Echo exposes online romance con that cost one man £50000
INTERNATIONAL fraudsters are using a fake hospital, hotel and firm of solicitors in the North-East to target men looking for love on the internet, The Northern Echo can reveal.
Websites featuring a bogus hospital in Hurworth, near Darlington , and a non-existant firm of solicitors in Durham City have been created.
A fake luxury hotel in Darlington – which tellingly offers sea-view rooms for up to £200 a night – is also being advertised online.
The sites were used to convince a retired IT consultant from Austria to pay out more than £50,000 in the belief he was helping a young female artist who had fallen on hard times. It is known that at least two men from Belgium have been targeted, however it is believed many more men could have fallen victims to fraudsters.
Police say the men are being targeted by romance fraudsters who prey on people using online dating services.
According to its website, Hurworth Hospital, in Hurworth, near Darlington, is a state-of-the-art facility offering a range of surgeries and treatments.
However, the address in the village’s Strait Lane is, in reality, an end terrace occupied by sales manager Andy Mangle, although the photograph used on the fake website is a bungalow next door.
The 34-year-old expressed amazement when told by The Northern Echo about his property's involvement in the scam.
He said: “It’s a bit of a shock to be honest.
“It’s strange to find out your house is actually a hospital.”
The company claims to run other hospitals in London, Sheffield, Bristol, however calls to the phone numbers on its website go unanswered.
Details on the site appear to be copied from a genuine company, Aspen Healthcare.
A spokesman for the firm said last night: “We deplore any part of our message to patients being misused in an improper and inappropriate way.”
Gilstar Solicitors claims to have offices in Durham, Bristol, Bolton and London, but its phone numbers also appear to be false.
The Northern Echo has already revealed how the fraudsters set up a website for Poulett Hotel – a fake luxury hotel in Darlington.
It is understood the scammers approach men on dating websites or forums claiming to be a woman living in the UK. After gaining the men’s trust, the fraudsters ask for money.
The victim from Vienna, who has asked not to be identified, said he was contacted on an internet art forum.
Looking For An Echo - News
POLICE searching for a missing Merseyside boxer on remote farmland in Cornwall uncovered human remains and a burnt-out van buried underground. Dad-of-two Brett Flournoy, 31, from Bebington, was last seen a month ago
INTERNATIONAL fraudsters are using a fake hospital, hotel and firm of solicitors in the North-East to target men looking for love on the internet, The Northern Echo can reveal. Websites featuring a bogus hospital in Hurworth, near Darlington,
Internet fraudsters are using locations in the region for a scam targeting men looking for love on the internet. Joe Willis reports on a special investigation by . A RETIRED Austrian IT manager is contacted online by a pretty,
Being of the correct generation to have enjoyed them, Ambrose is most looking forward to Echo & the Bunnymen, although he cites his highlight of the festival's history as hearing Utah Saints remix Paul Giovanni's soundtrack to the original movie on the
We hope Martha Muffin kept the rights to the name because Echo Beach is looking like a mighty sweet location to catch some hot sounds this summer, all for free. Sloan, Third Eye Blind, Platinum Blonde, and Andy Kim are the acts so far announced to play
Entrepreneur Showcase: Looking Beyond the Echo-Chambers ...
This speech was given by Chris Schroeder at last month’s Endeavor Summit in San Francisco. Schroeder is a leading entrepreneur and investor in interactive technologies and social communications, ranging from news and media, education, social networks and marketing. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of HealthCentral, the highest quality collection of condition and wellness specific interactive sites. A veteran of online media, Schroeder has also served as CEO and Publisher of Washingtonpost, Newsweek Interactive and LEGI-SLATE, INC. It is not only an honor, but electrifying to be with you all.
I find nothing more inspirational than spending time with people who have made their life mission to create that which was not there before – directly with the entrepreneurs themselves and all of you who are part of the worlds they are creating.
I especially salute our friends at Endeavor, long supporting, befriending and even building entrepreneurial environments in what we once called the “developing world” at a time when much conventional thinking suggested they were crazy – or, at least, that there were much greener pastures to claim or mow down elsewhere.
It is, in fact, conventional thinking – or a gravitational force that compounds it — that will be at the essence of my brief talk. But allow me to digress for a moment.
It is no hubris or flight of fancy to acknowledge, that we are living in historic times.
I suppose all times have their impact in history, at least in hindsight, but one need no PhD in global studies to know that we all in the earliest moments of times that will define generations to come.
Most of you are too young to conceive of your own children, but I can assure you your grandchildren will be talking about these days – and about your remarkable impact upon them.
In this spirit, allow me to share three stories of my experiences with, literally, the best experts of their fields from a different world than that which brings us all to Silicon Valley today. I think they are very instructive.
Some years ago – and as a brief break from my business activities — I worked in the Department of State during times of great uncertainty and change. At the highest levels, we were wrestling unprecedented times and how to engage with the leadership bringing this change. I sat in a briefing hosted by some of the best experts available – women and men who had lived in and studied and had close relationships in these countries. Their conclusion was that we should not be fooled by the leadership, that they were putting a new face on fundamentally similar policies. Real change, if any, may happen but likely over a decade.
I try to fuck with everybody but everyone isn't fuckwitable. Some people are just looking for an echo..... I'm not a yes man.....
Looking for an echo... (@ Denver Avenue Station) 
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