Scam

With Valentines Day coming up criminals will be busy targeting people with Romance and Relationship scams

Dating and romance fraud involves deceiving someone into a fictitious romantic relationship, often online, to gain their trust and exploit them financially. Victims are manipulated through emotional connections, often leading to significant financial loss and emotional distress.

Criminals are currently using sophisticated tactics, including AI generated “deepfake” video calls and fake investment opportunities, to target individuals looking for connections online. 

Four signs you are being targeted 

• The Love Bomb – They shower you with intense affection, declare love within days, sometimes hours and use phrases like, “I’ve never felt this way before” and “You’re the only one that understand me.” They will also ask you to keep the relationship quiet and not to tell family or friends, as they “will not understand.” 

• The Platform Shift – They immediately pressure you to move the conversation away from a dating site to encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal to avoid security monitoring. 

• The Perpetual Crisis – They claim to be suffering for some sort of illness or working overseas (e.g. military, oil rigs, medical or a CEO) and repeatedly cancel plans to meet due to a sudden emergency. 

• The Financial Hook – Once trust is built, they ask for money for medical bills, travel costs or a guaranteed crypto investment etc. They may ask to borrow money for an emergency, promising to re-pay you within days. DO NOT TRANSFER MONEY. 

How to protect yourself 

• Reverse Image Search – use google images or TinEye to check if their profile photo is stolen from somewhere / someone else. 

• Verify they are not AI generated, by asking them to do something. – Ask them to perform a specific action or actions during a video call (e.g. touch your nose with your ring finger).  AI  / deepfakes often struggle with such a request. 

• Never send money, gift cards, vouchers, cryptocurrency.  

• Stay on the App or dating website – Keep all conversations on the dating platform where you initially met. 

• Speak to a trusted person – Tell someone you trust, ask them for their opinion on the person / profile. Be wary if you meet someone online who asks you not to tell anyone about them.

How To Report Fraud and Cyber Crime

Members of the public can report cybercrime and fraud including romance fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.

If you think you have lost money or given out sensitive financial information to scammers, immediately alert your bank / financial institution. Call them right away to inform them of the suspicious incident. You can quickly reach many UK banks' fraud departments by calling 159

Further support

If you have been a victim of romance fraud, and wish to speak with someone confidentially, you can get in touch with Victim Support for independent, free, and confidential advice. Call their support line on 0808 168 9111 or visit Home - Victim Support to complete a contact form or access live chat.

More information on Romance Fraud including some very informative videos can be found here - Romance fraud - Report Fraud

Stay safe, stay secure.