Organised crime gangs operating romance frauds 'like a business', warn gardaí  

The Tinder Swindler tells the jaw-dropping story of a prolific conman who posed as a billionaire playboy on Tinder, and the women who set out to bring him down. 

Large international organised crime gangs are operating romance frauds like a business, with employees hired to communicate with victims they befriend on dating websites,

That is according to Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, as gardaí highlighted the dangers of romance fraud to coincide with Valentine’s Day.

Detective Superintendent Cryan stressed that those behind the scams are organised criminals rather than individuals like in  The Tinder Swindler, a Netflix show about a conman who has scammed countless victims all over the world into handing over cash to fuel his luxury lifestyle.

He said garda investigations have revealed that in some cases, those at the lower end of the organisation use scripted templates for the correspondence they engage in with their victims. They create fake profiles using photos of people they have taken from the internet and often are in correspondence with several people at the same time.

"It is online and the person does not exist – it is a fake profile on a dating site,” he said.

Last year, the number of romance frauds reported to gardaí rose by 86%, which officers attributed to the pandemic lockdowns, which forced people to turn to online dating sites.

Det Supt Cryan said: “It rose dramatically during Covid, because people were not able to go out and meet people and were not able to go to discos, pubs and bars, theatres and walking clubs."

The age profile is also dropping now — it was always females in their 50s, 60s, 70s. The average age is now down to 47 to 50.

However, he said that the crime is under-reported because people are embarrassed to say they have been duped. 

He said there are also incidents that go unreported because the victim is married and would not be willing to come forward to admit they had been on a dating site.

Det Supt Cryan said at least 70% of victims of romance fraud are female.

But he warned: “Male ones tend to escalate very quickly to blackmail — after escalating to sexual and the male records himself and he is suddenly being blackmailed.” 

He said this is under-reported because of embarrassment, and the victims end up paying the blackmail money.

According to gardaí, there is an increasing link between romance fraud and investment fraud.

Investment fraud

In many cases, scammers will ask victims to invest in a fraudulent scheme or business, as happened with one woman who transferred €90,000 to a man she met online; she believed the transfer was a loan to help him start his own business.

Gardaí say that such investments ultimately see the funds transferred to the fraudster through a number of linked accounts.

Gardaí are urging members of the public to be vigilant as there are huge risks involved in investing in cryptocurrencies. 

They are warning people not to share any money with someone they meet through online websites or apps and to get professional and legal advice before investing.

Fraudsters are using excuses like travel costs to see the victim, medical bills, and investment opportunities to scam victims of their money.

Gardai advise people to:

• Use trusted dating websites; 
• Do not share personal details; 
• Do not send or receive money; 
• Think twice before using your webcam; 
• Trust your instincts.