A ‘ dating detective’ has revealed the type of person a romantic scam artist is most likely to target – so you don’t find yourself starring in the next Tinder Swindler documentary.
Samantha Cooper, 53, works as an investigator and tries to “save people from heartbreak and financial loss” at the hands of scammers who prey on the lonely.
In the wake of The Tinder Swindler, Samantha has shared her insight so that singletons can keep themselves safe while seeking a potential partner.
Samantha, from London, said the conmen are most likely to target a woman who is over the age of 45 and is either divorced or widowed – as they are most likely to have amassed assets such as property, pension or successful business
She has seen people scammed out of amounts ranging from £3,000 to £300,000, including victims that took out personal loans, cashed in private pensions and even considered re-mortgaging their property.
One client had met a man on a popular dating website when he claimed to “fall ill” and tried to get her to pay his medical bills.
Samantha said: “He did not show up and she could not get hold of him at all until he contacted her three weeks later when he claimed he had been ill in hospital with sepsis.
“He then asked for financial help to cover his bills as he hadn’t been paid whilst ill.
“She totally believed him and only contacted me to prove to her concerned sister that he was genuine.
“Sadly, he was not who he claimed to be and she had been sent photographs of an international government minister.”
Luckily, there are some key signs that can identify you’ve matched up with a scammer, says Samantha.
She added: “The scammers will use powers of manipulation to win a person over. They will shower them with attention in the form of email, text messages and sometimes phone calls.
“They will always find an excuse not to video call.
“It may take quite a few weeks before progressing on to the scam, but this is to win over a person’s trust and get them emotionally invested.
“There is nothing wrong with running some simple checks to ease concerns – you wouldn’t take a job without researching the company first.”
Samantha was working as a private investigator when she saw a gap in the market for a detective specialising in romance fraud and decided to dedicate herself to the field in 2018.
She now runs Rogue Daters, a private investigation service, and has spoken out in the wake of the hit Netflix documentary The Tindler Swindler.
She continued: “With the release of The Tinder Swindler this week it has really ignited the conversation of romance fraud
“I have seen on social media that a lot of people are claiming the victims deserved to be scammed as they were greedy in wanting to date a son of a billionaire. This is very, very unfair.
“I am sure they were flattered by the attention of a rich, handsome man and simply thought they were entering into a connection with a man who, on the face of it, appeared to be actively looking for romance with the promise of an exciting future.