A Blackburn man who was tricked into handing over £16,500 to a woman he met on a Muslim singles app is warning others not to make the same mistake.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said he met the woman, who called herself Faiza, on the Muzz dating app at the end of November.

He said he now suspects he has been a victim of fraud and does not think he will see his money again.

He said: “I know people will say I am naïve, but I honestly thought she was who she said she was.

“The pictures on her profile look similar to those she sent. I now feel I have been scammed and this person was not who she said she was.”

Muzz, founded in 2015 as a Muslim dating and marriage app and previously called Muzmatch, said it takes the ‘safety and security of members very seriously’ and had banned the suspect once it was alerted.

The man, who is in his thirties, said he suffers from underlying health conditions, which requires daily care.

He said he had been looking to settle down and get married for some time and had hoped to meet the one on the app.

Lancashire Telegraph: The man says he spoke to this woman on a video call and she claimed to be 'Faiza' the woman he had been conversing with.

He said he met the woman on Muzz and the ‘relationship’ soon transferred on to WhatsApp.

He said: “Everything was normal at first, and I have been looking to get married for some time.

“I have number of health conditions including needing blood transfusions. 

“We were getting along normally and texting and talking all the time.

“The conversations were very Islamic-related and I did not doubt her intentions to be honest.

“We got on well. We also video called and chatted, and I noticed she looked different but similar to the pictures.

“Then she started telling me about investing in cryptocurrency.

“She said it was about our future. So, I transferred the money in amounts which finally totalled to £16,500.”

In bank statements seen by the Lancashire Telegraph, the man transfers amounts of £3,500, £2,000 and £500 within a short period of time.

He had saved video footage of himself speaking to a woman with a headscarf, one who he believes hailed from Turkey.

The man says he only stopped once he brought up the issue with his friends.

He said: “It was only when I went out at Christmas with my friends, and I told them what had happened.

“They suspected I was being scammed and I had been a victim of fraud.

“I wish I had spoken to them earlier and they would have been able to give me advice.”

He said he had contacted Action Fraud and also Muzz, and added: “My advice is to stay away from these sites as there are a lot of scammers on there.

“You don’t know who that person is.

“I think Muzz should more of an effort to check people’s backgrounds and security. They say they do a lot but I don’t think they do.”

The man says despite his calls to have his money returned, he was asked to pay more and later started receiving calls from another number from a man who also wanted money.

He suspects they were all part of a ‘gang’ who were targeting people on singles apps.

The man added: “It is unlikely that I will get any money back.

“I think it is really horrible that someone could do this to someone else.

"The whole situation has been very stressful and I have gone through a great deal of anxiety because of this.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Muzz said it takes security 'seriously'

A Muzz spokesperson aid it had many safety features on the app to protect members.

These included, “ID verification which is free to all members. To pass the ID verification, members have to scan a photo of their official ID - once approved, we give their profile a blue tick so other members know the profile is trustworthy.

“[The] all female community team are on hand 24/7 to help members if they require.”

Members also have the option to add a chaperone to their chats.

The app added: “When the Muzz app detects that a user is about to send their personal phone number, a pop up appears in the chat with some warning points which the user should consider.

"The first point being ‘Never transfer money to people you have not met in person’.”

It said the community team had investigated the claims and found the user in question (Faiza), and confirmed they have been blocked from using Muzz. 

The statement added: “This also stops them from making another account from their mobile number, email and device in the future.”