Loved Bombed: Who is Alex? The story of a woman who was catfished and defrauded out of thousands of pounds is being told in a new series of the hit BBC Local true crime podcast, Love Bombed. Available from Valentine’s Day on BBC Sounds.

That date is particularly poignant to the story as it is the day Sarah – the podcast’s protagonist – 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.

Loved Bombed: Who is Alex? see’s broadcast presenter, author and podcast host Vicky Pattison return to investigate the increase in romance fraud – a trend where scammers feign romantic intentions towards those looking for love online, winning their affections and taking advantage of their goodwill to scam money from their victims.

In this nine-part series, Vicky speaks to Sarah, from Hemel Hempstead, who tells her heart-breaking 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 relays how she felt when she realised the shocking 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.”

Vicky talks to a former scammer about the lure of this kind of emotional crime and enlists the help of experts including Dr Elisabeth Carter, a forensic linguist at Kingston University and Thames Valley Police. Together 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.

Vicky also learns the tricks scammers use online from Anna Rowe, herself a survivor of love fraud and 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’.

During the investigation, Vicky discovers that it can take years to recover from romance fraud, both mentally and financially. Sarah has been suicidal in the past, due to these events, but is now in a better place and wants others to hear her story and warn them of the dangers of looking for love digitally.

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.”

The commissioning of this podcast by BBC Local underlines the BBC’s commitment to make more content across the country, getting closer to our audiences to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the UK.

Love Bombed – Who is Alex? is a BBC Local production for BBC Sounds and is available as a boxset on BBC Sounds On Wednesday 14 February 2024.