Romance fraudster used online gaming to meet North East woman and con her out of £200K
A conman used an online gaming app to meet a victim who was looking for love, before conning her out of more than £200,000.
The North East woman was left with just £300 to her name after she became the victim of romance fraud.
The 56-year-old woman, whose identity is being kept anonymous, lost a fortune to the scammer who pretended to be in love with her to trick her into funnelling him her money via Bitcoin.
The woman met the scammer - who called himself 'Eric' - on an online gaming app.
The pair got along well, so started chatting over other platforms like Google Hangout and WhatsApp.
The woman explained how she had just come out of a relationship lasting nearly 40 years.
She said: "I was feeling very lonely. Eric seemed to understand, and our conversations were deep and after a while we fell in love – or so I thought.
"As it turned out he was just telling me everything I wanted to hear...I know it’s hard to believe, but the conversations we had were so intense"
Criminals carrying out romance fraud are experts in conning people. Through speaking daily, Eric made the North East woman believe she knew who she was talking to, and never thought she was being scammed.
She said "It started out [with] small amounts of money, but I ended up losing over £200,000 in total.
"He got me to open a Bitcoin account to transfer the money. At the time I thought I was doing a good thing and helping people in need and I was promised I’d get it back ...he had my trust and I thought he loved me, I was totally sucked in.
"When I realised what had happened and how much I’d lost I broke down in front of my family because I was so ashamed and felt so stupid, but my children were so supportive. I was left with £300 to my name when all I wanted was to find love but I paid the price.”
Romance fraud scammers will often create fake identities to take advantage of vulnerable people who are looking for relationships.
Last year, £92million was lost by victims of the crime in the UK.
Victims of romance fraud often do not realise they are victims of a scam until it is too late, and then they are often too ashamed to report it.
Romance scammers tactics have recently been increasingly highlighted in popular culture, as true crime stories such as Netflix's Tinder Swindler gained widespread attention.
'Eric's' victim has spoken out about her ordeal in hopes of warning others.
She encourages other victims to tell their story to the police so they force the scammers to face justice.
The woman said the police showed her how she had been taken in: “All photos I received seemed genuine, but officers showed me how to reverse search an image and then I saw they were all fake."
With support, the woman sought help from Action Fraud and Northumbria Police.
Two years on from her experience, she said she had managed to begin to piece her life back together.
"It took a long time but I’m finally in a better place...Life is too short to dwell, but I remember the feeling when I realised what had happened to me- the enormity of it all was overwhelming."
She added: “I would urge anyone who has concerns or thinks they’ve been a victim to speak out - reporting what happened to you can help prevent it happening to others."
What should I do if I'm targeted by a romance fraudster?
The national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, Action Fraud, advise never to give details or money out to people who you have met online.
If you think you are the victim of dating fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
For more advice on how to stay safe from fraudsters visit the Action Fraud site: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/dating-fraud