Hidden pain of 200000 lonely hearts scam victims - Mirror.co.uk (blog)

It means the current measures of the scale of the crime are way too low. Action Fraud identified 592 victims of this crime between 2010-11 and 203 of them lost over £5,000.

SOCA links romance fraud to organised crime. Victims can end up being asked to launder the proceeds of crime through their accounts.

Professor Monica Whitty, a psychologist and Professor of Contemporary Media at the University of Leicester, said: "Our data suggests that the numbers of British victims of this relatively new crime is much higher than reported incidents would suggest. It also confirms law enforcement suspicions that this is an under-reported crime, and thus more serious than first thought.

"This is a concern not solely because people are losing large sums of money to these criminals, but also because of the psychological impact experienced by victims of this crime.

"It is our view that the trauma caused by this scam is worse than any other, because of the 'double hit' experienced by the victims - loss of monies and a 'romantic relationship'.

"It may well be that the shame and upset experienced by the victims deters them from reporting the crime. We thus believe new methods of reporting the crime are needed."

SOCA's Colin Woodcock, Senior Manager for Fraud Prevention, said: "SOCA has worked hard to understand the nature of this crime and how it can be tackled, and this study provides further insights into the extent to which it is affecting people in the UK.

"The fact that 52% of respondents were aware of romance scams shows that progress has been made in raising awareness, but also that millions of people in the UK remain at risk of being successfully targeted by the crime groups committing this type of fraud.

"The perpetrators spend long periods of time grooming their victims, working out their vulnerabilities and when the time is right to ask for money.

"By being aware of how to stay safe online, members of the UK public can ensure they don't join those who have lost nearly every penny they had, been robbed of their self-respect, and in some cases, committed suicide after being exploited, relentlessly, by these criminals. It is crucial that nobody sends money to someone they meet online, and haven't got to know well and in person."

Anyone who has been a victim of romance fraud or knows a victim can report it at www.actionfraud.org.uk.