A 22 year-old woman was scammed out of £85,000 after falling victim to a ‘romance’ fraudster on Snapchat, the popular photo sharing app.
Speaking to This is Money, Amanda* tells us a scammer befriended her in November after adding her on Snapchat, where they started talking.
Not long after, they began speaking on the telephone and after developing a relationship, Amanda felt comfortable enough to send him private pictures.
However, the scammer then started threatening and blackmailing her, telling her if she didn’t give him money, he would leak her personal photographs.
A woman has been scammed out of £85,000 after falling victim to a fraudster on Snapchat
Ultimately, Amanda ended up transferring £85,000 of her father’s money from his account to her own before sending this to the fraudsters.
Amanda had access to her father’s bank account and his details in order to make the payments – but she was not named on his account.
The tale is warning that young adults are also susceptible to fraud and how quickly fake online relationships can develop, which can ultimately end in financial ruin.
After receiving the threats, Amanda was firstly told to make a payment of £500 from her father’s account to hers.
