Is it true love? Or is it a scam?

Quesnel

2022-05-18 09:26 PDT

File # Romance Scams

Quesnel RCMP is cautioning the public to be aware of romance scams when entering relationships online.

Every year the RCMP receives several reports of various online and telephone scams that see people cheated out of their hard earned money. Romance scams are common among those scams.

These scams involve individuals who use false romantic intentions toward a victim in order to gain their trust and affection for the purpose of getting the victim to send them money. Often the perpetrator will meet the victim online through social media or online dating sights and build a relationship over weeks, months or even years. Typically, the perpetrator’s claim to be from another country or province. They will eventually start asking for money for various things such as: funds to come visit, pay off debts, medical bills, customs or insurance fees to have property released at the border, family assistance and many other reasons. Once the victims send them money, they will continue to ask for more, making various excuses as to why they need the money. They’ll often promise to meet the victims and then fail to show up, making excuses that they ran into problems and need more money.

More and more people are going online to find friendships and relationships. If you seek companionship on the web take precautions to protect yourself and your money. You should never send money to someone without first verifying who it is you’re communicating with.

Look out for some of these red flags:

• When someone you haven’t met in person professes their love to you;
• If the person wants to quickly move to a private or different mode of communication (email, text, Whatsapp, Google Hangouts etc.);
• If they always have an excuse not to meet in person;
• If you receive poorly/oddly written messages, sometimes even addressing you by the wrong name;
• If the individual claims to live close to you but is working overseas;
• If they act distressed or angry to guilt you into sending money;
• If the individual discourages you from discussing them or their situation with your friends and family (attempting to isolate you from those who may be suspicious of the relationship).

You can visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to report potential scams and to find out more about these and other types of scams and tips on how to protect yourself against them.

We urge people to be cautious when receiving requests for money from people you’ve never met, says Sgt. Clay Kronebusch. If you’re not sure, don’t send them money.

Released by

Sgt. Clay Kronebusch

Email: clay.kronebusch@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

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