A woman who fell victim to a £150,000 romance fraud has urged others conned by scammers to “find the inner strength” to recoup their lost money. Hit Netflix show ‘The Tinder Swindler’ has put the cruel form of emotional deception firmly in the public spotlight.
It tells the story of how conman Simon Leviev used the popular dating app to manipulate victims into funding his lavish lifestyle. Now a British woman has detailed her own devastating romance fraud experience that saw her send hundreds of thousands of pounds to a man she never met.
Carol (not her real name) was preyed upon by the scammer when she was at her lowest ebb. But despite being fobbed off by her bank after realising she’d been hoodwinked, she finally managed to recoup her money with the help of lawyers, CEL Solicitors.
Now she’s telling others who find themselves in a similar position: “There is a way out – you just have to find the inner strength to get there.” Carol’s journey began when she was contacted on Facebook by someone claiming to be a man from overseas who was going through a break-up.
As the friendship developed, he promised to travel to the UK to meet up in person. But it was around this time he started asking for funds. She said: “These scammers don’t ask for cash straight away. They get to know your low points and then comes the drama, then some more drama… and this goes on.
“That’s when they ask for the money.”
The fraudster claimed he’d been arrested and needed cash to make bail, he also pleaded for financial help after saying he’d been left stranded in the wrong part of the country due to an airline error. He then pressured her for a larger sum – around £75,000 – to pay legal fees, fines and court charges.
Then came threats to take his own life because he was “tired of begging”. Soon, the total amount lost, reached £150,000 but it was never enough.
When the realisation hit Carol that she’d been cruelly duped, it was a crushing blow. She said: “It’s devastating. You feel ashamed of what you have allowed to happen.
“It’s like a disease because you end up lying to people close to you to hide your shame and you just can’t admit to what has happened. Afterwards I did some research and read a lot about victims of this kind of fraud taking their own lives. These despicable people prey on those at their most vulnerable.”
She added: “You look back and think, ‘How did I fall for it?’. It feels like you are chasing money, like a gambler. The financial loss can be life-changing.”
Carol subsequently contacted her bank, as she believed they had failed in their duty of care to protect her from fraud. She was awarded £50 by way of an apology. That’s when she engaged the services of Liverpool-based CEL Solicitors, who specialise in helping victims of romance fraud, on a 'no win no fee' basis.
“The only way to get your money back is to get a solicitor,” she said. “You need to try to find the inner strength because you have to go through the ordeal again so they can fully understand what happened. Getting this money back has given me options in life again. People can suffer in silence and I did to an extent, before I took action.”
CEL Solicitors look to not only recover the money from the scam, but also interest from the date it was lost – as well as compensation. In Carol’s case they were successful in recovering £179,000 from her bank.
Chloe Roche, fraud team leader at CEL Solicitors, said: “The emotional and financial distress romance scammers inflict on their victims is truly devastating. We help victims of scams to recover their money and have seen lots of scams straight out of the Tinder Swindler playbook.
“It’s shocking but it’s not uncommon so people should be vigilant when starting relationships online. However, those that have been targeted should never be embarrassed to come forward as help is available.”
