A major bank has issued a warning after seeing a huge increase in romance scams.
Barclays analysed its business and personal current account customer scam data – and found a 139% increase in the total value of romance scam reports when comparing the period March to April with the period May to June. Romance scams take place when someone pretends to be interested in a romantic relationship, gaining their victim’s trust before manipulating them into sending money or personal information, causing financial and emotional harm.
While men account for the majority of romance scam reports received, women typically lose more money, Barclays found. On average, female victims lose £8,900, while men lose around £3,500. The bank also saw a 43% increase in romance scams reported by women in May-June 2024, compared with March-April.
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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.”
July accounted for 12% of romance scam claims made last year, with the number of reports around two-and-a-half times higher than the Valentine’s period in February 2024, Barclays’ analysis found. It added that a significant proportion of romance scams it deals with originate on dating websites and apps, or on social media.
Barclays also commissioned a survey of 2,000 people in June by Censuswide. It found that (34%) of people who are single feel more inclined to try dating in the summer months.
Nearly a fifth (18%) of men said they would consider sending money to someone they were in an online relationship with but whom they had not met in person, compared with 7% of women. Nearly a quarter (23%) of people said they have encouraged a family member or friend to stop online dating due to concerns over romance scams.
A fifth (21%) of people have a friend or family member whom they fear could be susceptible to a romance scam. Highlighting the role of tech companies in preventing scams, Ms 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. “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.”
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