Nearly £900,000 (€1.03 million) has been lost to what police have described as “cruel” romance scams in Northern Ireland since April, the PSNI have said.
They state that between April 2025 and the beginning of this month, over £866,700 (€994,732) has been stolen across roughly 100 reported incidents of the offence, reports Breaking News.
Officers are using the Valentine’s Day weekend to draw attention to what they describe as a “cruel and very personal fraud”.
Chief Inspector Boyd said the financial losses involved are “life-changing sums of money”, reports Breaking News.
He said one individual came forward after losing more than £40,000 (€46,000) having met a scammer online.
“The relationship then grew over time,” he explained “before they were persuaded into transferring money, which happened on multiple occasions, either sending money directly or purchasing gift cards to send codes on to the scammer”, reports Breaking News.
In another case, a victim reported losing approximately £15,000 (€17,216) over a period of several months.
The PSNI are urging the public to safeguard themselves from romance scammers by examining the social media profiles of potential partners to confirm the details they provide, reports Breaking News.
They also recommend making use of reverse image search tools to ensure profile photographs are authentic.
Additionally, they warn people never to transfer money to someone they have not met face-to-face, reports Breaking News.
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