Online romance scam strips a 59-year-old woman of her life savings!
When Vicky Fowkes of Tewkesbury, Worcestershire, met a charming civil engineer on an internet dating site, she thought that she met the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, the 59-year-old wasn't aware this perfect man involved her in an online scam that cost her £40,000, an entire life savings.
John Hawkins, the online date who turned to be an internet fraudster, claimed to own business and appeared dying to share every aspect of his past with her. By November 2010, the man who claimed to be a british engineer had received nearly £40,000, leaving her heartbroken and humiliated once the police revealed the romance was a con.
"I put my trust in this person and I was beginning to start a relationship with them, but now the whole affair has had a devastating effect on my life," the mother-of-two said when police visited her home. "I have been humiliated and have lost my self respect." she added.
According to a study by Leicester University, as many as 200,000 people in the UK may have fallen victim to online romance scams. Last year there were 592 known British victims, 203 of whom lost more than £5,000. Some victims handed over as much as £275,000.
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