A woman from Brighton has shared her experience of falling victim to a romance scammer, as new data reveals a significant increase in reports of romance fraud over the past four years. In England and Wales, there were 7,660 cases of romance fraud reported last year, compared to 4,842 in 2019. Mary Chater, who was targeted by a fraudster on Facebook, described how she was lured in by the scammer’s endearing language. The government, however, claims that overall fraud is actually decreasing.
Mary Chater, aged 65, was contacted by a person claiming to be a UN doctor named Dani, more than two years after the death of her husband. The scammer used an image of a real family doctor from Denmark, Christian Gerhard Boving, and started making financial demands, pretending to fund research for his trauma work. Ms Chater’s bank intervened and prevented her from sending money. Boving has experienced his images being used by fraudsters for the past decade and is calling on companies like Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) to implement stronger verification measures for new profiles.
The figures on romance fraud were obtained from Action Fraud, a national reporting center for fraud and cybercrime. Last year, a total of £75 million was reported to have been defrauded in the 7,660 romance fraud cases. The oldest victim recorded since 2019 was 101 years old. In an effort to combat fraud on their platforms, 12 major tech companies, including Facebook, Instagram, and Match Group, signed a voluntary agreement with the government. The agreement includes measures to enable users to interact only with verified profiles.
Dr Elisabeth Carter, a criminologist and forensic linguist, warns that fraudsters often use grooming tactics to manipulate victims. Their language resembles coercive control and domestic abuse, making victims feel responsible for the well-being of the fraudster. Victim Support, a charity, highlights that many victims are afraid to seek help due to shame and stigma. The government recently launched an advertising campaign to fight against scammers, along with a National Fraud Squad and agreements from tech firms.
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