A NORTH Wales woman who thought she was helping people handed over thousands of pounds to fraudsters after being tricked online.

As Valentine's Day approaches, Detective Sergeant David Hall of the North Wales Police Economic Crime Unit has issued advice to the public about Romance Fraud.

He said: "At this time of year we see more romance fraud going on - people are using dating sites and they're getting messages from people who they think are genuine.

"But they work on their victim's vulnerabilities and ask them to hand money over.

"They could say they need it for a passport or a plane ticket, or that they've been in a crash and need money for hospital treatment.

"Before the victim has realised they're possibly giving thousands or tens of thousands of pounds to this person they think they're talking to - who doesn't actually exist."

On the signs to look out for, DS Hall said: "Sometimes the fraudster will use stock or photoshopped images taken from Facebook or Instagram.

"Don't believe everything everyone tells you.

"And as soon as someone asks you for money, be suspicious. That's a red flag straight away.

"If you're sent a picture, be suspicious and make enquiries. You can use a reverse Google image search and see where that image has been used before.

"If a victim can't do it themselves, for example if they're not computer-savvy, they can speak to family or speak to North Wales Police."

DS Hall told the Leader of a recent true case which has been concluded in the North Wales area, in order to give some idea of the extent to which victims can be exploited.

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In 2022, a woman contacted North Wales Police reporting that her mother, who is in her 60s, had met someone online and that he had subsequently asked for money. 

The informant suspected that the victim had already sent over £12,000 and that this wasn’t the first time her mother had lost money.

Officers attended to speak with the victim, who explained that she had been in contact with a number of males who she had met online playing a game.

One of the males sent her an image of an injured person in hospital, claiming it to be a picture of himself, and requesting money for hospital bills. 

Another male told her that he was a doctor in Iraq and needed money to get out of his contract with the US Army so that he could return home to his daughter. 

Yet another male told her that he had an inheritance owed to him by the Turkish government and the victim was asked to pay £20,000 in legal fees to release millions of dollars. 

In total the victim had previously lost over £8,000 to fraudsters over a short period of time.

The most recent suspect had been in contact with the victim for about a year and had requested money throughout that time. 

He had told the victim that he worked on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland but was originally from the USA. 

He seemed to be aware of the previous financial loss and offered to help the victim get her money back by putting her in touch with 'a friend in the FBI'.

This led to the victim believing that he was genuine and would be able to help her.

The victim had sent money to the suspect to arrange transport off the rig so that they could meet, but the suspect had repeatedly cancelled for various reasons.

The victim was also told that the suspect had damaged equipment on the oil rig, which he was expected to pay for, but he claimed he had lost his phone and wallet at sea so his bank accounts had been blocked. 

In order to help the suspect, the victim took out loans and credit cards and, in total, sent him over £12,000.

Eventually the victim accepted that she had been the victim of fraud.

She was advised to cease contact with the suspects, to stop sending money and not to accept money from others she did not know. 

In December 2022 the victim attended the police station to advise that she had received a package in the post containing a large sum of money. 

It transpired that the suspect had contacted the victim again, asking her to accept a package for him. 

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When the package arrived, the victim was told to pay the money into her own bank account and then use it to purchase crypto currency for the suspect. 

Thankfully, she recognised that this was fraudulent and had refused to launder the money through her account.

Enquiries revealed that the money had been sent to her by a female in Scotland who had also been the victim of romance fraud.

This female believed that she had sent the money to an estate agent as a deposit for a property that the fraudster had told her he intended to purchase for them both to live in together. 

This female also initially refused to accept that she had been defrauded but, following enquiries carried out by the Financial Abuse Safeguarding Officer, and multiple telephone conversations, she was persuaded that this was part of a scam.

Local law enforcement was made aware so that support could be offered and the money was returned to her bank account.

DS Hall acknowledged there is a reluctance for victims of romance fraud to come forward, but he urged those affected to speak to North Wales Police.

"There is an embarrassment," he said. 

"People can think 'I've been so stupid' - but we say no, you haven't been.

"These people are trying to make you believe them because all they want is your money.

"You're a victim of fraud and you shouldn't be embarrassed about coming to us, especially if we're talking about losing thousands of pounds."