Security News > 2022 > January > Romance scammer who targeted 670 women gets 28 months in jail
A UK-based scammer who preyed on nearly 700 women and conned nine of them out of £20,000, has been sent to prison.
Romance scammers, just like fraudsters who talk you into investing in bogus cryptocurrency schemes, trick their victims person-to-person by building up a facade based on trust, behind which the criminals persuade their victims to send money of their own accord.
Unlike romance scammers, tech support scammers usually use fear and not love, frightening you with what they claim are the consequences of not getting the "Problem" sorted out.
As the NCA warns, romance scammers leave their victims out of pocket and emotionally shattered: knowing you've deeply trusted a person who never once meant anything they said about you is a bitter pill for anyone to swallow.
There's another aspect to the aftermath of this sort of crime that is often overlooked, namely that romance scam victims sometimes end up alienated from friends and family, even after the scam is exposed and the financial losses stop.
Unlike many online scammers, they are willing to play a long game, investing weeks, months and even years into building up false friendships.