A Staffordshire woman lost nearly £30,000 – after she fell for a stranger she met online.
Jessica, whose named has been changed by Staffordshire Police to protect her identity, is a victim of ‘romance fraud.’
Jessica is described by Staffordshire Police as having a comfortable existence – with a nice house and car. But it all unravelled after she fell for a scam.
Jessica began playing the popular Scrabble app ‘Words with Friends’ in 2011 – often talking to strangers and making friends.
But in June this year she was challenged to a game by a stranger who then seduced her and conned her out of a lot of money.
'He told me he lived in California..'
Jessica said: "He told me he lived in San Jose, California. His father was from the USA and his mother from Malta. The pictures he sent indicated that he was a very good looking man.
“He told me he had divorced his wife and lost their two children in a car accident three years ago.”
After a short period of time the conversation moved onto the Google Hangouts app, where over a number of weeks the fraudster claimed he was a millionaire, making his money as an oil rig contractor.
As they got to know each other better their relationship intensified, with the fraudster telling Jessica he loved her and sending her red roses.
Jessica received a number of photos and videos, including pictures of expensive flight tickets, to try and prove the lavish lifestyle he could apparently offer.
'I told him I wanted to book a cruise...'
The ongoing relationship gave Jessica a happiness she had not known for a long time, which unfortunately led her to make some rash financial decisions.
"I told him I wanted to book a cruise because I was feeling so much better thanks to him. He told me not to book it until we met up, but I couldn't resist it and booked a ticket for me and him," she said.
"This was when the scamming really started. He begged me to allow him to pay for the cruise, I refused and told him, pay me back when you see me.
“He made me feel guilty for calling him a liar and not caring, because I wouldn't accept his gratitude. So he tried to send me the money, and then he shared pictures claiming that all his $1.5m fortune was now frozen following a trip overseas.
"I challenged the fact that a jet-setting millionaire's bank account would be frozen as he is always travelling abroad, but he was very manipulative and made me feel uncaring.
“The conversation quickly turned and before I knew it I had agreed to send him £3,500 to cover necessities like food and medical supplies.
'He convinced me to send a further £26,350...'
“He said he had 65 staff underneath him that he needed to provide for and so two days later he convinced me to send a further £26,350."
Unfortunately the fraudster did not stop there, contacting Jessica in another two or three days and asking for an additional £7,150 as he had a problem at one of his oil rigs and needed money to fly over a specialist from Turkey.
By this time Jessica had run out of money and so her bank froze her account and said they suspected she had become victim to a scam.
'I struggled for days with limited money...'
"I struggled for 10 days on limited money and then luckily I managed to get some cash out to see me through," she said.
"I was visiting the bank daily, begging them to unfreeze my accounts as I had bills to pay. I was too ashamed to ask any friends or family for help, they wouldn't believe that I would be so stupid to give my hard-earned money to a stranger."
The scam was reported to Staffordshire Police and detectives met with Jessica to talk through her options and provide some reassurance.
The detective was able to demonstrate that the photo of the man she thought she was talking to was actually taken from a social media profile of a random man in Norway.
In reality her relationship was with a group of fraudsters who were most likely performing the same scam to a number of victims at any one time.
'I just felt stupid...'
When asked how she felt when she realised it was a scam, Jessica said: "To be honest, I just felt stupid. That money was there for a rainy day and retirement so that I could go and enjoy myself.
“But, it's gone now, never to be seen again. The only positive is that I'm a stronger person for it and now more aware of how easily people can be manipulated into something they want to believe is true."
Action Fraud and Staffordshire Police detectives are currently investigating this and many other examples of romance fraud, but unfortunately securing convictions and getting money back can be very difficult.
For the best advice on how to spot a romance scam before it is too late, go to Action Fraud. If you think you are a victim of any sort of fraud, please contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
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