One man tells of how he was tricked in a romance scam as banks warn £8m was lost by victims in six months.
Thomas and Tonia met on social media and started messaging regularly about their shared passion for travel and their pet dogs.
"Looking back now I can't believe how easy it was for her to take advantage of me. I had no idea she was tricking me into giving out my personal details so she could get money."He was the victim of an elaborate trick story. She claimed her parents had died and she was living with a grandmother with cancer in the US.
In fact, the money had come from loans taken out in his name by the fraudster, without his knowledge. When he started receiving letters from those loan companies, he realised he had been scammed. Many operate via dating services or social media, when the fraudster adopts a fake persona or picture, known as catfishing.A survey for UK Finance suggested that 27% of those asked who used dating websites had been subject to a catfishing attempt.
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