Woman loses house after being scammed out of £100k

A woman lost her house after she was scammed into sending thousands of pounds to romance fraudsters, Kent Police said

A Kent woman said she lost her home after being scammed out of nearly £100,000 in a romance fraud.

Sarah, from Swale, was tricked by scammers into believing that she was in a relationship with an American serviceman who told her he needed help with food and medical expenses.

She told the BBC: "I lost my house, I lost my car, my furniture, I lost my self-respect."

Kent Police said an investigation was under way, but that no arrests had been made and the missing money had not been traced.

A police spokesperson said the woman was first contacted by the scammers in 2022 having recently suffered a bereavement.

Over several months she grew to trust the scammer, later sending him cash in the form of gift cards when he claimed he was deployed overseas.

Sarah said that he would routinely tell her: "You have to pay me, because I love you."

On one particular day, the scammer contacted her to say that his son had died in a car accident and that he needed money to pay the hospital bill.

'Particularly cruel offence'

In January this year, the fraudster suggested coming to visit the UK but Sarah declined.

"I said no, because technically I've lost £90,000 to you and I can't give you anymore," she said.

After finding herself in considerable debt and losing her house, Sarah sought to withdraw from the relationship but was threatened by more fraudsters who said they would release details about her life on the internet.

Kent Police added that she was later contacted by another scammer claiming to be from the FBI, who again tricked her out of money.

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Det Ch Insp Helen Smithers said: "Romance fraud is a particularly cruel offence because the criminals responsible prey on the emotions of their victims, letting them think they are falling in love when they are actually falling for an elaborate scam.

"Our best advice is to never send money to someone who you have never met in person or do not completely trust.

"If you have any doubts about a person's intentions, always speak to a family member or friend for advice because if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is."

Kent Police said that romance fraud cost 240 people in the county a total of £3.1m in the past year, with an average of £13,000 per victim.