Online “romance fraud” and blackmail scams are part of an under-reported crimewave in Suffolk, a new police report has warned.

Fraudsters are “still” luring unsuspecting romance seekers in online chat rooms, dating websites and social media apps such as Plenty of Fish (POF), the Suffolk Police and Crime Panel said.

Victims of romance fraud are asked for financial help after relationships have been struck up with the perpetrator, who they may never meet. Some are duped out of six-figure sums.

Criminal gangs operating in foreign countries, particularly west Africa and eastern Europe, are thought to be responsible for the vast majority of UK cases.

The Norfolk and Suffolk Cybercrime Unit found “romance fraud and blackmail offences” are “still a theme in Suffolk”, after research to establish current levels of cybercrime, according to a January 2017 Suffolk Police and Crime Panel report.

The report said: “A recent edition of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) threat update indicated that the app ‘Kik’ is being used more and more frequently to facilitate dating fraud. It is believed to have been used in overseas cases of kidnap, murder and rape involving children.

“There are also cases of rape where the offender has befriended and developed a relationship online with the victim using dating websites such as Plenty of Fish.”

Lonely hearts who succumb to romance fraud believe they have found their perfect partner, but fall victim to emotive pleas for cash.

The majority of victims are women and each victim lost on average more than £10,000 last year, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau said.

Other victims feel ashamed of the fraud and fail to report it to police.

The Suffolk Police and Crime Panel report added: “Under-reporting in Suffolk, regionally and nationally continues to be an issue.”

A Kik spokesman said: “We take online safety very seriously, and we’re constantly assessing and improving our trust and safety measures.

“There are two ways we do this. One is through technology and constant improvements to the product itself. We recently launched a proprietary SafePhoto technology as an enhancement to Microsoft’s PhotoDNA that detects, reports, and deletes known child exploitation images sent on our platform.

“We also upgraded our users’ ability to filter unknown senders and report content or contact that violates our terms of service. We believe it is possible to both protect user privacy and get rid of bad actors on our platform, using a combination of technology and human effort to remove users who violate our terms of service or harass other users.

“The other is through education and partnerships with organizations that help adults and teens understand the challenges of today’s online landscape and how to avoid bad situations.

“For years, we’ve had teams dedicated to this, and we will continue to invest in those types of tools, provide resources to parents, and strengthen relationships with law enforcement and safety-focused organizations.

“This is a priority for us. We want all users to be safe on Kik and will continue to make Kik a safe, positive and productive place for our users to interact.”

POF did not respond to a request for comment.