A police detective in Edmonton says enforcement agencies around the world are seeing a spike in romance scams as fraudsters prey on people’s loneliness. “They’re using the coronavirus as a means for empathy, caring,” Det.
Linda Herczeg said. The economic crimes detective says scammers will incorporate COVID-19 into their lies and say things like: “‘My family has it and I need money for healthcare, can you please send it?’ ‘No honey, I can’t come see you because I’m in isolation.'” In 2019, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre noted $19 millions dollars were stolen from Canadians through romance scams alone.
Herczeg said the virus is only making that worse. “Especially with the whole self-isolation — people are alone and they’re by themselves and