The story of how we helped a victim of a romance scam get a refund appeared across two pages in the Daily Mail.
Our client spoke anonymously to the newspaper as warning to others who might be targeted by fraudsters.
The man, who we are calling Arthur, had suffered terrible heartbreak when over a relatively short period of time he lost his daughter to suicide, his mother died and he had to retire early due to a work injury.
Looking for companionship he started scrolling on Facebook and was contacted by someone claiming to be a woman from France who was in her 30s.
The pair messaged and Arthur thought he had fallen in love. The woman told him that she had a daughter and that he was more understanding than the French men that she knew.
It was months before she asked for money when she claimed she was struggling to feed and clothe her daughter. Arthur sent 200 euros and though the had done a good deed.
The woman later told him that her grandfather from Morocco had died and left her a property but she had to sell it because of Government taxes. She went on to agree to live with Arthur in Morocco if he would pay the tax that was due.
This eventually led to Arthur losing £65,000. He realised it was a scam when he demanded a video call with her and the woman who appeared didn’t look like the pictures he had been sent and only briefly spoke before shutting down the online meeting.
He then turned to National Fraud Helpline solicitors to get a refund as he realised he had fallen victim to a romance scam.
We successfully argued that the bank should have spotted the unusual activity on Arthur’s account and got him a £21,000 refund.
Martin Richardson, of National Fraud Helpline solicitors, said: ‘This is very typical of a romance scam where they target someone in a vulnerable position. The fraudsters will take months building up trust before they ask for any money.
‘The victim suffers emotional as well as financial distress.
‘We are glad we were able to get a refund for this romance scam as we think the bank should have done more to stop the fraud.’
You can read the story in full here: How I was was conned out of £62k by a Facebook scammer posing as a French single mother | Daily Mail Online
Visit our Romance Scam page which gives advice on how to avoid falling victim to these sorts of fraud and what to do if you have been scammed.
Have you lost money to a romance scam and need a refund? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.