Romance Scammer Targets 72 Year Old Widow

Sue had lost her husband of 40 years, Don, a few years before joining an online dating group. Whilst in the group, Sue was contacted by a man called John, who claimed to be a widower of six years and was in Dubai.

After only messaging for a few days, John told Sue he loved her. Following a brief silence in communication, John then said that he had been mugged and shot, providing the name of a real hospital he was supposedly sent to.

John then asked for £100 in gift cards to get something to eat. He also claimed that he couldn’t pay his medical bills. After telling John she couldn’t send the money, Sue contacted BBC Morning Live suspecting that she had been the target of a romance scam.

A romance scam can happen to anyone, but the fraudsters often target vulnerable people with the intention of entering into a relationship for monetary gain. Fraudsters can spend significant time and effort making their victims feel like they are in a genuine relationship and that the fraudster cares about them, before then going on to ask for money.

An investigation into romance scams was conducted by BBC’s Morning Live and England Data Unit which found that Action Fraud received 190,030 fraud reports in the first half of 2024. The findings revealed an 11% rise in fraudulent activity from the previous year. This rise mainly comprised of hacking, dating scams and shopping fraud.

Romance scams like Sue’s are a type of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud. This is where victims are tricked into sending money to the scammers willingly (‘authorised’), under false pretences. This type of fraud preys on people’s vulnerabilities, using impersonation, social engineering and other manipulative techniques to gain trust. Along with romance scams, APP fraud can include crypto scams, investment scams and employment scams, among others.

Your first step is to contact your bank as soon as possible as they may be able to stop any transactions that have not already gone through. For transactions that have already been processed, you may be able to claim compensation from your bank. This is because banks have a duty of care to protect customers from APP fraud by having rigorous procedures and systems to warn, detect and prevent scams from happening in the first place.

You should also always report suspected fraudulent activity to Action Fraud and the police. This may result in a criminal investigation and will help to prevent the same fraudsters scamming other people in the future.

TLW Solicitors has a team of APP Fraud specialists with extensive experience of pursuing claims against banks that allowed the payments to be made, as well as with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), an independent government backed body set up to settle disputes between financial institutions and their customers.

While changes to APP fraud reimbursement were introduced on 7 October 2024, the new rules do not apply to all cases. We can undertake a free, no-obligation assessment of your case and advise on whether we think you have a valid claim. We work on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis, this means that if your claim is unsuccessful, we will not charge you for the time we have spent on it.

Commenting on the BBC reported case, Sarah Spruce, Legal Director at TLW Solicitors said:

“Hearing that there is an uptick of fraudulent activity is no surprise given the number of enquiries we have received in the past year. It’s a relief to see that some individuals like Sue can spot the early warning signs, but not everyone is so savvy.

“Romance scams are one of the most common forms of APP fraud, targeting emotionally vulnerable people such as widows and widowers who may be seeking companionship after such terrible loss. I would urge anyone who may have been contacted online or through messaging and dating apps with a view to starting a relationship to take a step back if things don’t feel quite right.
If you or a loved one end up in this situation and have lost out financially, please don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed and know that you are not alone – help is available. Get in touch with our specialist fraud team, who can assess your case and see if you may be eligible to make a ‘no-win, no-fee’ claim for the compensation that you are rightfully owed.”