A number of Durham residents turning to the Internet for romantic relationships are instead being scammed for thousands of dollars, Durham cops say.
“A number of victims involved in online dating scams have suffered financial loss through sending money or the disclosure of their personal information,” police say.
The trend of online dating scams is continuing to rise.
During the week of July 19, two residents were victims of this type of fraud, say police.
The first victim says she sent thousands of dollars to a suspect in Malaysia who she had been engaged in an online relationship with. Apparently, the suspect claimed he had recently come into a multi-million dollar inheritance and in order to obtain the money, he needed her to send him funds via Western Union.
In the second incident, the victim sent thousands of dollars to a man in Nigeria who told her he needed the money to pay for surgery for his daughter.
“Many victims are defrauded online after several months of communicating with suspects. In many cases, victims are ‘worked’ for months until the suspect feels the victims are ready to be duped,” add police.
Police say you should never send money to someone or disclose your personal information while using the Internet.