Helen's mother fell victim to romance scammers after meeting them on Facebook, eventually sending £140,000. Scammers used AI to alter their appearance in photos and videos, making it harder for Helen to convince her mother of the deception. The article highlights signs of scams such as changes in behavior, increased secrecy, and unusual financial activities, suggesting families should approach the situation with curiosity rather than confrontation.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-30,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A UK woman's mother, aged 80, fell victim to romance scams after meeting men online through Facebook. The scammers used AI technology called deepfake to alter their appearance in photos and videos. Initially believing the man she met needed a life-saving operation at a Shanghai Hospital, the mother sent £10,000 inside a hollowed-out book. As the relationship progressed, more demands for money came in, including one about a ransom payment to free another man from captivity. In total, she lost £140,000 to these scams.
The daughter, Helen, first suspected something was wrong when her mother accidentally sent messages intended for scammers to her instead. She noticed changes in behavior and mood, increased secrecy, frequent phone calls, and unusual financial activities such as bank transfers and opening new accounts. According to Shari Vahl, presenter of BBC Radio 4's "Scam Secrets," these signs indicate potential scam involvement. Helen advised that families should be curious but not confrontational when helping loved ones who may be scammed.
Fraud cases are increasing in the UK, with over £1.3 billion stolen by scammers in 2025 alone.
Written for “Online Scam Warning Signs” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Head over heels in love with a man she met online, Helen's mother hollowed out a book and put £10,000 cash inside.
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mother → meet → cash
She then posted it to a Shanghai Hospital where he awaited a life-saving operation.
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he → post → operation
Once he was better they would be together - but the demands kept coming.
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demands → come → ?
Then a new man came on the scene - he'd been kidnapped and if she didn't pay the ransom he would be killed.
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he → come → ransom
In total she sent £140,000 to romance scammers.
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she → send → scammers
The first time Helen knew something was wrong was when her mum accidentally sent messages intended for the criminals to her.
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mum → know → her
Then she became more secretive.
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she → become → ?
"It became obvious to me something was going on again," she says.
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she → become → me
Here's how to spot the signs a loved one is being scammed and how to help them.
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one → spot → them
Helen's 80-year-old mum met her scammers on Facebook where they used artificial intelligence (AI) to change their appearance in photos and video calls - a type of deception known as deepfake.
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they → meet → deepfake
With criminals employing increasingly sophisticated tactics, cases of fraud in the UK are on the rise.
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cases → employ → rise
Over £1.3bn was stolen by scammers in 2025.
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1.3bn → steal → 2025
Helen noticed her mum taking a lot of phone and video calls but would not say who she was speaking to.
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she → notice → who
Helen says she felt "emotionally drained" trying to work out what was happening.
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what → say → ?
"I didn't feel like I could cope with not having any tool to deal with it," she tells BBC Radio 4's Scam Secrets.
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she → feel → Secrets
"That's not expertise that most families have got."
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families → get → that
How to spot the signs of a scam
Scam Secrets presenter Shari Vahl says these are the signs to look out for:
Change in behaviour or mood
Being evasive or secretive
Frequent post office/bank visits
Shopping in unusual ways such as buying gift cards
Unusual financial activities like bank transfers and opening new accounts
Communicating online or by the phone in a way that's out of character
Families should be 'curious but not confrontational'
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Families → spot → character
In a bid to get her mum to open up, Helen decided "to try and be calm about this and open up the possibility she could trust me".
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she → get → me
Dale Richardson, a police fraud protect officer, encourages families to be "curious but not confrontational".
"
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Richardson → encourage → families
I like to break it down... and listen to them and say, right, how did you meet?
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you → like → them
And what have they said?"
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they → say → what
Helen convinced her mum to allow her to speak to the scammer on a video call.
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her → convince → call
She says she quickly spotted the deepfake as the image was "fuzzy" and his voice out of sync with his movements.
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voice → say → movements
Helen tried to convince her mum the man she was speaking to was not who he said he was but she did not believe her.
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she → try → her
"She was saying I made her feel disgusted and ashamed," says Helen.
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Helen → say → ?
"And that I should let her have her relationship and not intervene.
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her → let → relationship
Forensic linguist Dr Lis Carter, who is part of the Scam Secrets team, stresses the importance of being patient and careful with your words when trying to help loved ones who believe they are in a genuine relationship.
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they → stress → relationship
"Being a family member coming into that, you are 'destroying' that happiness."
Breaking the spell
Unable to break her mum away from the scam, Helen turned to her bank.
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Helen → come → bank
She had a lasting power of attorney, meaning she could act on behalf of her mum and set up safeguards for her accounts.
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she → have → accounts
Jim Winters, head of economic crime at Nationwide, says anyone who believes a family member is being scammed should contact their bank.
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member → say → bank
"They might be limited in what they can share with you for data privacy reasons, but they can take steps to safeguard that account," he says.
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he → limit → account
"Once we know that a customer is being defrauded we can spot the hallmarks very quickly and take steps to break that spell."
To date, the bank that Helen's mum uses has returned £45,000 to her account.
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mum → know → account
Though Helen changed her mum's phone number three times, she continued to give the new one to the scammers.
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she → change → scammers
Helen eventually replaced her mum's smartphone with one that could only do calls and texts.
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that → replace → calls
Winters also advises "completely resetting" a loved ones digital footprint by changing telephone numbers, email address and social media accounts.
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Winters → advise → numbers
"That's what makes you visible, that's what puts you out there.
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what → make → you
So taking steps to reset all of that is so important," he says.
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he → take → that
How to help a scammed loved one
Ask open questions - be calm and patient to gather information
Contact their bank - they can put safeguards in place
Enlist someone impartial - this can help victims open up
Reset their digital footprint - scammers can't continue if they can't contact them
Source: Scam Secrets
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they → help → them
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