In 2017, a woman named Lisa emailed a journalist named Catriona Stewart asking for help. Lisa had met a man named Christopher Harkins on Tinder who had scammed her out of £3,247. Harkins had lovebombed her and suggested they go on holiday together, but when Lisa transferred the money for the holiday, Harkins went silent. Lisa went to Police Scotland for help, but they told her it was a civil matter.
Stewart was a newspaper reporter at the time, and she decided to investigate the story. Lisa provided evidence, and Stewart was determined to speak to Harkins to get his side of the story. When Harkins found out that a journalist was investigating him, he promised to return Lisa’s money but didn’t actually follow through.
After publishing the story, Stewart received calls from other women who had been targeted by Harkins. Some of the women wanted to tell their stories publicly, while others just wanted to share what had happened to them. Many of the women had gone to the police but were told that it was a civil matter.
Police Scotland eventually contacted Stewart and asked her to stop writing about Harkins so that they could investigate without tipping him off. More than 20 women had contacted Stewart by this point, and several decided to make formal complaints. Harkins was eventually arrested, tried, and sentenced to 12 years in prison
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