A survey conducted in UK states that nearly 200,000 people may have fallen victim to criminals who emotionally caress them online to steal their money.

Someone you know may be dating someone online who may appear to be decent and honest. However, be forewarned, the online contact could be a criminal sitting in a cyber café with a well-rehearsed script that scammers have used repeatedly and successfully. These criminals also use stories of severe life circumstances, tragedies, deaths in the family, injuries to themselves, or other hardships to keep their victims concerned and involved in their schemes.

The first formal study by researchers at the University of Leicester of so-called romance scams found that they were far more common than previously thought. Among those surveyed, one in 50 knew someone who had been a victim. Perpetrators typically set up a fake profile, pretend to enter into an online relationship then ask for cash to help with financial problems. Police advice to the public is never to give money to anyone that they have only met over the internet. In some cases the scammers utilize the victims for cash laundering.

The Leicester University team found that more than half (52%) of the 2,000 people surveyed for the study had heard of the scam with 2% personally knowing someone who had been targeted. The survey also revealed that shame, upset and emotional disturbance experienced by the victims deters them from reporting the crime.

Serious Organized Crime Agency (Soca) view romance fraud as organized crime, usually operated from outside the UK.