An Garda Síochána are warning members of the public to be aware of Romance Fraud.
From January, 2022 to end of May, 2022 there have been 31 cases reported to An Garda Síochána – 23 female and 8 men. The average age of injured parties who are female is 44 years and the average age for men is 47 years. The youngest victim was 27 years of age and the oldest was 69 years of age. In all cases, except one the victims, encountered the suspect over a dating app or through social media.
In total, these 31 cases reported the loss of €812,715
Garda advice is to never share details of financial accounts or to provide money to people you have not met in person or do not know very well. Irish accounts have been used to launder money by criminals based in several European countries as well as Irish people being deprived of their own money. Garda have appealed to anyone that has been the victim of such crimes to report it to their nearest Garda Station.
