 My name is M. Allen and I work for Victim Support as a fraud caseworker and I've done so since 2016. My role is to offer emotional and practical support to vulnerable victims of fraud and scams. Romance scams are an emotionally devastating crime that impact victims far beyond monetary damages. The scammers will often use social media platforms to target their victims who can be emotionally vulnerable, who are seeking friendship or a relationship. Over a period of time a relationship is formed and the trust of the scammer is gained. It is this point that the scammer will drop in requests for money pretending they're in need of help, often talking about financial woes relating to sickness or stress, to make the victim feel sorry for them. Scammers are clever enough to be patient to build up the victim's attachment and emotional investment. The more attached the victim is, the more likely they are to part with their money. Quite often I think the perception is that women are more likely to fall for this fraud type. However as a fraud caseworker our figures do not support this and it suggests that it's a fairly equal split between men and women. Having said this any one of us can be tricked. The scammers are clever manipulators who are skilled at grooming and exploiting their victims. Often my clients will say I can't believe I fell for such a thing or that they feel so silly. Sadly though anyone who's wanting to meet someone for a friendship or a relationship naturally opens themselves up to suggestion and susceptible to manipulation. This doesn't make the victim silly. Unlike any other fraud types victims of romance fraud experience a double hit, a financial hit and the loss of a relationship. This can have a crushing effect on the victim's mental wellbeing. Due to the emotions involved I believe that this fraud type is underreported. A sense of embarrassment and a pride dented are all types of emotions expressed by those who have reported this crime. They often haven't told anyone about their experience and as a caseworker we are sometimes the first person they tell their story to. When we as caseworkers speak to the victim they're often at their lowest point. The realisation that they've been scammed and the relationship that they had after such a time was fake is soul destroying. Whether they've lost a large amount of money or a smaller amount the realisation that the victim has been used to gain money can leave the victim feeling like they will never love again and ultimately be alone. Reassurance is key to providing support. Helping the victim realise that they're not the only person to fall for this crime type. And just having an experienced ear to offload to is the first step to recovery. Being able to talk to someone who can reassure them that no one is immune to romance fraud is the first step on the recovery ladder. Here in Sussex I'm proud to say we offer a service to our romance fraud victims whereby they can have an opportunity to speak to and share their experiences with other victims who have also fallen for this fraud type. We run romance fraud peer support groups via Zoom providing a safe and confidential space. The feedback which we've obtained so far from the participants have all said they found this tool really useful in their recovery journey. The recovery stage is slow and a lengthy process and again it's about building the victim's confidence and helping them feel that they deserve to find genuine friendships and relationships. It's about making the victim realise over time that the scammers are criminals, clever and subtle. Anyone can be a victim of a scam and it's important to remember that it's not the victim's fault. Far from the popular idea that only the gullible or vulnerable fall for a romance scam, the reality is sadly that the criminals are highly skilled manipulators of language and use techniques designed to make people feel at ease and disguise any cause of concern. We at Victim Support encourage anyone who finds themselves a victim of any fraud type to contact us to speak to us to seek support and advice.