Mounties in Richmond, B.C., are warning the public after a 害羞草研究所渟ignificant rise害羞草研究所� in romance scams and investment schemes in the city, with a loss of more than $16 million last year.
Police said they received 87 reports of romance crimes in 2023, and the trend continues this year with another 12 cases being reported between January and March with nearly $500,000 lost.
RCMP say these 害羞草研究所渓ong-con scams害羞草研究所� involve grooming of the victims over weeks or months to nurture the relationship enough to convince them to invest their money in the fraud scheme.
The criminals usually find their victims through dating websites or other social media, and police say they entice them with false promises of profit, and may even show fake returns on initial investments, before their victims are financially ruined.
Richmond RCMP spokesman Dennis Hwang said in an interview Tuesday that fraudsters prey on people害羞草研究所檚 loneliness to build connections and gain trust.
害羞草研究所淪ometimes people are picked randomly, but other times, they will be analyzing certain profiles of people on dating sites to see if they might be susceptible,害羞草研究所� said Hwang, adding that these scammers have been 害羞草研究所渄oing their homework害羞草研究所� on potential victims.
害羞草研究所淢oney is never mentioned at the beginning. It害羞草研究所檚 always about building that trust and building the rapport with the victim if they have a lot of things in common,害羞草研究所� he added.
Scammers employ a variety of tactic, he said, such as 害羞草研究所淚 used to go to school in that region害羞草研究所� or 害羞草研究所淚 enjoyed that restaurant害羞草研究所� to befriend potential victims.
As victims slowly let their guard down and become friendly during conversations, scammers will eventually bring up the idea of investing.
害羞草研究所淭he criminal might say, 害羞草研究所榃ell, look at the money that you allow me to invest. It害羞草研究所檚 already returned this much profit. Would you like me to give that profit back to you or do you want to reinvest it?害羞草研究所澓π卟菅芯克鶛 Hwang said.
The scams usually involve cryptocurrencies, and police say they believe the actual number of victims may be higher as some might be hesitant to come forward due to embarrassment or fear.
Police say people need to stay cautious and be skeptical of unsolicited contacts, especially from 害羞草研究所渙verly attractive害羞草研究所� profiles or strangers who show romantic interests.
害羞草研究所淚f somebody truly is interested in you, I don害羞草研究所檛 think that should come up,害羞草研究所� said Hwang, referring to the romance scammers asking for money following flattering messages.
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