ROMANCE SCAMS
When a newly widowed Ruth Grover was targeted online by a fake American general trying to win her affection – and her money – she fought back. Now her small army of volunteers is taking on scammers all over the world… and saving lives
In asmall block of flats set back from a roundabout in Hartlepool, Ruth Grover sits in her cosy kitchen at a table covered in tech. Pinda, a rainbow budgie, is flying free, looking for a place to perch – his favourite spot is on Ruth’s head. ‘Welcome to ScamHaters HQ,’ says Ruth. ‘From here, I talk to the world!’
The 67-year-old is the founder of a remarkable operation to investigate and expose romance fraud, one of the fastest-growing crimes globally, with an estimated £68 million lost in the UK alone last year. Her Facebook group ScamHaters United has 66,000 followers and she also has a website, YouTube channel, plus Instagram and TikTok accounts, all manned 24/7 by her voluntary team of 20 women – mostly retired – from all round the world.
Just this morning she has been assisting a woman in Belgium who had been conned out of €24,000 by a man she thought was an Italian celebrity. She had followed what she assumed was his official Instagram page and he’d contacted her personally. What followed was a very typical scenario, says Ruth. They’d struck up an intense online relationship, then he’d needed a ‘quick loan’ as his manager was withholding his money. ‘She was convinced it was the celebrity who had scammed her,’ says Ruth. ‘Finally, I managed to explain the person she’d been messaging wasn’t the celebrity.’
All day Ruth deals with a steady stream of messages, including distraught victims who need understanding and advice. Others are from people worried about a family member who has met someone online and become secretive. ‘My absolute favourites are when people contact us to say, “I’m talking to someone online and it’s getting a bit weird. Can you check it for me?” I love these because they haven’t yet sent any money and they can be pulled back.’
The team also pull out common patterns in romance scams and highlight new trends. They gather and post all the profile pictures routinely used to attract victims. They have even managed to infiltrate the closed chat groups of the scammers themselves, where perpetrators share contact details of potential victims (they call their victims ‘clients’) and sell each other Photoshopped images or build fake websites to reel people in (‘Let me help you with your lies’).
Romance fraud is one of the fastestgrowing crimes globally, with an estimated £68 million lost in the UK alone last year
Ruth never imagined a retirement like this. A former police dispatcher, she was married to Jeff, a policeman, when they both retired early in 2006, expecting a good rest and some tra
