In November our partners at the Thames Valley Police (TVP) launched an e-booklet exploring romance fraud. You might not be familiar with this term, but read on to learn more about it.
TVP's Economic Crime Unit worked alongside Criminology and Forensic Linguist expert Dr Elisabeth Carter to create this booklet which is designed to raise more awareness of romance fraud. It's a great resource for anyone who works with customers, but it's also good for our communities too.
The leaflet teaches people more about what romance fraud involves, helping to prevent or perhaps put a stop to it. We're all about this. In fact, we're currently at the end of 16 days of awareness raising about different forms of abuse.
So, what is romance fraud?
Romance fraud is when someone believes they've met a perfect partner through an online dating website or app, but the person on the other end of the line is using a fake profile. They use an alias to build trust with them before asking for money and learning personal information to steal their identity.
How can it happen?
Romance fraudsters are good at manipulating others and skilled at creating a false reality. This can evolve into coercive control, which is a type of abuse.
This booklet is a great way to learn more about the tactics perpetrators use to fraud people, with the aim to empower the knowledge of our communities. It also dispels the myths of shame and embarrassment that can be associated with this crime.
Want to read the booklet or share it? Take a look here.