A single mother in north-west London, Gabriella Kranyik, 46, has been scammed out of £18,000 through two separate incidents by a dating app user. Gabriella, who works as a personal fashion assistant and lives with her 18-year-old daughter, Stella, found herself struggling financially earlier this year, prompting her to look for ways to make extra money. She met someone named Gabriel on the dating app happn, who persuaded her to engage in trading activities, promising significant returns on her investments.
After making payments totalling £2,100 and being assured of profits, Gabriella was then asked to pay additional fees to access her funds. Realising she had fallen victim to a scam, she had lost around £10,000. In a bid to recover her losses, she then signed up for online work, which turned out to be another scam, resulting in a further loss of over £7,000. Feeling embarrassed and humiliated, Gabriella borrowed about £11,000 from friends and family to cover her losses.
Despite reporting the scams to Action Fraud, Gabriella feels let down as no action has been taken so far. The impact of the scams has left her financially devastated, unable to pay her rent, bills, and debts. Desperate to rebuild her life, she has launched a fundraising page to seek help from the public.
Gabriella’s story serves as a cautionary tale, urging others to trust their instincts and be cautious when dealing with online strangers promising lucrative returns. The dating app happn, where Gabriella met the scammer, emphasised the importance of user safety and security, pledging to take steps to prevent such incidents from occurring.
Gabriella’s harrowing experience highlights the prevalence of online scams and the devastating consequences they can have on victims. As she strives to recover from the financial blow, she hopes her story will raise awareness and prevent others from falling into similar traps.