassure your loved one you are there for them and it is not their faultImprove your own understanding about romance scamsRemember to look after yourself, too - supporting someone through romance fraud can be toughSource: Action Fraud / Victim Support Further support can be found via BBC Action Line. Kent Police Det Con Mark Newman said: "Fraud crimes are being committed nationally and internationally and the modus operandi of these crimes are changing constantly, sometimes it seems like on a weekly basis."There needs to be a bigger response from the government, and social media companies need to intervene," he said."Time and time again social media companies are not bringing down accounts that we ask them to and they're making it hard for us to investigate. This needs to be brought up on a national scale more."Meta, the company which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, would not give a statement, but gave advice on how to avoid romance Home Office said it was "taking decisive action to crack down" on scams through its new, expanded fraud strategy. Mr Newman says bringing offenders to justice is difficult because the crimes are usually committed outside the UK, which means a there is a lower chance of bringing a prosecution. Dr Elisabeth Carter, a criminologist and forensic linguist at Kingston University, says fraud victims are groomed and coerced and should be treated similarly to victims of domestic abuse."Victims are being manipulated on the most basic human level."Dr Carter explained: "We have to remember that the fraud that we recognise like the ones that pop up in your inbox aren't going to get you. The one that's going to get you will use your contextual and situational vulnerabilities and you won't realise it." For more stories of romance fraud and betrayal Vicky Pattison hosts the Love Bombed podcast on BBC Sounds Under the Online Safety Act, passed in 2023, social media sites and search engines now have a duty to prevent and minimise illegal fraudulent content appearing on their platforms, which includes romance fraud and other types of fraud by false platforms do not comply, the media regulator Ofcom can take action. This includes imposing a fine of up to £18m or 10% of the company's qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is October 2024, banks were given new powers by the government to delay and investigate suspected fraudulent payments for up to 72 has also been mandatory for banks and other payment service providers to reimburse customers who fall victim to certain types of minister Dan Jarvis said: "I continue to urge the tech companies on whose platforms much of this criminality takes place to go further and faster to protect the public from fraud."We will continue to work with law enforcement partners at home and overseas to tackle these shameful criminals, and shut down their fraudulent operations. And we urge all members of the public to search Stop! Think Fraud to stay ahead of the most common scams, and increase their online security."
BBC News
15-05-2025
- BBC News
Romance fraud cases in Surrey reach nearly 1,000
There have been nearly 1,000 reported romance fraud cases in Surrey since 2020, new figures 2024, Action Fraud recorded 8,548 cases of romance fraud nationally, accounting for more than £92m lost.A Surrey widower previously told the BBC he was left homeless after falling victim to a con that saw him transfer his £85,000 life savings to a woman who never Bernadette Lawrie, financial abuse safeguarding officer for Surrey Police, said romance fraud, when a fraudster engineers a supposed relationship for financial gain, was "probably one of the most horrible crime types" the force saw. She said scammers targeted the vulnerable, including those who were recently bereaved, divorced, lonely or already isolated."The financial impact and losses are high, but the impact goes so far beyond the financial," she told BBC Radio Surrey."It really can be quite devastating. We see victims take a long time to recover, if at all, to rebuild that trust and faith in other people and rebuild the relationships around them that they have lost through that period."Police previously said victims of romance fraud were subject to losses of more than £7m last year in Surrey and Sussex. PC Lawrie described the period when fraudsters were initially making contact and "building a rapport" with victims as "basically a lengthy grooming period"."They're grooming the victim until eventually they ask for the money," she said."By the time they ask for the money, they've sown the seed of why they are going to need it."In Surrey, there were 198 cases reported to Action Fraud in 2020, with a peak of 250 cases in total since 2020 is 983 cases in the area, while 183 were reported in Minister Dan Jarvis said romance fraud was a "cruel and calculated crime" which often left victims "financially and emotionally shattered".He added: "We will continue to work with law enforcement partners at home and overseas to tackle these shameful criminals, and shut down their fraudulent operations."And we urge all members of the public to search