00:08we just started chatting he was talking about his life and and my life and it seemed to coincide as
00:15we've both been in the army and I had this overwhelming feeling that he cared for me
00:21and he just wanted to do as much as he could for me he was going through a divorce and
00:26it didn't
00:27have any access to his accounts because his wife and he had joint accounts and that's why he needed
00:33extra help I did ask to talk to him or video facetime but he said because he was on a
00:39covert
00:39mission he couldn't risk that you know let me see who he was well after a long time of giving
00:47him
00:47money I realized I had lost nearly all my savings I ended up giving him 132,000
00:55stories used to play on your emotions then asking you for money sending you valuable items such as
01:01computers or phones and then asking you to send them elsewhere using tactics to play on your good
01:07nature in order to convince you to send money does this kind of online rhetoric sound familiar
01:12recently Durham Constabulary posted to their Facebook asking if you would be aware of the
01:17signs of romance fraud according to recent data between 2022 and 2025 there were 347 reports of
01:26romance fraud in the Northumbria police area with those affected claiming to have lost almost 2.4
01:32million pounds romance fraud typically starts with something that appears ordinary a message a match
01:39or a friendly conversation online criminals create convincing fake identities and invest time
01:45in building trust with their target over days weeks or sometimes months communication becomes more
01:51frequent and more personal victims are often made to feel they are in a genuine romantic relationship
01:57even though the person they are speaking to is not who they claim to be
02:04I'd been through a divorce and I'd finally put myself back out there after years of being told that
02:09you're not good enough finally somebody was there that seemed caring who was perfect in every way like
02:17he was supportive it was the next week however on that day he asked for a donation for the charity
02:25so I sent 50 pounds I thought it's for charity it's for a good thing you know just do it
02:29and then it was
02:30five days after that where we were continuously talking where he'd asked me for money for his house so
02:39people are being urged to take extra care when forming relationships online particularly if
02:45they are asked for money encouraged to keep the relationship secret or prevented from meeting in
02:50person they say anyone who is unsure should report concerns to the relevant platforms or authorities as
02:56early as possible
02:57people
02:57you
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