Fraudsters are taking advantage of lonely singles on Valentine’s Day
Haven't completely lost your faith in humanity yet? We suggest you sit down…
Research by KPMG has found dastardly fraudsters are using dating sites to target lonely singles on Valentine's Day. In fact, according to its fraud barometer, people lost £3.2m to dating scams in 2015.
One fraudster conned five women out of £180,000 – and used the money to fund an "extravagant lifestyle".
KPMG urged people with profiles on dating sites (and, ahem, apps) to be wary of people who claim to be overseas or unable to meet, and warned them never to give any money to anyone.
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“Fraudsters are posing as lonely hearts with the sole intention of seeking out the trusting and vulnerable and taking advantage of their good nature. By manipulating this technology they target multiple victims at the same time, while keeping costs and overheads low," said Chris Wheeler, forensic director of KPMG.
“While operators of sites need to do what they can to protect users, individuals also need to keep their details safe and never part with money or financial information to these would be Lotharios.
“We have seen numerous innocent people looking for love lose their life savings. However, these criminals rob their victims of far more than just money, destroying their confidence and trust in others.”
Er, happy Valentine's Day, everyone…