// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'Mum sent them £140,000': How to spot the signs a loved one is being scammed
Helen noticed changes in her mother's behaviour and discovered she had fallen victim to a romance scam
Head over heels in love with a man she met online, Helen's mother hollowed out a book and put £10,000 cash inside. She then posted it to a Shanghai Hospital where he awaited a life-saving operation.
Once he was better they would be together - but the demands kept coming. Then a new man came on the scene - he'd been kidnapped and if she didn't pay the ransom he would be killed.
The first time Helen knew something was wrong was when her mum accidentally sent messages intended for the criminals to her. Then she became more secretive.
"It became obvious to me something was going on again," she says.
Here's how to spot the signs a loved one is being scammed and how to help them.
Scam Secrets: How to Help Someone Who's Being Scammed
Your relative is in the grip of a scam. You can see it - but they can't. Would you know what to do?
Helen's 80-year-old mum met her scammers on Facebook where they used artificial intelligence (AI) to change their appearance in photos and video calls - a type of deception known as deepfake.
With criminals employing increasingly sophisticated tactics, cases of fraud in the UK are on the rise. Over £1.3bn was stolen by scammers in 2025.