This is the BBC series that tries to stop romance scams, which have ruined many people’s lives when they were simply seeking love.

Presenters Kym Marsh and Ashley John-Baptiste are on the trail of the criminals extorting vast amounts of money from unsuspecting victims under the guise of love is how the BBC describe the series.

One episode highlighted the case of Pat who had been having an online only relationship with Morgan and he professed great love for her and made her feel she was the one for him. But in time, disaster struck him and he needed money quickly to save his business deal and she obliged – eventually giving him her life savings, convinced she would get the money back. Even after that he continued to contact her. She accused him of being a scam artist but he denied it each time and made her feel guilty for accusing him.

There is a lot of psychological manipulation in these scams.

The TV people investigated Morgan and found the photo of him was a fake – it was an entirely different person and the scammer had borrowed elements from his life and the photo and had fabricated a daughter from more stolen information and another photo. He even fabricated a photo of his fake daughter’s passport to convince Pat.

The TV team then phoned Morgan and told him what they had found and he denied everything and would only talk with Pat.   She told him what she thought of him now and still he wouldn’t admit anything or pay back the money – just going on about how much he loved her and they would be together soon.

The purpose of the call was to expose the criminal and see if they will admit what they do but also to try to provide some closure for the victim.

Pat did fell better afterwards and had finally given up the idea that he was genuine.

The presenter did say at the end of the programme that minutes after they ended the call with Morgan, he had texted them to say Well done. You found me out.

But no apology and no doubt he has dozens if not hundreds of other people he’s trying to steal from.

If you’re in an online romance and have never met the person – do your research to make sure they are real and never ever send money to someone you haven’t met.

If you have any experiences with romance scammers, do let me know, by email.