Barclays issues urgent warning as scam sees victims lose up to £9,000 - how to spot the signs

The bank is urging all Britons to be vigilant as the reports increase with both men and women falling victim.

While men account for the majority of romance scam reports, women typically lose more money, Barclays found.

On average, female victims lose £8,900, whole men lose around £3,500.

Women alone have seen a 43 per cent increase in romance scams reported in May-June 2024, compared with March-April.

Kirsty Adams, a fraud and scams expert at Barclays, said: “It may be surprising to see that men more often fall victim to romance scams, as stereotypes have often incorrectly painted women as more susceptible.

“This is backed by our additional research, which shows that men are generally more willing than women to transfer money to people they have recently started dating, even if they are yet to meet in person.

“It can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of a new romance, but we’re urging everyone to make sure they have taken the time to truly get to know and verify the identity of the person they are speaking to before transferring any sum of money, no matter what reason they give or how urgent the request seems.”

What is a romance scam?

Dating or romance fraud is when people think they’ve met their perfect partner online, but they aren’t who they say they are. Once they’ve gained the individuals trust, they ask for money for a variety of emotive reasons.

Victims are being duped into sending money to criminals who go to great lengths to gain their trust and convince them that they are in a genuine relationship. They use language to manipulate, persuade and exploit so that requests for money do not raise alarm bells.

Action Fraud explained some common reasons the fraudsters may give include claiming they need money for emergency medical care, or to pay for transport costs to visit the victim if they are overseas.

How users can stay safe from romance scams:

• Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met online.
• Speak to your family or friends to get advice.
• Profile photos may not be genuine, do your research first. Performing a reverse image search on a search engine can find photos that have been taken from somewhere, or someone, else.

Last year, 12 of the world's biggest tech companies - including Facebook, Instagram and Match Group - signed a voluntary agreement with the government to reduce fraud on their platforms.

Measures in the Online Fraud Charter, external include a commitment enabling users of dating platforms to choose to interact only with people who have verified their identity.

Highlighting the role of tech companies in preventing scams, Adams said: “We will only be able to drive back the scams epidemic through collaboration – working together, across industries, to stop scams at their source.”

She added that no-one should feel ashamed of falling for a romance scam.

Adams continued: “It can happen to anyone and scammers often adopt sophisticated tactics and invest a huge amount of time into building a relationship and sense of trust with their victims.

“It’s important that this stigma doesn’t prevent a scam from being reported. We strongly encourage anyone who has been targeted to report it to their bank and to open up to family and friends for emotional support.”

If someone thinks they have been a victim of a romance scam, they are encouraged not feel ashamed or embarrassed as it happens to many people.

Action Fraud state: " Contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via actionfraud.police.uk. If you are in Scotland, please report to Police Scotland directly by calling 101."