Nine women came forward about Christopher Harkins, a Tinder conman, leading to his arrest and a lengthy prison sentence.
London: So, this whole thing started with Christopher Harkins, a guy who was using Tinder to scam women. He was first arrested back in January 2020, but even then, he didn’t stop. He just kept on scamming.
One of his victims, who we’ll call Naomi, was dating him while he was under investigation. She had no clue about his shady past. Harkins managed to steal £550 from her and even pressured her to withdraw £10,000 that he had transferred into her account. Can you believe that?
Naomi said she had no idea what was going on. “If I did, I wouldn’t have been involved,” she mentioned. After spending a night together, he sent her a video still of her, which made her feel really violated. That’s just awful.
In the UK, romance fraud has been a huge issue, with nearly £95 million lost in just a year. The average loss per person? A staggering £10,774. It’s heartbreaking.
Last July, Harkins was sentenced to 12 years in prison and is now on the sex offenders register for life. Lisa, another victim, was the one whose story got the police involved. She felt a sense of relief when justice was finally served.
She got her money back, but sadly, most of the other women didn’t. Lisa expressed how proud she felt for everyone who spoke up. “I just think they’re incredibly brave,” she said, and it’s true. It’s a tough story to tell, but now she feels proud instead of ashamed.
