Like many people struggling with loneliness after the breakdown of a relationship, Simon Frost, a retired dentist from Soham, turned to the internet looking for company.

Sadly, it didn’t work out as he’d hoped, and he ended up losing thousands to a fraudster he thought loved him.

“Meeting a woman online turned from a dream into a nightmare,” he said.

“I just wanted someone I could chat to on a one-to-one basis and be friendly with.”

Since falling victim to a romance scam, Simon, who is in his late 70s, has spoken openly about the heartbreak he has gone through in the ‘Cambs Cops: Our Stories’ podcast.

Simon had been living in Spain for 30 years before returning to the UK, leaving both his wife and life behind.

“I just started chatting to people online and it developed from there,” he said.

“I chatted to one woman almost daily and it developed very quickly into showing interest in each other and having conversations about family life etc.”

He added: “She started asking me for money for a whole host of reasons.

“I first sent money over for her mother who she said was unwell, which I later discovered obviously wasn’t true.”

To date, Simon has transferred more than £30,000 to different people he met online, who he now knows weren’t who they said they were.

In the episode, Cambridgeshire cybercrime and fraud prevention officer, Kate Thwaites, shared her advice on how everyone can all stay safe online.

She said Simon’s story is sadly very common and that the fraudsters themselves are very sophisticated and often know who to target.

They gather evidence over a number of weeks and months and develop a relationship while building trust before asking their victim for money.

“For many lonely and vulnerable people, the person online may be the only person they chat to all week,” said Kate.

“So even if they suspect something isn’t quite right, to speak to that person is better than no one, so it can be very difficult to break the cycle.”

To listen to the podcast episode “She told me she loved me”, go to Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s dedicated podcast web page.

For more advice on romance fraud and how to avoid falling victim to scams, visit the force’s web page.