Scam celebrity social media accounts and message requests from supposed military personnel desperate to connect with us are something that many social media users will have come across. My Instagram account, which is totally devoted to me banging on about books, has been followed by none other than Elon Musk - who knew he was such a book worm? But like many social media users, I wasn’t fully aware of the elaborate nature of some of the scams behind these accounts and how much of a big business romance fraud really is.

Becky Holmes looks at this growing ‘industry’ from all angles. Using interviews with victims, scammers and fraud professionals she lays bear the motivations behind the scams, how victims become trapped and the immense struggle of trying to stop the frauds and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Although there are some truly heartbreaking stories from victims, Becky balances this with her own hilarious online interactions with scammers. These bring welcome humour to the book and feel like small victories in a world where the odds are stacked overwhelming in favour of the fraudsters.

The technical and legal information regarding fraud is presented in an accessible way. Becky is very open about her own personal experiences which adds authenticity to the writing and her conversational style makes you forget you are reading a work of non fiction.

I feel much more informed from reading this book and have found myself discussing it with anyone who will listen. As Becky points out we need more education in this area and this book is a step in the right direction. A must read for anyone who uses or knows someone who uses social media.

Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You by Becky Holmes is a fascinating and often very funny look at online romance fraud, something that has had serious financial and emotional consequences for many people world wide. This book does focus on scams targeted at women and was inspired by the author's own experience with online scammers which caused her to start investigating and reach out to others who had been targeted . While the topic is obviously serious the tone is often quite light hearted and the book includes several examples of the increasingly ludicrous conversations the author has had with potential scammers , many of which made me giggle. The accounts of the women who have fallen prey to such scams make for much more sobering reading, and reading about them makes it easier to understand how and why the scams are sometimes successful. The author does not hold back about the lack of support for those who find themselves caught up in a scam, often too embarrassed to talk to friends or family members , they may try reporting to their bank or to the police but these avenues often yield few results.
This is a short sharp book about a complicated topic, and while some readers might struggle with the tone given the serious nature of the topic being discussed, those who are already familiar with Becky's online persona will know exactly what they are getting into.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

It might seem surprising that that a former PR Manager living in Warwickshire would become a romantic interest for not just Keanu Reeves and Liam Neeson but also Princes Harry, Wills and even Andrew, but these were just some of the celebrity names that slid into Becky Holmes direct messages after she joined Twitter at the start of the pandemic.

Holmes found it surprising too. So much so that she decided to post her exchanges with her love struck suitors on Twitter, gathering over 150,000 followers in a matter of months. It didn’t seem to matter how absurd her answers were, the DM’s kept rolling in, even after a few of them spotted her piss taking tweets. She was even once contacted by someone claiming to be her sister. Called Becky.

Although not a victim herself, her Twitter feed led to a number of victims to get in touch, prompting Holmes to investigate further (one of the few jokes she doesn’t make at her own expense*). Given the books origins in Holmes role reversing Twitter feed, it invites us to continue to laugh at scammers getting rinsed, but there’s quite a shift in mood required when reading the stories of those who were defrauded.
Holmes explains why fraudsters adopt fake names that are often two Christian names, and have a high disposition to pretending to be doctors working in the field for the UN, oil rig workers, pilots or soldiers on peace keeping missions; all occupations that make can add some plausibility to being off line for periods of time, and unable to discuss the details of their work. Anyone responding to their phishing is quickly invited to move their conversations to Google Chat or WhatsApp as dating site or Twitter accounts can get closed before requests for money for replacement phones, or Amazon gift cards can commence.

There are some genuinely amusing moments – setting up a Google Chat group for the five Keanu Reeves she had been exchanging messages with so they could get to know each other. Holmes tells one she lives in a town called Rectum and “Keanu” tells her he’s been there. “Brad Pitt” tells her to stop talking to Liam Neeson as he knows Liam and it must be a fake account.
But there’s a darker side. Death threats for reporting and getting closed down scammers bank accounts. Holmes sets aside the puns to address a number of issues, one of which is the way victims are described as “falling for” the scams, and the victim blaming that inevitably arises. Drawing on her own experience of a relationship with a compulsive liar boyfriend and admitting she’s an online gambling addict in recovery, she points out that most victims initial involvement came at a time in their lives when they were vulnerable, which is not the same as gullible. Many victims sensed that something might not be “right” early on but felt they were too far in to back out, or were simply too ashamed. As much as Holmes plays the fraudsters for laughs, she also wants the book to remove the stigma of being defrauded, in the hope it reduces the number of victims as well as making it easier for those who have suffered losses to seek help.

