(Bancroft, Ontario) – On March 24th 2014, the Bancroft detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a request to check on the wellbeing of an adult male residing in the Bancroft area. Officers attended a residence and spoke with a male where they determined that both he and the complainant who resided in the United States were the victims of a “romance scamâ€Â.
In a romance scam, victims are tricked into believing that the fraudster has romantic intentions. Once the fraudster gains the trust of the victim, they use that trust to commit fraud. In most cases the romance scammer uses dating websites to find targets and may communicate with potential victims using fake profiles, often claiming to be in a foreign country. Once they have gained the victim’s trust, scammers make up a story to ask for the money. In the incident reported to the Bancroft OPP, the victim believed they were assisting the scammer with funds for a business and a trip to visit them.