Romance Scam: Woman conned out of life savings

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A woman has spoken out after she was conned out of her entire life savings by a man who claimed he was a spy.

According to the BBC, notorious Mark Acklom tricked Carolyn Woods into thinking he was an MI6 agent and successful businessman in order to take a total of £850,000 from her.

Romance Scam

Ms. Woods was wooed by the fraudster, after she met him at the local shop where she worked, following a recent split from her partner. She said: “He was very exciting at the time – until I realised how evil he was. He appears to give you what you want, but he just walks away with everything.”

Ms. Woods said Acklom put her up in a luxury flat in Bath and promised to marry her during their year-long relationship. But following this, he convinced her to loan him hundreds of thousands of pounds in a series of agreements for renovation work at a string of properties he owned.

Ms. Woods said:

“I look back and I think – especially with the money – how on earth did I behave like that? I’m an intelligent, rational person.

“But Mark Acklom told me he can read people like books within minutes. He knows people better than they know themselves.

“He knows exactly which buttons to press.”

He told her elaborate lies, such as claiming he was an undercover MI6 agent, often working overseas with the British security services – when in reality, he was living with his wife nearby. Meanwhile, the money she was loaning to him, was in fact being used to pay for her flat.

According to the BBC, Acklom, who was once named on the National Crime Agency’s list of 10 most wanted fugitives was also running several other scams in Bristol, Bath and Gloucestershire, with many small businesses and entrepreneurs left thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Eventually, Acklom fled to Spain but was later extradited and brought back to England, where he admitted to defrauding Ms Woods of £300,000.

But although Acklom was sentenced to a near six-year prison sentence in the UK and then extradited back to Spain to serve an additional two years, Ms Woods has never recovered any of her money.

Proceeds of Crime Act

Since Acklom pleaded guilty to fraud in 2019, efforts have been underway to recover money through the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Criminals can be forced to repay money earned through crime during these court proceedings – or face an additional jail sentence.

A final hearing aimed at setting the amount of money Acklom needs to repay had been scheduled for April 2024 but has been pushed back until December because the judge was unavailable.

Ms. Woods said:

“I don’t feel as though I’m on an even keel. You just have to try and be positive and have some hope.

“As you get older, all the things that I thought I’d be doing at this stage of my life are just impossible because there isn’t the money.

“Most of all, I would just like to be independent and have my own place to live.”

Data obtained by the BBC in February found reports of romance fraud have risen by almost 60% in the last four years, driven largely by online scammers.

What is a romance scam?

Romance scams trick individuals into sending money to fraudsters who use elaborate tactics to earn their trust and portray a facade of genuine affection. Through manipulation and persuasive language, criminals exploit victims, who develop genuine romantic feelings for them, without triggering suspicion.

Requests for money are often framed in emotionally charged scenarios, such as medical emergencies or travel expenses for a supposed visit. They may also create fake, successful careers, and reasons for why they may be away or abroad a lot of the time, as they live a double life.

How to avoid romance scams

According to ActionFraud, you should follow these steps to avoid romance scams:

Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met online.
Speak to your family or friends to get advice.
Profile photos may not be genuine, do your research first. Performing a reverse image search on a search engine can find photos that have been taken from somewhere, or someone, else.

It is important that no matter how long you’ve been speaking to someone online and how much you think you trust them if you have not met them in person it’s important that you do not:

Send them any money
Allow them access to your bank account
Transfer money on their behalf
Take a loan out for them
Provide copies of your personal documents such as passports or driving licenses
Invest your own money on their behalf or their advice
Purchase and send the codes on gift cards from Amazon or iTunes
Agree to receive and/or send parcels on their behalf (laptops, mobile phones etc.)

How do I report a romance scam?

If you think you have been a victim of a romance scam, do not feel ashamed or embarrassed. Contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via actionfraud.police.uk. If you are in Scotland, report to Police Scotland directly by calling 101.

I think I am a victim of a fraud or scam. Can I get my money back?

There are options available to recover your money. Recovery of the money can be sought from the financial institution that should have prevented the fraud. In some instances, there may also be other regulated firms involved who also could have detected the fraud and issued a warning.

You can attempt to recover the funds yourself without a legal representative however there are benefits to having instructed Oakwood Solicitors to do this for you. We are a regulated firm of Solicitors, with over 20 years’ of experience in financial mis-selling claims.

By using a solicitor who is a specialist in financial mis-selling claims, we aim to take the hassle out of the claims process as we do all the hard work for you.

Why use Oakwood Solicitors Ltd?

We are a regulated firm of Solicitors, with over 20 years’ of experience in financial mis-selling claims. By using a solicitor who is a specialist in financial mis-selling claims.

We aim to take the hassle out of the claims process as we do all the hard work for you.

In the last 3 years, our Financial Litigation Team have successfully recovered more than £13.5 Million for our clients across mis-sold investments and mis-sold pensions claims.

You will be allocated your own experienced claims handler who will keep you fully informed throughout the whole process.

Romance Scam: Woman conned out of life savings after man claimed to be a spy