Plenty of fishing leads to fraud

Figures show that men in their 20s and 30s have been increasingly preyed on by romance fraudsters during lockdown.

 

Data from the police reporting service Action Fraud revealed a 46 per cent increase in reports from men under the age of 40, in 2020, compared with the previous year.

 

Men in their 20s were the most common age group reporting scams, accounting for some 496 victims out of 2,464. Experts said men were increasingly being targeted on social media and some were blackmailed after being tricked into performing lewd acts on webcam.

 

Martyn James, at complaints service Resolver, said romance scams could have a "devastating" impact. She added, "The old stereotype of the lonely single person looking for love and making bad choices still exists – but applies across all genders, demographic and age groups. Scams have evolved and sophisticated fraudsters have all sorts of ways to part you from your cash and personal information, including blackmail."

 

"Men are increasingly likely to fall victim to romance scams, especially via social media like Instagram and Facebook, where there has been a surge in fraudsters targeting young men in particular. Be suspicious of people that come on strong and declare love early, do a reverse image search on their profile photos, avoid sending any compromising photos to people you've not met in person. Be on your guard if you arrange to meet but they keep cancelling at the last minute. Don't fall for a sob story and don't send money to someone you've never met in person."

 

34-year-old Thomas was targeted by scammers claiming to be a woman in the US, in 2019. Thomas and the woman bonded, the woman then claimed that she needed help transferring money to a friend. During their chats Thomas gave enough information that the criminals were able to take out a £14,000 loan in his name and Thomas did not realise the money he transferred was in fact a loan in his name until he received letters from the lender.

 

56 per cent of victims reporting romance scams were women, with most in their 40s or 50s. In total, in 2020, 3,766 reports to Action Fraud were made by women. Experts said that was an under-representation of the true scale as victims might feel embarrassed to come forward.

 

Katy Worobec, at UK Finance, said, "Criminals will target anyone, regardless of age or gender. While more women have fallen victim to these types of scams, men are also at risk with younger men more likely than older ones to fall victim to a romance scam." She added, "Be alert to spelling and grammar mistakes and inconsistencies in stories."

 

Whitestone Solicitors

Rochdale