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Manx police warn of romance fraud

Tue, 13 Feb 2018

The Isle of Man Constabulary is urging local residents to be careful when meeting people online following an attempted romance fraud.

Police say this type of fraud happens when a criminal creates a fake identity to use on dating sites, grooming a victim before asking for money or stealing their identity.

The offenders use stolen identities, fake profiles and images of other people found online to create their profiles.

Officers are urging anyone using dating websites not to give away too many personal details such as date of birth and home address as this could result in identity theft.

Police also advise those talking to people on dating websites to stick to the site's messaging service and not switch to social media or texts as this can leave no evidence of them asking for money.

Anyone who believes they're speaking to a fraudsters can contact the Isle of Man Constabulary for assistance and report the profile to Action Fraud.

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