NORTH VANCOUVER — By quickly reporting an Internet dating scam that cost her $27,000, a North Shore woman was able to recover about 40 per cent of that money, North Vancouver RCMP said.
The police handed the woman back $11,000 because it had not yet left the country.
“Because the incident was immediately reported to police and the money was not transferred outside of Canada, some of the money transactions we’re reversed,” Const. Brett Cunningham said. “Had there been a delay in reporting the incident, the outcome would have been less favourable.
After months of messaging with a man she met on Match.com, the woman agreed to send $27,000 to the man, who said he was a contractor working in Saudi Arabia and would repay her upon returning to Canada.
As soon as she deposited the money, his profile disappeared from the dating site.
Police said the following circumstances should set off alarm bells for anyone on a dating site: Your contact does not want to meet in person, won’t talk over Skype or other web-camera format, or the relationship seems too good to be true.
