According to a report conducted by the national fraud help desk, many of the victims do not report that they have been conned out of money because they are ashamed or because they have little confidence in the police.
Findings reveal 9% of respondents saying they had been conned recently on internet. In 70% of cases they lost a maximum of EUR 500, but 12% said they had lost between EUR 1,000 and EUR 10,000. In 3% of cases the loss was over EUR 20,000.
The larger amounts of money were often lost through dating websites, where ‘mates’ said they needed money for air tickets or for hospital treatment.
The fraud help desk questioned 1,000 people over the age of 18.
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