Scottish Man Found Guilty and Fined
after Tinder Catfish Scam

Romance fraud usually starts online through a dating app such as Tinder. A seemingly genuine relationship begins, building trust and an emotional connection. Scammers use different tactics to defraud their victims, but often they involve flattery and early declarations of love (also known as ‘love bombing’), followed by requests for money.

A common pattern is urgent and repeated requests to pay for travel or medical emergencies. Mr Cochrane’s tactic was different in that he set up a fake company offering therapy, but the intention was the same: to prey on a vulnerable person going through a difficult time and defraud them out of small amounts of money regularly. This approach is more likely to succeed, as smaller transactions can attract less scrutiny and feel easier for victims to justify at the time.

A common pattern is urgent and repeated requests to pay for travel or medical emergencies. Mr Cochrane’s tactic was different in that he set up a fake company offering therapy, but the intention was the same: to prey on a vulnerable person going through a difficult time and defraud them out of small amounts of money regularly. This approach is more likely to succeed, as smaller transactions can attract less scrutiny and feel easier for victims to justify at the time.

Romance fraud is a type of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud in which the scam victim authorises a bank transfer to the other person’s account. APP fraudsters often move the money quickly through multiple accounts, making it difficult to trace and recover. The scam victim often doesn’t realise that they have been conned until after the money has left their account, and shame and embarrassment often prevent them from reporting this type of financial crime.

Banks have a duty to protect customers and their money from financial crime and scams. New reimbursement rules came into effect in October 2024, making many APP fraud cases easier to resolve. In straightforward cases, banks are expected to investigate quickly and, where the reimbursement rules apply, make a decision and pay compensation within five working days.

Other routes to compensation exist for more complicated cases or those that predate 7th October 2024. These include:

• Submitting a fraud claim to your bank under the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code.
• Escalating your dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), an independent, government-backed body set up to settle disputes between banks and their customers. If FOS accepts your case, they can order a full or partial refund of the money you have lost, plus interest, and may compensate you for distress and inconvenience.
• Court-ordered compensation, following a successful criminal Court case. However, if the victim’s money was never traced and recovered, or the defendant has no assets to settle the bill, victims may never get back what they are owed.

The law around private prosecutions differs significantly between Scotland and England & Wales.

In Scotland, private prosecutions are not generally available. Criminal cases are prosecuted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and victims usually rely on civil claims, bank reimbursement, or regulatory complaints to recover losses where a criminal prosecution is not pursued.

In England and Wales, private prosecutions can offer an alternative where authorities such as the police, HMRC or the Crown Prosecution Service decide not to bring a criminal case. In those circumstances, a victim, usually through their solicitor, can start private criminal proceedings themselves, provided the case meets the same legal standards as any other prosecution.

The evidence must prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt. If successful, the Court can convict the offender, impose a sentence, and in some cases order compensation to be paid to the victim.

Private prosecutions can be attractive because they may move more quickly than police-led investigations, give victims greater control over the case, and ensure that financial criminals are brought to justice, hopefully serving as a deterrent for future scams.

A solicitor experienced in fraud and private prosecutions will advise whether this route is legally available, assess the strength of the evidence, review the costs implications and manage the process from start to finish.

Sarah Spruce, Legal Director at TLW Solicitors, commented:

“Many of the clients we work with talk about the emotional and mental impact a romance scam has had on them. Not only do they want to get their money back, often what is more important to them is to see justice served, so that other victims don’t have to go through what they have.

It’s our role to support and guide victims of financial crime through the available options. This includes helping them to navigate civil and regulatory recovery options and, where the law allows, private prosecution routes.

The first step is to get in touch with our team for a free, no-obligation and confidential chat about their circumstances and talk through the possible next steps.”