People have been urged to be aware of romance scams and being asked for money while using dating apps ahead of Valentine's Day.
The PSNI said such scams are underreported due to victims feeling embarrassed, and said up to £96 million is stolen this way in the UK each year
In one case in the north last year, a woman was scammed out of £112,000 by a person she met on a dating app who left her "devastated financially and emotionally" after persuading her to put the money into cryptocurrency.
PSNI Chief Superintendent Gerard Pollock said the woman, who believed she was in a "genuine relationship" and urged those using dating apps to be aware of warning signs they could be targets for online criminals.
"Scammers seek to build a relationship quickly before requesting money. Initially, they are charming and appear very interested in you, but will have lots of excuses for not being able to meet face-to-face," he said.
"Then they'll ask for money to help them sort out their problems, or to help them pay for travel, or some investment opportunity. They'll promise to repay the money, but the harsh reality is they have no intention of that and, sadly, for some people looking for romance online, they find a scammer trying to swindle them out of their money. It's despicable and it’s heartbreaking."
CS Pollock said although victims are more frequently in the 30 to 60 age range, with women slightly more at risk than men, anyone can be targeted.
App users are urged to keep communication with potential daters solely through the app itself, as the software often has inbuilt security to identify scammers.
Users are also advised to research the person they are communicating with, by checking their details on social media sites to see if it matches with what they are saying on the dating app, and doing a reverse image search on their profile picture to check it has not been taken from elsewhere on the internet.
