I've matched with four men on dating apps - they were all scammers
Summary
Julie Osgood, a 60-year-old woman from Middleton, tried online dating after losing her long-term partner to Covid. She matched with four men who turned out to be scammers using fake photos and stories to trick her. Julie hopes to warn others and push dating apps to improve safety.Key Facts
- Julie lost her partner of 38 years to Covid in 2020 and later tried online dating.
- The first four men she matched with on dating apps were scammers.
- The fake profiles used AI-generated photos, showing signs like blurry or jumbled text in the images.
- Scammers followed similar stories, often claiming to be widowers or divorced with teenage daughters.
- They built trust for weeks before making requests for money due to fake emergencies.
- Julie never lost money as she identified the scams early but stopped using dating apps because of the experience.
- Romance fraud cases in the UK caused losses of over £92 million in 2024, up from £82 million the previous year.
- Julie wants to raise awareness and encourage dating sites to take stronger actions against scams.
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