London: A British media report has said that online romance fraud has increased alarmingly after the coronavirus outbreak.
According to details, British banking group TSB has asked social networks and dating apps to take better measures to protect their users from fake profiles.
Examining data from December 2020 to January 2022, the bank said romance fraud had almost doubled compared to before the pandemic, and losses rose by a record 91 per cent, with people losing an average of £6,100 per incident. Lost money.
According to the report In 2022, people between the ages of 51 and 65 accounted for nearly half of all money lost to love scams.
Fraudsters set up fake profiles on dating websites and social media, and spend some time teasing their victims before asking for cash, the report said. The average time between the first and last payment to a fraudster from their victim is 53 days.
Among the victims of romance scams, the number of people aged 18 to 35 and 36 to 50 years was about twenty-six percent, while the number of people aged 51.65 years was 25 percent and people over 65 years of age. The number was 22 percent.
The bank found that 51- to 65-year-olds spent the most money overall on their ‘relationships’, meaning that 46 per cent of financial losses due to love cheating were in this age group. He belonged to the group.
Three out of every five (60 percent) scammers asked for financial help under the pretext of bills or everyday living expenses. Some had specific stories about needing medical help, home improvements or car repairs, while others asked for money for temporary help.
One in six (21 percent) claimed they were stranded overseas and needed help getting home, with some fraudsters claiming to work on oil wells, nearly 10 in 10. In one of the cases, fraudsters asked for travel expenses to reach their victims, but they never went on the trip.
In four percent of the cases, fraudsters blackmailed their victims to collect money.
According to the report, people were the victims of fraud for an average of 2 months before they finally realized they had fallen victim to a romance scam. were victims for more than a month, while 11 percent were victims of fraud for half a year.
The report warns that when discussions of asking for money begin in online relationships, consult a friend or family member immediately, and do not share personal or sensitive information with anyone.
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