He Got Out of Prison, Went Straight to Banned Dating App

Barely days out of prison, a man long accused of preying on women looking for love allegedly walked straight back into the same world—only this time, the BBC was waiting for him. The outlet's Jane Downs and Philippa Goymer report that serial romance fraudster Raymond McDonald, who has 58 convictions stretching over two decades, was found on dating app Badoo about a month after his latest supervised release in November, despite a court order barring him from such sites. A BBC staffer posing as "Kaye" matched with McDonald, who was using the alias "Rob" and claimed to be a deep-sea diver "looking for a wife."

McDonald also quickly floated offers of gifts and even a Vegas wedding before turning up for what he thought was a date and was instead confronted by a reporter and camera crew. The BBC goes beyond the sting, tracing McDonald's long history of impersonations—police officer, paramedic, army officer, property developer—and the financial and emotional wreckage described by women who say they lost homes, savings, and even their health after believing his stories. Dating platforms outline how they try to catch scammers, but victims interviewed doubt anything will stop him from seeking more targets. For the full investigation, including the confrontation and victims' accounts, there's more here.