[即時新聞]170412-People lose money in online dating scam

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A new Internet scam is targeting people who are looking for love. Conmen are tricking people by using old love letters and romantic language. Conmen buy "scam packs" to help them trick would-be daters. The pack is online and only costs a few dollars. It includes love-letter templates, photos, videos and fake identities. This is all you need to pretend to be someone looking for love. The conmen pretend to be looking for romance on dating sites. They write to their victim and when they become friends, they ask for money. They use many different excuses and reasons why they need money.

London police said 3,900 people were scammed online in 2016. The average amount of money lost was $12,500. The average age of the victims was 59. More women than men were scammed. A senior police officer described the damage the scams do. He said these crimes destroy lives. He said the emotional damage is usually bigger than the financial loss. He advised people to never give money to strangers. He said: "Never give money to people you meet online, no matter what emotional sob story the person uses." He added that people should always be on their guard online.