The number of Scots being targeted by Dirty John-style scammers is on the rise.
Police have set up a a new campaign to tackle the issue after they found that the number of reported romantic fraud incidents in Scotland had increased by 21 in a year.
Romance fraud, similar to that portrayed in the popular Netflix drama Dirty John, sees victims fall for scammers, often via fake online profiles on dating or social media sites, and enter into "relationships" with them.
Having gained their trust, fraudsters like Dirty John then ask for cash or coax the victim to hand over personal information.
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A total of 7,398 romance frauds were reported in Scotland in 2017, an increase of 21 per cent from 6,106 in the previous year.
Police believe the true figure could be much higher as many romance frauds may go unreported due to embarrassment on the part of the victim.
Detective Superintendent Nicola Shepherd said: “Romance fraud is largely unreported and we want more victims to come forward.
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“It can have a shattering effect on people who may be embarrassed that they’ve fallen victim to a scam and don’t want to speak about their experience.
“Criminals can be extremely convincing and they prey on people who are emotionally vulnerable, particularly online."
One woman whose life was torn apart by a Dirty John-style hoax is backing the new Police Campaign to stop others for falling into the same trap.
Michelle Szombara, 40, unwittingly lost over £60,000 after falling for Alan Clarkson on a dating website.
The mum-one from Fife was instantly smitten - but within weeks he was stealing money from her.
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Over four years, Clarkson expertly manipulated and controlled Michelle until she was evicted from her home and forced to declare bankruptcy after being left thousands of pounds in debt.
Michelle said: “My relationship with him started off with messages on a dating site.
“He was like any other normal person; funny and polite. We started texting back and forward and within a few weeks we met up. He turned up at my house with some spare clothes and stayed for the next four years.”
Clarkson, of West Lothian, started to claim he couldn’t access his bank account and was in debt.
He sent Michelle emails he had allegedly received from financial institutions and produced fake paperwork to show he had money in another account to pay her back at some point.
The fraud also affected Michelle’s parents, who handed over money to Clarkson.
“He took over the rent for my house,” said Michelle. “I ended up over £7,000 in rent arrears and my council tax wasn’t getting paid.
“It got to the stage we were living off of nothing. I was so stressed. I did every hour going at my work to be left with nothing. I had a lovely house and I lost everything.
“I was embarrassed and ashamed that I got my mum and dad involved. They worked all their days, only had a couple of years left on their mortgage and we’re now living in a council house because of him.”
Michelle said she realised something was wrong but she stayed with Clarkson to try and gain some of the money back for her parents.
In February 2019, Clarkson was sentenced to 42 months in prison after being convicted of stealing £60,000 from Michelle and her family between 2010 and 2014.
She said: “We had a few people saying to us things weren’t right over the years. We had doubt in the back of our mind but we didn’t want to believe it.
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“My mum died before he was sentenced for this so she didn’t get to see him being sent to prison. It nearly ripped our family apart. I hate what he’s done to my family.
“My advice would be to be really cautious with everybody. Check email addresses are related to the company. Throughout the four years we were together I never met his family so always check someone’s background.”
Detective Superintendent Nicola Shepherd added: “It can be easy to get caught up with the attention you receive but it’s important to stop and think if a stranger’s actions are genuine.
“There are warning signs for these scams and one of them is a request for money. Don’t send money to someone you’ve never met, or even recently met, regardless of the story they tell you.
“We need to raise awareness of this type of crime and encourage people to speak to us so we can gather evidence and target offenders.”
