“I Was Scammed Out of £50,000 By A Fake Lover I Met Online” | This Morning

Experts are warning of the rising threat of romance fraud after the scams rose by a staggering 22% last year. And our next guest knows just how dangerous they are - after losing her husband in 2019, Lyn joined an online group for widows, where she met a man called ‘Derek’. After telling her he’d been involved in an accident and needed money - Lyn transferred a total of £50,000 to him - her entire pension. She joins us to tell the shocking story, alongside Detective Victoria Hazlewood from Cheshire Police’s Fraud Unit. 

Broadcast on 26/04/2024

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[Sheenoshine]

We tell our kids not to talk to strangers …now we have to tell our parents and grandparents 😢

[muffycrosswire]

“He asked for £200.. not enough to make alarms go off”.. £1 would make my alarm go off..

[jacquelinemcquade]

If someone started wooing me online and then asked for money for a stamp I would block him. 😅

[Chaim]

There is immense pain in losing a large amount of money but to garner courage to speak about it says a lot about the person’s great character.

[dnjames]

How is she transferring him money if his account is frozen.. he wouldn’t be able to use it anyway😂

[Mark-khny]

I wouldn’t even give my ‘actual’ girlfriend of 19 years £50k. How does anyone convince themselves this is normal?!?

[tonypower]

was she living in a bubble ???? has she never heard of this happening to other women

[lorenzospoto]

Why send money to someone youve never met

[mrsminnatk]

DO NOT send any money to a stranger! And wrong- sending a little amount of money is a red-flag!!

[mildredpierce]

Scammers ask about whether or not you own your home so they know how much money they can steal from you.

[annaclaire]

Never send money. It's that simple.

[mildredpierce]

How can you know someone’s personality if you have never met them in person?

[paulinetaylor]

As soon as they mention money, that would be a 'get lost' from me.

[selfridgesforever]

Sending money from her pension! I'm sorry but my sympathy is out of the window. Taking out loans for people she never met, Jesus wept!

[mildredpierce]

Scammers usually ask for a small amount at the beginning as commitment money. They know once you send a small amount, you’re willing to send more. What’s that small amount received, the victim is labeled as a paying client.

[Bailey]

Remember Meatloaf’s wise words when being asked for money by a stranger “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I won’t Do That)” 👍🏻

[JohnSmith-ietu]

How the bank can give back £50k just like that? She chose to give her money away, it's not the banks fault.

[paulgray]

Some people are so desperate for love they will do anything just to be loved.

[etxppxh]

I was scammed of £30 and that hurt, but I quickly caught on to what was happening. I can't imagine how she feels losing £50, 000 poor woman.

[Harley-irer]

Even if she had met this Guy in person, Asking for money is a red flag. But she didn't even meet this Guy - Speechless. She was clearly very clever at getting her money back but not so clever when giving it out.