Stockton romance fraud victim duped into paying more than £10,000

There has been a rise in romance scams on Teesside, authorities say

A romance scam victim lost more than £10,000 to a fraudster in Nigeria amid a rise in people being conned online.

The Stockton victim was stopped from parting with even more cash after police and authorities stepped in.

It follows a case in 2021 where one person thought they were chatting to Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone and almost lost a lot of money.

Cleveland's Victim, Care and Advice Service (VCAS) said it had seen a rise in romance cons on Teesside.

The most recent case was highlighted in a report to the Safer Stockton Partnership.

• 'I wish I hadn't given £300k to a man I met online'

It showed how the council's adult safeguarding team sought help from trading standards officials when they became concerned someone they were helping may have been a scam victim, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Dave Mead, from the Cleveland Victim, Care and Advice Service, also warned people to be on their guard in the wake of the ongoing war in Ukraine., believing it would only be a matter of time before romance fraud cases linked to the conflict were seen locally.

It follows similar experiences relating to the war in Syria where people were duped by con artists claiming to be doing good.

"The terrible situation now lends itself to vulnerable people being hooked by those pretending to be heroes," he said.

"We speak to everyone who has been a victim of a romance scam. Again, quite often it's people who've purported to be soldiers and charity workers.

"And with what's happening at the moment in Ukraine, it will happen where there'll be people on dating sites who say they'll need money to help children and they'll play on that."

Signs of romance scams

• They are reluctant to video call or meet in person.

• They ask you a lot of questions about yourself and share little about themselves that can be checked or verified.

• Scammers often use duplicated profile pictures.

• Some claim to live in the UK when in fact they reside in another country - tell tales signs include poor grammar or grasp of the English language.

• Asking for money for medical care for themselves of an ill relative.

• Asking for money for travel to the UK to meet you.