Romance fraud is when a criminal uses a fake profile to form a relationship with you. They try to gain your trust by appealing to your compassionate side, finding out personal information about you and creating fake stories so it seems like you have a lot in common. Criminals sometimes target widow and divorce pages.
Once they have gained your trust, they start inventing reasons for needing money. These can be anything from an emergency situation, funds for travel to come and see you, asking you to take out a loan for them in your name, and many more. There will often be a promise of paying you back.
How to protect yourself
Avoid sending money to someone you’ve never met or have only met a few times, especially if they’re declaring strong feelings for you after only a few conversations.
Research the person you’re speaking to. You can upload the photos from their profile into a search engine to see if it appears anywhere else with a different name.
If someone asks you to lie to your bank, this is a scam - don't engage with them, report them immediately.
Stay on the dating site or platform until you’re confident the person is who they say they are before you share your phone number.
Always consider the possibility of a scam.
Speak to family and friends about people you match with online.
Be alert inconsistencies in their stories.
If you think you might have been targeted in a romance scam, it’s ok to reach out to someone – you’re not alone. Contact your bank, they are there to help.
A-Z of scams
Take Five to Stop Fraud
Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police. They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment. Stop and think. It could protect you and your money.
STOP
Take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information. It could keep you safe.
CHALLENGE
Ask yourself, could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
PROTECT
Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve been scammed and report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.