Figures from Action Fraud reveal an 11% rise in reports of fraud in 2024.
A 72-year-old woman was targeted by a romance scammer who attempted to trick her into sending them money.
Sue was targeted when she joined an online dating group a few years after her husband, Dan, died, which she said "devastated" her.Shortly after joining the group, Sue started receiving messages from someone claiming to be called John."He said that he was a civil engineer and he was 71," Sue said.A couple of days after he started messaging her, Sue said John told her he loved her.
Police advise anyone who has been a victim of a scam to report it as soon as possible, both to Action Fraud and their bank."The second week, it went quiet for two days and then he popped back up and said that he'd been mugged and he'd been shot in the leg. He’d been taken to hospital.""He contacted me from his hospital bed and said that he hadn't eaten for two days," she said.She told him she was not prepared to send him any money.
That is up 11% from the same period in 2023, a rise primarily driven by an increase in reports of hacking, dating scams and online shopping and auction fraud. When she arrived in London, she saw she had been charged by "a restaurant in Sydney that I have never been to".She did not report the incident to the police as her bank quickly froze her card. But she is now more vigilant about what wi-fi she uses."It can be very difficult sometimes to tell."Top tips for scam safety:
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