UK police have arrested dozens of suspected scammers and romance fraudsters belonging to organised criminal networks operating in the UK and Nigeria.

The operation was led by the City of London Police as part of a wider investigation involving financial crime specialists from the Cyber Defence Alliance (CDA), coordination with the National Crime Agency, and cooperation with the Nigerian Police Force’s cybercrime team, according to the BBC.

For example, in one raid, police detained a man who was suspected of selling personal banking details online and facilitating fraud through money laundering. Authorities also seized two Rolex watches and £3,000 in cash from his home in the Midlands.

In total, 31 arrests have been made in Europe and Africa as part of City of London Police’s Operation Seraphim. The suspects are being investigated for alleged involvement in romance fraud – a type of crime where a fraudster pretends to be romantically involved with their victim to scam them out of money.

The BBC cites the example of Kirsty Guest, who got scammed out of £80,000 after meeting a man on a dating app who called himself "Patrick". They talked for months and established a romantic relationship – until one day, “Patrick” called to say he had an accident and eventually convinced her to send him and his associates more than £80,000.

Craig Rice, the Chief Executive Officer of the CDA, said these criminals are not “just gentlemen thieves” – they are actually “ruining lives”.

The Canary Wharf-based CDA is funded by 21 major banks. They hunt scammers by identifying suspicious bank activity and using software to monitor social media and messaging sites.

The unit says it has helped make around 500 arrests so far, adding that they can now hit criminals like "Patrick" harder and faster.

“Through this joint effort we’ve been able to identify offenders, build intelligence and take coordinated action,” DI Joel Gregory of the Intelligence Development Team at the City of London Police told the BBC.

In February, a survey revealed that 55% of Americans who fell victim to romance scams believe it is easier to talk about becoming a victim of other types of scams. The data also suggested that men are both more likely to encounter such scams and fall victim to them – although no one is immune, with romance scams growing by about 20% year-over-year.

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