People have been urged to beware of romance scams and criminals who are seeking to take advantage of the increased popularity of dating apps this St Valentine's Day.
More than €7 million has been stolen from the victims of romance fraud in the past five years, according to gardaí.
The majority of the 245 victims that have come forward since 2020 were female, and their average loss was €28,500.
The highest reported loss was a woman who had over €450,000 stolen in 18 transactions, while a man had more than €380,000 taken.
The criminals often use someone else's photos to create a fake profile on a dating app or website.
Victims will quickly be encouraged to move to a messaging app or email before the requests for money begin.
Scammers will sometimes even repay initial requests to establish trust with their victims.
Once a victim starts asking questions or it becomes apparent the money has been stolen, the criminal will cut ties and block them.
An Garda Síochána advises people to use reputable dating sites and to carry out Google reverse image searches on potential partners' pictures to make sure they are genuine.
People are also urged to never send money or give bank details to someone you meet online.
Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said it is difficult to know how many people have been victims of romance scams, as it is an underreported crime.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "Unfortunately, this type of crime goes on for some time, and the money is moved out of the country in the vast majority of cases, and it can take the victim sometime before they realise they have been a victim of fraud."
He said that last year 38 different victims made reports, which was a reduction of about 31% from the previous year.
Supt Cryan advised people to use a reputable dating site and stay on the messaging function until trust is established.
"If it sounds too good to be true sometimes it is," he added.
Gardaí say that romance fraudsters will:
- Try to move communications away from dating websites. They suggest that you move to instant messaging, text or phone calls instead.
- Ask a lot of personal questions.
- Avoid answering personal questions about themselves. The details that they do tell you seem made up or do not reflect reality. For instance, they may say that they are university educated, but their spelling and grammar is poor.
- Try to establish a bond quickly. For example, they may give you an endearing pet name e.g. baby, darling, etc.
- Ask for financial help. They may tell you about money problems in the hope that you will offer to help.
- Ask you to invest in a fraudulent scheme or business.
- Never meet you in person. They will present obstacles and may go as far as making arrangements and cancelling them at the last minute. They may promise to want to see you but offer excuses which delay this, such as financial troubles.
What can you do to protect yourself?
- Use trusted dating websites
- Do not share personal details
- Do not send or receive money
- Trust your instincts
- Do not pay for medical bills, purchase flights, or Visas, pay customs fees or make any payment for them to come to visit you
- Do not invest your money in any 'opportunities' from someone you have met online
- Contact your bank and gardaí if you become suspicious
The Bar of Ireland's Media, Internet & Data Protection Bar Association (MIDBA) will hold an event to discuss the legalities of online dating scams and other forms of fraud.
Vice-Chair of MIDBA, barrister Michael O’Doherty said the ever-commercialised celebration of Valentine’s Day increases people's susceptibility to a myriad of online scams on both online dating platforms and social media platforms.
Mr O'Doherty said that holding social media platforms responsible for hosting fraudulent advertisements is a difficult legal area to navigate.
"To date, this question has not been answered by the courts in this jurisdiction," Mr O'Doherty said.
"Social media platforms, and search engines, are provided with robust defences under EU law, and can only be responsible for content they host if someone has informed them about it, and they have failed to act 'expeditiously' to take it down," he said.
"The problem is that once taken down, it very quickly re-appears, and the process of notice and take-down starts again," he added.
Additional reporting Brian O'Donovan
