Canterbury man loses $45,000 in romance Facebook scam
A man has lost $45,000 after he was duped in an elaborate romance scam on Facebook.
Police say there is little they can do to recoup the man's losses after he made untraceable payments over several months to the overseas scammer.
Senior Sergeant Paul Reeves, of Rangiora, said the the scammer, using a female profile, befriended the North Canterbury man through Facebook.
A romantic relationship developed and the woman said she needed $1500 from the man to pay lawyers fees to free up an $800,000 inheritance. She sent him fake documentation to back up her claims.
Reeves said the scammer also asked the man to cover the cost for a sick child. Unexpected bills and "hard times" were among the other methods used to dupe the man who transferred $45,000 in total.
The payments were made through Western Union, a popular pay method scammers used because it was virtually untraceable.