Financial fraud is an appalling crime at any level and has been assisted by the anonymity of cryptocurrency, in that once your cryptocurrency is in the hands of the fraudsters, without swift action, it can be dispersed into wallets in the fraudster's control making it very difficult to recover.
One of the most upsetting types of fraud is romance fraud, where an individual believes that they are in a romantic relationship, established over the internet and they succumb to requests for substantial amounts of money by the person that has duped them. Both men and women are targeted, with slightly more men reporting having been defrauded. The victims, on average lose over £10,000 each, however women are likely to lose more than this. Individuals aged between 50-59 years are the main targets as they are still in work and often have more financial reserves than younger people.
Demetri Bezaintes, an associate in the banking and fraud litigation department, commented "the number of individuals who are defrauded through romance fraud is likely to be far higher than the available statistics reveal as many people who have been defrauded by romance fraud do not want to expose the fact that they were taken in and believed that they were in a romantic relationship". Demetri further commented "the fraudsters are highly plausible and anyone who has been caught up in such a fraud should take action as it is not impossible to recover the money passed to the swindler".
The City of London Police, who are the National Lead Force for fraud, state that £106 million was reported as lost to romance fraud last year. A public campaign was launched in the streets of the City with warnings against the emotional manipulation and financial exploitation that the fraudsters use in romance fraud.
Detective Superintendent Oliver Little, from the Lead Force Operations Room at the City of London Police, said: "Romance fraud isn't just a financial crime—it's a deeply personal betrayal that can leave lasting emotional scars. For the second consecutive year, male victims have slightly outnumbered females, challenging outdated stereotypes about who is affected by these scams.
"Despite this, stigma still surrounds romance fraud victims, often driven by misconceptions that they are foolish or lack judgment. In reality, criminals use sophisticated tactics to manipulate emotions and gain trust, making anyone vulnerable.
"We want to remind everyone that romance fraud can happen to anyone, regardless of gender or background. If something doesn't feel right in an online relationship, take a step back, verify identities, and seek advice. Speaking up can not only protect yourself, but also help prevent others from falling victim and bring those responsible to justice."
One of the major tactics used by romance fraudsters is overwhelming their targets with excessive affection and maintaining constant contact. The victim is usually contacted through social media, often a dating app and the fraudster often suggests the conversation moved to another platform (e.g. WhatsApp or Telegram) very soon after the first contact, or they ask for a mobile number. Be extremely careful about sharing personal information and do discuss the contact with friends and relatives. Fraudsters like to isolate their victims and will back off if they realise that others know about them. Also, even if you have been contacting the person for some time online but have never met them, it is highly suspicious if they ask you for money or they offer to invest your money in a "get rich quick" investment scheme from which they purport to have already gained considerable returns for themselves.
Regardless of whether you feel that you can trust a person you have got to know online, do not do any of the following:
- Send them money or gift cards
- Give them access to your bank account
- Take out a loan on their behalf
- Provide copies of your personal documents
- Invest your money on their advice
Also, do not give them money to invest on your behalf, they will probably tell or show you that you have made a successful investment and encourage you to invest more money. This scam often only lasts for a short time before the fraudster vanishes.
Demetri Bezaintes is an associate based in the London office within the Financial Services and Crypto Litigation Department. He is a solicitor in England & Wales and also a qualified Greek Lawyer (dikigoros).
Demetri has a thorough knowledge of investment fraud and fund tracing. He works tenaciously for our clients, advising on cryptocurrency, Forex trading disputes and regulatory investigations. He draws his expertise in investment law from his experience in the banking sector and his experience in banking and financial services regulation. Prior to joining Giambrone & Partners Demetri worked at an international bank, where his main focus was the enforcement of freezing orders and third-party debt orders.
He approaches cross-border jurisdiction matters with a comprehensive view, based on his knowledge of both civil and common law. After qualifying as a lawyer in Greece, he obtained a Graduate Diploma in Law from the University of Westminster.
Demetri also has experience of assisting high net worth individuals (HNWI) with real estate transactions arising from the Golden Visa scheme.
Demetri was invited to speak at a prestigious global conference.
Giambrone and Partners recognises that romance fraud has a highly damaging effect on the victims over and above the financial losses. Our lawyers in the banking and financial fraud department have considerable success in recovering funds lost to fraud and have orchestrated groundbreaking legal cases that successfully enabled our clients to recover their money lost to fraud.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
