An online romance scam saw the victim lose over £50,000 as the PSNI revealed almost £19m has been lost to fraud in Northern Ireland in just 12 months.
Between November 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024, the PSNI received more than 5,200 reports of fraud, with the reported loss of £19m in the same period, according to figures from Action Fraud.
The online romance scam saw the victim transfer more than £50,000, allegedly to help with a business opportunity.
Meanwhile, more than £100,000 was lost in a bank impersonation scam where a person was called by someone claiming to be from their bank telling them there had been suspicious activity on their account, and asking for money to be moved into different accounts to keep it safe.
In the reports made to the PSNI, a diverse range of scams resulted in losses ranging from hundreds of pounds in ticket scams to hundreds of thousands of pounds in impersonation and investment scams.
Another example from the last year resulted in hundreds of thousands of pounds lost in an investment scam where the person believed they were part of a genuine online business opportunity, only to find out it was a scam.
Like many frauds, criminals used phones, social media, emails and text messages to steal from their victims.
Chair of ScamwiseNI Partnership, PSNI Superintendent Joanne Gibson, said criminals don’t care who they steal from, or consider the cruel impact of their crime.
“Scams are presented in so many different ways and, with advances in technology, they can appear genuine and as if they’re legitimate,” said Superintendent Gibson.
“In terms of the investment scams we’ve seen reported, often these may seem like a good way to boost savings, however, they are often high-risk investments with limited regulation or safeguards.
“While a variety of approaches are used, some of them extremely sophisticated, the end goal for criminals never changes and that’s to access personal and financial details which are used to commit a more sophisticated scam where the losses can be substantial as we’ve seen from the total losses reported in the last year.
“It’s sickening because people who have placed their trust in someone, or believed an opportunity to be genuine, discover in the most cruel way a criminal has stolen their money.”
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Superintendent Gibson said by taking a moment to stop and check whenever contact is made – it can make a difference.
“By staying vigilant, and taking the time to verify the approach is genuine and legitimate, we can protect ourselves and our loved ones against criminals and keep our money safe,” she said.
“No one is immune to fraud, we know anyone can be impacted. The Police Service, along with partners in our ScamwiseNI Partnership, encourage everyone to have a conversation about scams to raise awareness.
“This way we can empower each other with the knowledge of how to spot scams and stop them, and adopt measures to protect our information. This can include something as simple as having different passwords for different accounts, and never giving out your personal and financial information over the phone to someone claiming to represent your bank. Being aware can stop the scammer.
“Importantly, if you have lost money in a scam please report it – to police, your bank and Action Fraud as soon as possible. This is key to stopping the fraudster’s ability to steal more of your money.”
The PSNI’s advice to spot scams is to “stop, check, report”.
Stop – Before you transfer money or disclose any personal details to anyone you do not know.
Do not feel rushed or pressured by timelines – genuine callers will always give you time to consider your options.
Check – Check and verify who you are communicating with using a trusted source.
Take time to verify callers on another phone line where possible and check images via an image search. If you are in any doubt do not transfer any money or goods.
Report – If you have been a victim of a scam, report it to police, your bank, and Action Fraud. You can also forward scam texts to 7726.
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