NordenBladet — It has been estimated that roughly 3.8 million Euros have been lost in total due to online romance scams in Finland in the first half of 2022.
Finland has seen a sharp rise in romance-related scams, which professional criminals and large syndicates typically run. According to the Finnish Police, these criminals are skillful at taking advantage of their victims’ vulnerability and feelings of loneliness.
Speaking about the scams, Detective Inspector Gunnar Golnick of the Häme Police Department notes that in most cases, the victim is lured into becoming infatuated, even falling in love with the scammer. These victims then fall for stories about financial troubles, resulting in the victim sending the person money.
Victims of these scams are usually helpful yet naive people that are overcome by strong romantic emotions.
The financial sector grouping Finance Finland (FFI) has noted that romance scams are the most common type of fraud online.