Stop! Think Fraud to stay ahead of the most common scams, and increase their online security." How to avoid romance scams According to Action Fraud, signs of romance fraud include a person being secretive about their relationship or becoming hostile or angry when asked about their online may have sent, or be planning to send, money to someone they have never met in for protecting yourself against scams includes:Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met onlineSpeak to your family or friends to get adviceProfile photos may not be genuine, so do your research first. Performing a reverse image search using a search engine can help you find photos that have been stolen from somewhere elseAdvice for supporting a victim of a scam includes:Reassure your loved one you are there for them and it is not their faultImprove your own understanding about romance scamsRemember to look after yourself, too - supporting someone through romance fraud can be toughSource: Action Fraud / Victim Support Further support can be found via BBC Action Line.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
Nottingham romance fraudster who posed as footballer jailed
A man who posed as a professional footballer to con a woman out of more than £16,000 in a "cynical" romance fraud has been Police said Hesaam Ghori, 27, span "a web of lies" to befriend and exploit his victim with romantic promises over a 14-month said the 27-year-old's lies included that he was a player for Burton Albion and that he and his sister had cancer and needed money to pay for private from Nottingham, was jailed for two years and four months at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday after admitting four counts of fraud by false representation. Police said Ghori initially contacted his victim, from Nottingham, via Instagram in 2021 after seeing her profile on a dating pair exchanged messages in which he claimed to have a sponsorship deal with a clothing brand through his fictitious football said when they finally met in person, Ghori told the woman he loved her and wanted to marry her. 'Emotional devastation' Detectives said Ghori then started to ask the woman for money for a range of reasons - each time promising to pay her back before making excuses not said Ghori's deceptions were exposed when the woman came across a post on TikTok that showed him at a wedding on the same day he said he would be in hospital undergoing cancer contacted police, who arrested Ghori in April 2024, by which time she had given him £16, investigation found he had also conned three other victims in Leeds, Bradford, and Reading, who he had duped out of £2,320, £350 and £521, said each of the other victims suffered a considerable emotional impact from Ghori's actionsThe Nottingham victim said she had suffered a "heartless" deception and "emotional devastation". In a statement read in court, she said: "Over several months we communicated daily, sharing stories, dreams, and plans for the future. "I began to trust him deeply, and he made me believe we were building a real relationship and at some point, we'd get married and start a family together."As the relationship developed, Hesaam began to plead for significant amounts of money, telling me he needed funds for medical emergencies, i.e his sister having cancer, himself having cancer. "Hesaam told me he needed money for flights to visit family abroad for family emergencies, house burdens, and money to pay for our wedding."On each occasion Hesaam promised he'd pay me back in full. "I felt compelled to assist Hesaam as I loved him. I transferred money repeatedly, believing it would alleviate his difficulties and bring us closer." 'Utterly betrayed' She added: "When Hesaam told me he and his little sister were battling cancer, I felt an overwhelming sense of compassion and responsibility to support them. "I poured my heart into being there for them emotionally and financially, believing that I was helping someone I loved through a life-threatening ordeal."The most painful part of it all is now knowing that Hesaam exploited my kindness and manipulated me to make financial gains for himself. "Every word he said, every message he sent, every promise he made and every tearful plea he made was calculated to manipulate me. "Learning that this was a complete fabrication has left me feeling utterly betrayed and devastated."The court heard Ghori had exploited his victims' "kindness and generosity" to fund a lifestyle that served his own pleasure, including plane tickets to Pakistan, a moderately expensive car and football tickets to Liverpool games. Restraining orders imposed Det Con Nabeel Dad said: "Ghori went to great lengths to build rapport with his victims and gain their trust, before fabricating stories to exploit them out of vast sums."He demonstrated a cynical disregard for his victims, grooming them with romantic promises before manipulating them for his own selfish financial gain."Ghori was also given a five-year restraining order preventing him from contacting his said a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing would be held at a future date.
