Gardaí warn the public to be aware of romance fraud via online dating sites
Gardaí have warned members of the public to be aware of ” romance fraud”. In 2019 75 cases of romance fraud were reported to gardai. The victims were both male and female and total losses suffered were in excess of €1m. As the vast majotity of cases are not reported , one can safely assume that losses were in the many millions. The fraud is enabled through online dating sites who will provide the victims with well prepared stories designed to deceive. Inevitably there is a request for money, Examples are:
* needs money to pay for travel to meet the victim
* to pay medical expenses for a sick child
* to invest in a guaranteed business opportunity
* to pay a tax bill or other spurious reason
* no meetings in person ever take place
In order to ensure meeting a genuine person seeking the possibility of a long-term relationship please call Bill (01) 2896422