Here's how to avoid being a target for romance fraud: Sarah Coles

It’s easy to be taken in by these scammers, because criminals will tell you exactly what you want to hear at a time when you’re most likely to believe it. They’ll start by building an attractive fake profile on a dating website or app. They used to steal a photo from a real person, so one avenue for checking up on them was to do a reverse Google image search to see if they were who they said they were. However, this is less effective now because they will often create an image of a non-existent person using AI, so you won’t find it.

They will have an excuse to not be able to meet up, so they may say they are based overseas or offshore, often claiming to be in the military. Traditionally they would also come up with a good reason to avoid video calling, but the advent of AI means this can now be convincingly faked so they may be keen on these calls to persuade victims they are genuine.

Once they have a profile, they'll wait for victims to get in touch, then work on building a relationship. This will tend to be a bit of a whirlwind, because they’ll love-bomb their targets, moving quickly into talking about love and building a long-term future together. Often gangs will work around the clock on these messages, so people caught up in them are bombarded. This helps cut them off from other friends and family and stops them talking to anyone else about the relationship.

Finally, they will usually ask for money. They will often claim some sort of medical or financial emergency. One more recent trend is to claim to offer an investment opportunity and use that as a technique to steal even more from victims. Another cruel variation is that they will use their victims for money laundering. Because they haven’t been asked for money, their victims don’t realise a crime has been committed.

You may think you couldn’t fall foul of this sort of scam, but it’s worth knowing that both women and men can fall victim. Targets aren’t necessarily older and less familiar with the scam landscape either. One significant University of Warwick study showed victims were more likely to be well-educated and middle class. Often they’ll work on people who have been recently bereaved or divorced. It means it’s worth knowing the signs, and speaking to anyone in your life you think could be a target.

There are a few red flags. It starts with their profile, which often uses an attractive and professional picture. While there are some perfect people out there, they’re rare enough for this to be too good to be true.

Their communication follows particular patterns – love-bombing their victim and escalating the relationship quickly. They will message them around the clock and try to cut them off from friends and family. They may have a sad story. Common variations are to say their partner died of cancer, in a car crash, in childbirth, of covid or that they cheated. Once they have established a relationship, if the victim doesn’t do something they have asked, they may pause contact for a while, so the victim is afraid of upsetting them and losing them again.

In terms of communication methods, they’ll want to move off the dating platform fast. They’ll try to get you to chat through WhatsApp, text or email – so there’s no trace of the scam. They will avoid meeting in person, but increasingly will be keen on video calls.

But the biggest red flag of all is that eventually they will usually ask for money. They will pressure you to send money quickly, before you’ve had time to think or talk to people you trust about it. Alternatively, they may pressure you into an investment, or may use you for money laundering. This effectively means they pay money into your account and then ask you to transfer it, withdraw it and post it, or send gift cards or devices.

Looking out for these red flags will help protect you. Stick with the messaging section of the app, so there’s a record of your communication, and don’t feel you have to give them any other contact details. You can also arrange to meet up in a public place, to verify who they are.

Try not to get swept away by the romance of the situation either. This is a proven technique, so talk things through with people you trust to see whether they’re as convinced by the relationship as you are.

Finally, don’t send them money, under any circumstances. They will have a convincing story and they will have manipulated you to the point of believing them, but asking for money is the reddest of red flags. You should refuse and cut off contact. This can be easier said than done, because you can feel you are throwing away a relationship on a suspicion. However, if you keep speaking to them, they will just manufacture another reason for you to send them money, so walking away is the only way to protect yourself.

If it’s already too late, and you have already been the victim of this scam, report it. Some people may feel embarrassed about being taken in by a scammer, but you have nothing to feel ashamed of. You’re the victim of sophisticated criminals who are experts at this. It’s also important to talk to loved ones about it. One of the worst things about this crime is that people feel betrayed and abandoned by their scammer, so it’s important to rebuild connections with friends and family to help you get through.

CGT

John Healey has reportedly ruled out raising the rate of capital gains tax (CGT) in the Budget. Investors will be pleased to see the end of those potentially damaging Budget rumours, at least for now. It will hopefully stop people taking steps they might come to regret later and crystalising gains they might otherwise have been able to make gradually and avoid tax on entirely. However, it’s still worth considering CGT and making plans to avoid paying more than your fair share of it, whether that’s through things like using ISAs and pensions, taking advantage of the annual exempt amount, or planning as a family to keep your CGT bills down.