October 4, 2007

Fraudsters using dating sites

Nigerian fraudsters have been posing as women on free online dating sites to scam unsuspecting lonely men into sending out cash to allow them to come over to the UK or for medical payments.

These are the same people who have just been caught by the Nigerian serious organised crime agency, who use emails to tell people that they are winners of a competition or lottery. But a fee is required up front to claim their prize, we have all seen them.

The police are said to have seized around £8 million in fake cheques that were destined for the UK, it is estimated that these sort of schemes cost around £3.5 billion per year and it is a growing industry.

The dating site scam means that people are befriended and after a while the Nigerians ask for cash, this could be for hospital or maybe even a serious accident. One man from Ipswich lost £12,000 a scam similar to the one described.

Source [KBC]