Interesting Fact - Romance Online

Now that Valentine's Day is over for another year, here's a cautionary warning.  Over the past year in the UK, over £24 million pounds has been conned out of people in what is being called, romance fraud,

(The UK's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has recorded in excess of more than 1,000 victims being conned out of around £21,600 each.  This can often involve the person's life savings.

Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, said “As more of us bring our personal lives into the virtual world, it’s crucial that people are extra vigilant about the information they share. Sometimes we need to use our heads ahead of our hearts to ensure we don’t fall victim to romance fraud."
Here is a check-list of things to watch out for:-

  • The new love of your life looks like a supermodel in the pictures they send you.
  • They ask you lots of questions about yourself but don’t tell you much about themselves.
  • They quickly start calling you by a pet name or use endearing terms such as ‘darling’.
  • They want to communicate with you through instant messaging and texts, rather than through the dating website or chat room where you met.
  • They don’t answer basic questions about where they live and work.
  • They start asking you to send them money.
There are some genuinely nice people out there, but there are also a lot of tricksters, so be vigilant, and look after each other.)