“What beautiful eyes you have. Want to invest in my company?”.If you’re looking for a date in Surrey, the local RCMP cautions you to be wary of “romance scams,” which have cost love-seeking victims more than a million dollars this year..Between January and August 2021, Mounties in Surrey received reports from 29 people who have been ensnared in online romance scams, with a total of $1,362,269 lost..In the Lower Mainland, 213 victims lost a total of $22,463,5100 during the same time frame..The RCMP describes a romance scam as involving an individual who uses false romantic intentions toward an unsuspecting victim in order to gain their trust, and subsequently rinse their bank account..Many reports in Surrey involved a common trend, says Const. Sarbjit Sangha of the Surrey RCMP, explaining victims were lured into investing funds into fraudulent schemes, which included sending money via bitcoin accounts..The victims were cut off upon becoming aware of the fraud..“More people than ever are going online to find friendships and relationships,” said Sangha, adding a few tips to “protect you from being conned out of your money,” such as: doing a reverse image Google search, exercising skepticism of people who “fall in love quickly,” and being cautious of those making an effort to hide their identity..Reid Small is a BC correspondent for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
