Vicky Pattison returns for a second series of Love Bombed podcast

Presenter, author and podcast host Vicky Pattison is back to investigate the increase in romance fraud in Love Bombed: Who is Alex?

The BBC Local true crime podcast tells the story of a woman who was catfished and defrauded out of thousands of pounds.

It was Valentine’s Day when Sarah went to Heathrow to meet the man she knew as Alex. A man she called her “partner”. He was flying in from Nigeria where he said he was working for a charity. But her life would never be the same again.

Across the nine-part series, Vicky speaks to Sarah, from Hemel Hempstead, who tells her story of being swindled out of thousands of pounds and tricked into believing that the man she spoke to every night, and fell in love with, was real.

She reveals how she felt when she realised the truth that Alex was a digital “construct” created in what can only be described as a ‘scammers’ call centre in a different country, thousands of miles away.

Vicky says: “Making this new series has once again truly shocked me. Hearing the ruthless way that fraudsters will target women and men of all ages – using love-bombing tactics that can be very difficult to detect and resist.

“I’d like to thank Sarah for finding the courage to share her story, something we know many others are too embarrassed and ashamed to do.”

To understand how it all works, Vicky talks to a former scammer and experts including Dr Elisabeth Carter, a forensic linguist at Kingston University and Thames Valley Police. They explain how easily people can be groomed into coercive and abusive relationships which eventually cost them their savings, homes, businesses, and health, as well as destroying close relationships with family and friends.

Anna Rowe, a survivor of love fraud is also featured in the series. She is the co-founder of the website ‘LoveSaid’ which was recently set up to challenge the stigma attached to being a victim of so-called ‘love fraud’.

Chris Burns, Controller Local Audio Commissioning says: “This is really a shocking case of romance fraud and BBC Local radio once again demonstrates just how well it can bring true crime stories to life, in this brilliant podcast.”

Love Bombed: Who is Alex? is a BBC Local production for BBC Sounds and is available as a boxset on BBC Sounds from today, Wednesday 14 February.