Since the beginning of the pandemic, romance fraud has become increasingly common, in part because of the loneliness many people experienced which allowed fraudsters to easily convince people that the romance they were experiencing was the real deal.
In the first half of 2022, criminals stole a total of £16.6 million through romance scams in the UK, which is a 31 percent increase from the year before - a concerning statistic, showing people need to be vigilant.
There are things that you can do to stop yourself from falling foul of love bombing fraudsters this Valentine's Day, and Corinne Webb, Marketing Manager at Protect Your Bubble has explained.
Romance scammers are known for creating fake profiles on dating sites and apps, or through Instagram and Facebook - they lure you into a fake relationship by making you feel special, and convince you to send them money.
One red flag to watch out for is something known as 'love bombing', which can include being showered with offers of gifts or lavish trips, as well as a constant outpouring of affection and vows of serious commitment in the very early stages. The perpertrator's goal is to manipulate the victim into thinking they're in love before they realise they're being scammed.
Corinne said: "You know the saying, 'if it seems too good to be true...' more than likely, in this scenario, it is.
"If someone is love bombing you and actively tries to build an intimate relationship in a short amount of time, be wary it could be a romance scam."
Troublingly, scammers can groom victims for months, or even years to get what they want from the situation.
A recent study showed that almost a third of romance fraud payments were made to fraudsters over two weeks before the victim uncovered the scam, but the longest 'relationship' lasted for three years.
One way to spot a scammer is through their photographs, as often they will only have one or two images of the person they're pretending to be. Fraudsters will usually choose a photograph that's extremely attractive to hook you in - often models, musicians, or actors' photos will be used.
Recently, a Seal superfan lost £2,000 in a romance scam after an online con artist posed as the British musician.
Corrine recommended using a reverse image search, saying: "If a profile picture looks too good to be true, simply use Google reverse image search - where you upload an image into Google to find the origin or similar images - to show if their profile picture has been used elsewhere on the internet, even if the picture was stolen from a random person's account."
Also, if you can't find any trace of the details you have of them online, it may be best to swerve them as it's hard to go through life with no digital footprint - they may have given you a fake name.
If somebody is persuading you to move onto a different social media platform before you're ready - for example, texting, where there is less security, this should rouse suspicions too.
Corrine said: "Scammers want to remove the middleman. Dating sites and apps have restrictions in place to help spot scammers in a bid to protect their users. Only recently, Tinder and Hinge have implemented warnings for users to avoid anyone claiming to be a 'crypto expert'.
"While some legitimate love interests will eventually want to move communications off the dating site, if they pressure you to move off the app before you're ready, consider it a red flag."
Fraudsters often create wild financial hardship stories that involve fantastical stories where illness, family tragedy, or major accidents have happened, conveniently postponing a face-to-face meeting.
Corrine suggested: "Always be suspicious of anyone who asks you for financial assistance, no matter how dire their circumstances seem to be.
"Whether it's to purchase gift cards on their behalf, wire them money, or return money to them from a check they've sent you – report them to the police or Action Fraud immediately."
In order to avoid dating scams, you can take precautions to protect yourself.
Corrine recommends cross-checking name, photo, location and other details to check they're legitimate.
She also said it's important to not share personal details, and keep your username incognito on dating apps - don't use your location.
Importantly, you shouldn't let a scammer pressure you into making impulsive decisions. Never send money to a love interest online as you won't get it back and could open yourself up to further fraud down the line. The most important thing to do is pull the plug as soon as you realise it's a scammer you're speaking with.
If you've got a romance scam story to tell, you can get in touch with us: danielle.wroe@reachplc.com
