by • An elderly British woman was tricked into sending over $200,000 to a romance scammer.
• The Nottinghamshire police managed to restore some of the stolen funds and warned people to be extra vigilant with online dating.
• The wrongdoer orchestrated the scheme from Nigeria pretending to be a US Army surgeon in order to steal the pensioner’s money.
Romance Scam Victimizing Elderly British Woman
An elderly British woman living in Nottinghamshire lost more than $200,000 after becoming a victim of a bitcoin romance scam. The person who orchestrated the scheme was located in Nigeria and pretended to be a US Army surgeon in order to deceive her into sending over her savings. Fortunately, the police managed to restore some of the stolen funds and warned people to take caution when engaging in online dating activities.
How It Happened
The unfortunate incident began when the woman, whose name was not identified, started chatting with an individual she met online in May 2020. This person introduced himself as a US Army surgeon and their communication quickly progressed into what seemed like an intimate relationship. After some time he told her that he loved her but needed money for his contract termination so they could finally meet up face-to-face. He then insisted that she should send him money via Bitcoin which she eventually did without suspecting any foul play on his part.
Police Intervention
Realizing that she had been scammed out of her life savings, the woman immediately contacted the Nottinghamshire police for assistance. After running an investigation, they were able to locate and retrieve some of the stolen funds from the suspicious Bitcoin address used by the wrongdoer during the fraud transaction.
Lessons Learned From This Incident
This case serves as an important reminder for all individuals who wish to engage in online dating activities: always be extra careful with whom you choose share your personal information or financial resources with! Additionally, authorities warn people not only about potential scams targeting them but also advise them on how best protect themselves against them such as verifying identities before sending any sort of money or confidential details over internet connections.
Preventive Measures To Take
In order avoid being victims of similar schemes it is advisable that people: never respond or click on unsolicited emails; use strong passwords; get familiarized with common signs of phishing attempts; never share sensitive information such as credit card numbers or bank accounts without proper authentication from both parties involved; and always research whether someone’s identity can be verified before engaging in any kind of payment activity with them – especially if it involves large sums of money!
