Lonely-heart frauds' £3bn trail of misery
Once it was the thought of being burgled that sent a chill down our spines.
Today we are more likely to be worried about having our hearts broken or identity stolen by fraudsters lurking on the Internet.
Read more... • The blonde who fleeced lonely-hearts widowers
Fraud costs the country £13.9billion a year, according to a police report released yesterday.
And £3billion of that is down to Internet scams and identity theft.
'Lonely hearts' fraud is a growing threat to those using Internet chatrooms or dating websites.
Many have been duped into starting online relationships with confidence tricksters.
They often end up handing over large amounts of money when their new 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend' suddenly needs cash, supposedly for an operation or to travel.
Recent cases include David Davies, 52, who was last month ordered to pay back more than £100,000 he charmed from vulnerable women. He met his victims Home Affairs Editor
through online dating sites, wooing them with false stories of life in the SAS and top-secret work for the Government.
The report, commissioned by chief constables, said the minimum bill for fraud was £13.9billion.
When the estimated losses from income tax fraud, under-reporting and fraudulent applications for European Union grants are added, the true cost rises to £20billion.
This is equivalent to a loss of £330 to every man, woman and child every year, according to the official figures.
The biggest losses - £6.4billion a year - are borne by the public sector, mainly through benefit payments and the NHS.
Fraud costs the financial services industry £1billion, while the cost to business overall is almost £4billion.
Individuals, including victims of lonely hearts fraud, lose £2.75million a year, according to the report.
Mike Bowron, Commissioner of the City of London Police, said: 'Whereas once the average Briton dreaded being burgled or having their car broken into, they are now worried about identity fraud, mass marketing scams and other forms of financial crime that have a serious impact on our lives.'
The Government's response will be unveiled next Thursday. It is likely to contain plans for reform of the criminal justice system to deal with complex fraud cases and for a National Fraud Reporting Centre.
