Anyone can be a target of romance fraud
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The Metropolitan Police, in collaboration with Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands region and the City of London Police, are launching a national awareness campaign to tackle romance fraud; a crime where victims are deceived into fake relationships and socially engineered to hand over money or personal information.
Action fraud reported losses of £106 million to romance fraud in FY 2024-25; 18% more than 2023-24. The average loss was £11,222 per victim. There were 9% more reports than the previous year (2023-24).
The highest individual loss in the year 2024/25 was £2,664,783. The age range with the highest number of reports was 50-59.
Fraud is largely underreported, with the Crime Survey of England and Wales estimating only 13% of cases being reported to Action Fraud or the police by victims. This is very much the case with romance fraud, whether due to the shame and stigma, denial of the fraud itself or a belief that little can or will be done to recover losses and bring offenders to justice.
In terms of the total length of these frauds, 48% of victims communicated with the suspect for 1-6 months, 16% for 1-3 years and 11% for longer than 3 years. 5% of those targeted were in communication with the criminal for more than 6 years. This gives an indication of the cruel, intense, sustained nature of this kind of offending.
After initial contact on social media or dating sites, conversation is commonly moved onto secondary platforms including WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and Zangi which are encrypted messaging platforms.
AI is being increasingly used to create synthetic profiles, impersonate real users and bypass verification controls on platforms. Payment is then requested through bank transfer, gift cards and cryptocurrencies.
Hybrid crime types of romance and investment fraud have been growing since 2020 and impact a younger demographic with those aged 30-39 being most impacted.
A common misconception perpetuated by media coverage is that romance fraud predominantly affects middle-aged and elderly women; in fact, it affects men and women of all ages. For perpetrators, the identity of the money’s owner - whether man or woman, black or white, young or old - is inconsequential. Males were the main victim gender by a small margin.
Anyone can be targeted.
ALWAYS:
- Be wary of revealing personal information about yourself online
- Remain on the dating site’s messaging platform if contact was via a dating site
- Remember that anyone can pretend to be anyone they want to be online
- Be wary if you are encouraged to keep things from your family and friends
- Be wary of anyone asking lots of questions about you but not revealing much about themselves.
STOP: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
THINK: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
FRAUD: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve become the victim of a fraud and report it to Action Fraud.
NEVER:
No matter how long you’ve been speaking to someone online and how much you trust them and even if you’ve met in person:
- Never send them any money
- Never allow them access to your bank account
- Never transfer money on their behalf
- Never take a loan out for them
- Never provide copies of your personal documents such as passports or driving licenses
- Never invest your own money on their behalf or on their advice
- Never purchase and send the codes on gift cards from Amazon or iTunes
- Never agree to receive or send any parcels on their behalf (such as mobile phones or laptops)
For more information please visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/dating-fraud
If you have become a victim of romance fraud, report it via Action Fraud’s website Reporting fraud and cyber crime | Action Fraud.