Gardaí are warning members of the public to be careful when it comes to sending money to people over the internet.
Incidences of romance fraud has increased internationally since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and occurs when a person befriends an individual with the sole purpose of exploiting money.
Just how common is this fraud?
According to gardaí, it is the second most lucrative form of organised crime in the world, and it is increasing in Ireland. More than €800,000 was stolen from Irish people who fell victim to these scams in the first five months of the year.
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Between January and May, 23 women and eight men reported this type of fraud to gardaí. The youngest victim was 27 years old, while the oldest was 69.
Have there been any high-profile cases in Ireland?
Gardaí began an investigation into one alleged scheme began last September following contact from Hungarian police to assist on a case where a woman was duped into sending $4,000 to an Irish bank account.
The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau was contacted through Interpol and following investigations and following an analysis of the bank account discovered that in a 12 month period up to October 2021, just over €109,000 was credited to the account from 12 different people in eight different European countries.
How do they do it?
According to Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan, from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, professional fraudsters are setting up fake online profiles to exploit people who may be lonely or vulnerable.
In all but one of the recent Irish cases, the victims encountered their fraudsters on social media or dating apps.
“It’s hugely profitable for them so they create the profile with a fake picture pulled from the internet, with a fake background, they put it up on a social media site and they wait for victims to be matched. To use a fishing analogy — they reel them in over a long period of time,” he told RTÉ Radio’s News at One.
The victim will then be encouraged to move away from the original dating or social media site, to a messaging service like WhatsApp, so there is less monitoring of the interaction.
“They start with a hard luck story, I’m sure at the moment they’re saying they’re getting stuck at airports because flights are cancelled and they have no money and they need money sent to them — first of all it will be a small amount of money and it will increase and increase over a period of time,” he added.
Where does the money go?
Often, the money is transferred to at least one foreign country, but can be moved around multiple places.
Det Supt Cryan said: “Usually two countries are involved — victims in one country and the laundering bank accounts in a different country. It is not always the case that the person who ends up with the money was the person who contacted the victim. So there may be a third country involved or even a fourth country — the victim’s money can often go to various accounts.”
What are the warning signs that the person might be a fraudster?
Det Supt Cryan said one red flag is when a person asks a lot of questions but offers very little information about themselves.
“They will also be too perfect. If you’re interested in something like classical 18th century French poetry then so will they and they’ll google it and the next time they’ll be able to talk about it. Their family situation will be very similar to yours,” he said.
“Also when you look at the conversation and the language and the terminology and even the spelling and the grammar it doesn’t fit the profile of someone who is pretending to be a doctor or an engineer or somebody who claims to be American, but it is quite clear when you read the text messages that English may not be their first language.”
How can I avoid being scammed?
“Be very wary of this person if this person is not able to do a live feed, won’t show their face, always has an excuse as to why they can’t to a live video call,” Det Supt Cryan added.
“Never send them money, don’t give them your personal data, do not take investment advice, do not buy cryptocurrency based on advice given by them. If you are in any doubt speak to somebody you trust — a friend, even call into a Garda station and ask to speak to someone in confidence.”
