A Ballymena woman was prevented by her bank from transferring a total of £700 to a man claiming to be a soldier in America.
This is one example of a romance scam and police are asking people to be wary of emails requesting money.
“Someone had contacted her, claiming to be a soldier in America and struck up a fake relationship with her. He started to ask for money, saying he needed it to buy his way out of the army and come live with her in Northern Ireland,” stated a Scamwise NI spokesperson.
“This is actually quite a common scam, with the same theme of a soldier who needs money to get out of the army. Never send money to someone you have not met in person.”
Meanwhile, an elderly woman has received a number of letters purporting to be from the International Fifa World Cup Online Lottery. These letters contained her full name and address, and requested that she hand over a large amount of money to claim the reward.
However the woman realised this was a scam.
Police say if you do receive a letter, report it to Action Fraud, and if you have paid or given over any details or money contact the police.
