Why cases of romance fraud are on the rise in the UK – especially in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day

Action Fraud is warning online daters to stay alert in the run-up to Valentine’s Day as cases rise in the UK.

Ever since Netflix’s new true crime documentary The Tinder Swindler was released last week (2 February), social media has been full of conversations about romance scams.

The film, which tells the story of prolific conman Simon Leviev – also known as Shimon Hayut – who defrauded numerous women out of millions of dollars by posing as a billionaire playboy, has left many people shocked with its tales of deceit and trickery.

But in reality, online romance fraud is a lot more common than you might expect. Indeed, while most scams are not as extravagant as the one carried out by Leviev in the documentary, romance fraud remains one of the most common forms of fraud in the UK. 

And it’s on the rise: according to Action Fraud, there were 8,863 cases of romance fraud reported between November 2020 and October 2021, up from 6,968 reports in the 2020 calendar year.

Now, with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, Action Fraud is renewing its warning to online daters to stay alert to potential scammers using apps and websites to find new victims.

While these types of scams happen all year round, daters who strike-up relationships between Christmas Day and Valentine’s Day tend to be most susceptible to romance fraud.

In fact, just last year there was a spike in the number of cases following 14 February, with 901 reports of romance fraud recorded by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) in March 2021, and losses of £14.6 million reported in May.  

According to Action Fraud, there were 8,863 cases of romance fraud reported between November 2020 and October 2021.

Speaking about the risks in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, Matt Bradford, temporary detective chief superintendent from the City of London Police, explained how romance fraud typically unfolds.

 “Typically, romance fraudsters will spend weeks gaining their victims’ trust, feeding them fabricated stories about who they are and their lives – and initially make no suggestion of any desire to ask for any money, so the victim may believe their new love interest is genuine,” he said.

“But weeks, or sometimes months later, these criminals will ask for money for a variety of emotive reasons and as the emotional relationship has already been formed, victims often transfer money without a second thought.” 

While it’s easy to tell yourself that you’ll never fall victim to a romance scam, the reality of this type of fraud is more complicated than many of us can imagine. 

Looking for love online or via an app can be an exciting experience – just make sure to stay alert to the potential dangers while you’re swiping left and right. 

If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online at police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.

Images: Getty

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