Gardaí in Clare have issued a warning in relation to two scams, one of which resulted in a woman losing a substantial amount of money.
Crime Prevention Officer for Clare Sergeant Triona Brooks outlined the circumstances.
“Between September and October this year, in what’s referred to as Romance Fraud, a lady developed an online relationship with a man who said he was a German engineer living in Galway. The relationship started on a dating site and progressed to What’s App messages.
He was very persuasive and told the lady that he was involved in a project abroad and asked for money for materials and that he would later repay her. Unfortunately this lady parted with a substantial amount of money and has now realised that this was a romance fraud.”
Sgt Brooks outlined four common signs of a Romance Scammer:
– He/she professes their love quickly without actually meeting you. Asks a lot of personal questions about you but avoids questions about themselves.
– Claims to need money for emergencies.
– Lures you off the dating site – communicating by text / What’s App.
– Plans to visit you but can’t because of an emergency or looks for money to travel to meet you.
Gardaí advise that you:
– Trust your instincts – if you think something feels wrong it probably is.
– Do not post personal information such as phone numbers on dating sites.
– Use authentic dating websites.
– Never send money or give credit card or online account details to anyone you don’t know and trust.
– Wait until you feel comfortable with an individual before revealing your phone number, place of work or address.
– Always be mindful of what you post on the internet. It’s there for everybody to see and not just your friends. Beware if there are requests for inappropriate photos. These could be used for the purposes of blackmail at a later stage.
– If you think you have been scammed stop communication immediately, contact your bank if you have sent money and don’t be afraid to report it to the Gardaí – you will be treated sensitively and with total confidentiality.
For more information on Romance Fraud visit this section of the Garda website.
Meanwhile, Gardaí are also warning the public about a Jury Service Scam.
A number of people in Limerick have received emails telling them that they have been selected to participate in Jury Service – the email requests them to click on a link and register their details to get their jury number.
This is a scam and we are asking people if they do get an email not to click on the link –the Courts Service will never e-mail a person about jury service