What should you do if you’ve been scammed and defrauded? Holmes points out that attempting to engage your local constabulary will just result in a handoff to the Action Fraud website, who currently have 858 reviews on Trustpilot, of which 806 are 1 star. Fraud accounts for 40% of crime in the UK, and yet gets 1% of police time. Fake accounts are rarely taken down and banks will maintain they have no responsibility despite providing accounts to scammers, although Holmes found one victim who the Financial Ombudsman ruled in favour of, and ordered the return of £100,000. With the bleakly amusing irony that when she tried to use the returned money to pay down her mortgage, she was told she could only move £8,000 at a time. To prevent fraud and money laundering of course.

The book closes with Holmes making the case for better education and awareness, cautiously optimistic about the possibility of a new improved Action Fraud The indifference of Instagram (bordering on belligerence at Twitter) and the fact that as soon as she opened an account on Threads, the scamming DMs started to pour in suggest any improvements may well be some way off.

* An elementary joke, my dear Watson.

Absolutely bloody brilliant. I've followed Becky Holmes on twitter for a while now and strongly advise anyone reading this to make sure you're doing the same.

Some writers just have the ability to write about seriously serious stuff with a massive helping of bloody good humour, without trivialising it. Adam Kay and Nigel Smith do it in their memoirs, Ericka Waller does it in her fiction and Becky Holmes nails it too.

Humour makes the difficult stuff easier to discuss and this book will hopefully help to raise the profile of this horrific crime and show society that people should not be considered as being in some way responsible for having this crime committed against them.

All in all, this is everything I'd hoped it would be from the twitter account and more. I just hope the author has another book in the pipeline.

I was drawn in by the book's title. Navigating online dating sounds like a craps shoot. I enjoyed the author's use of humor, screenshots of texts and ability to laugh at herself and to ultimately forgive herself for being treated poorly in past relationships. Becky Holmes does a great job of humanizing women who have been scammed in online dating. I found myself empathizing with the people she met and I even learned about scams I hadn't heard of. Good laughs and a great read.

I enjoyed this nonfiction book, it was very informative about the world of romance fraud. It is filled with research, good resources and some factual accounts of romance fraud. The book is from a UK author, resources and agencies cited are from the UK. I'm not sure if this book will be published in the States, and as an American reader, I couldn't relate to the UK agencies that were cited in the book. I am not familiar with the author, but she appears to be popular in her country. She attempts to add a lot of humor to the subject, while I liked some of the humor, I think it was a bit overboard, or too cheeky. I think that space would have been better suited to add more factual accounts of romance fraud. I think this was a fun read for a non-fiction book. I think it does a good job explaining why people should have more empathy for victims of romance fraud, instead of blaming or shaming them. Overall I would give it 3.75 stars.

This book is entertaining and the author brings her signature brand of humor to the topic. Unfortunately I've seen enough Dr Phil experts to know about most of the scams she writes about but it's a good thing she's shedding light on the scammers who continue to take advantage of people.

This is a fantastic enlightening, educational but hilarious read!! I chuckled throughout and I think that’s what makes this book such a hit with me, and will be with you!!.
There are lots of links for you to follow up if you or someone you know is a victim of romance fraud, I will not be the person that uses the normal phrase for romance fraud. If you read the book you will find out what that is!!! Vey belittling…..
There are also hilarious pics which Becky has put on her Twitter page so you can see how she now deals with this problematic scam.
Be prepared for humour throughout!!!!
Many thanks to Unbound for sending me this arc copy for review consideration via Netgalley. My opinion is my own.
#Netgalley,#Unbounders,#DeathToSpinach.
#_KeanuReevesIsNotInLoveWithYou.

My thanks to Unbound Publishers and NetGalley for a copy of “ Keane Reeves Is Not In Love With You “ for an honest review.
I was really drawn in by the title of this book .At first i thought it would just be a light weight humorous book.and while it is very amusing ,it is also very informative.
I think most people can identify with the sorts of scam emails we receive , but it is very shocking how much some people’s lives can be affected by them .
I loved Becky Holmes’ style of writing and this was well worth the read

The amount of salacious headlines about romance fraud meant I was so interested in reading this book and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed both the great tone of humour throughout, balanced with the dark heartbreaking stories of victims' being conned. As there isn't much out there about these scams, it does feel important that there is a guide to spotting them, but I can appreciate other reviewers feeling the message is lost in the humour. I didn't personally find that, as I cackled at the interactions with the scammers, but she could probably send invoices to them for time wasted as retribution to be honest and that would feel a fair outcome to me. For the victims, I ended the book both deeply moved by the colossal sense of loneliness, heartbreak, disappointment and shame, as this really puts a human side to those duped. We can only hope that by getting these important messages out there, that at least one person doesn't fall prey to these despicable predators and that institutions improve to protect them.

Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You is both a very funny and very empathetic look at romance fraud. I find the author very entertaining in the way she deals with scammers online and the way she writes about her encounters in this book but she also take the issue incredibly seriously and includes stories of people whose lives have been turned upside down by scammers. These stories were scary to read, how easily we can all be caught out by what appears to be a friendly person on social media. The book also traces where some of these scammers are from and how they go about engaging people in the scam, and the lengths they will go to to keep a victim ensnared. I found this book engaging to read, it was lighthearted but also eye-opening. I recommend it.

This is such a great book. I would advise against reading this book in public, as I learned to my cost. Becky has you laughing out loud with her interactions with the superstars sliding into her DM's. Her writing style is fresh, funny and honest. Sharing stories of people who have fallen foul of the worst side of social media, Becky raises awareness of scams in a very non judgemental way. I was really sad to come to the end of the book, thank goodness for her twitter ( ok X ) feed. All in all this is a brilliant read, filled with the the very best mix of humour and serious warnings about the romance scams that are out there. I learned a lot without realising I was learning. I cannot recommend this book enough.

This book delves into the romance scams on social media, where imposters exploit trust to swindle money. The first part of the book features Becky’s initial interactions with her would-be deceivers, turning the tables on them and generally winding them up.

The book outlines the typical scam lifecycle: initiating contact on social media, fostering a connection, escalating demands and psychological manipulation, including hostility when challenged. The case studies, while distressing, demonstrate the perils of our digital era and the lack of uniform protective measures from institutions.

The author attempts a delicate balance between humour and gravity. This blend results in a writing style that, over time, may not be to everyone's taste.

Hilarious books. Hits close to home because an elderly person I know got scammed. Thanks for this one.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it,

This book was hilarious! Becky Holmes is super sarcastic in her inventive ways that she replies to the scammers and trolls online. The message exchanges were my favourite! The other parts of the book, didn't quite hit the mark for me - the highlights were definitely the screenshots.
I think the book also tried to have a bit of a moral tale to tell, it tried to add some heart - but I really don't think it needed it, and I hate to say - think it would have been more enjoyable without it.
Keep to the funny!

This book was quite funny in points, made me laugh out loud.

It does bring to light some issues that I was mildly aware of, but it highlighted how prolific this issue is.

Quite shocking really.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I’ve been following Becky Holmes on Twitter for some time so was delighted to see this book being published. Along with her funny replies to the scammers this book also talks about the dark side of this horrible fraud and the effect it’s had on the victims. Definitely recommended but you may never trust anyone online again.

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview copy in return for a review.

Becky Holmes does a fantastic job of approaching the topic of romance fraud for readers new to the subject. She explores the Who, What, When, Where, and Why in quick chapters while sprinkling in real life examples (both personal and public). This is definitely an important read with the rise of social media and online dating, both of which are hotbeds of fake profiles and vulnerable people.

I liked that Holmes spent some time exploring the and Who and Why behind the scammers. Who is most likely to be drawn into the business of romance fraud? Why? What environmental factors are in place that allowing online scammers to thrive? It definitely seemed biased (you knew exactly where Holmes stood on the opinion of scammers) but it was still informative.

This book had a very distinct voice that lends itself well to audiobooks. I wish I'd been able to listen to this as well as read it because I think it would've enhanced the experience. Because it was written in such an informal tone, I think that listening to it would feel like you're sitting with Holmes while she explains her most recent research while reading it in print made it feel even more informal than it already was (especially once you reach further chapters about sextortion and pig-butchering scams). There were maybe a couple too many cheeky comments and jokes, but that's just personal preference.

Thank you to NetGalley and Unbound Publishing for the chance to ARC read this novel.

What a remarkable read! Becky Holmes has crafted a masterpiece that seamlessly blends humor, education, and profound reflection. As someone who typically avoids non-fiction, I took a chance on this book after a recommendation, and I'm immensely grateful that I did.

Holmes skillfully navigates the complex world of romance fraud, intertwining factual insights with her own amusing encounters with scammers and poignant accounts from victims. It's a rare gem that can make you laugh out loud one moment and then bring tears to your eyes the next.

I've been eagerly recommending this book to all my friends, as it not only raises awareness about a crucial issue but also empowers readers to recognize and address it. Thanks to this eye-opening journey, I now feel equipped to support friends who may be experiencing similar situations. Thank you, Becky Holmes, for this enlightening and empowering work.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I was thrilled to get this ARC as I am a big fan of the author on twitter. For some reason I thought it would be mainly comedy but I got that wrong.

I think that this book will sadly be very useful in todays age of boys and scams and I hope that this book finds people at risk of romance fraud.