'Scrabble' romance scammer conned elderly pensioner out of £20,000
A romance scammer conned an elderly pensioner out of more than £20,000 after contacting her while playing the word game Scrabble online.
The 83-year-old widow, from Oldham, fell for the fraudster after he posed as an American millionaire who offered her another chance at love later in life.
Police say the conman claimed to be aged 60 and said he would come to the UK to be with the woman, who isn't being identified.
He persuaded the victim to chat with him on a messaging platform, separate to the game, before intensifying the relationship and asking for money.
One request for funds stated that his daughter urgently needed an operation on her leg and that he could not pay the surgeon as he did not have access to his bank card.
On another occasion, the fraudster claimed he needed to pay a bail fee after being arrested in Turkey while returning from a business trip. He even emailed a fake letter, from the United Nations, stating that he was a prisoner.
The fraud was only uncovered, after 18 months, when the woman's suspicions were raised and she told her brother. He reported it to the authorities.
The victim’s brother said: "Everyone should be suspicious if someone they don’t know contacts them online. The scammers are very clever. They target things like online Scrabble because they know they’ll find older women with a bit of money.
"She would ask to speak to him on the phone and there was always an excuse as to why he was unavailable. And he’d never use her name. It was always 'Babe', 'Sweetie', 'Queen' or 'Hunny' because they have so many on the go that they don’t want to risk using the wrong name.
"The photos and videos that she received seemed genuine but I found out how to do a reverse image search and was able to show her they were all fake."
Police said the woman's brother now has power of attorney and supports her bank in investigating suspicious transactions.
The scammer, or scammers, have not yet been caught.
Detective Sergeant Stacey Shannon, of Greater Manchester Police said: "Unfortunately, his story is far from unique and there are many people who fall victim to such scams.
"I hope his experience will help other victims realise what is happening to them and encourage them to make a report.
"Everyone should be vigilant online, and I want to emphasise that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."