Dating sites are “riddled with scammers”, a bank has warned as it found two-thirds of romance fraud victims are women.
People who are targeted as part of the scams on average make payments to criminals over a two-month period, analysis by TSB also found.
The payments are typically made over 62 days and a victim’s average age is 47, it said.
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The bank reported that it has refunded victims ranging from 18-years-old to 77, with female customers making up 66% of the cases it analysed.
Repeated transactions within romance fraud “relationships” are a core component of the scams, with fraudsters tending to invent a “sob story” for why they need money quickly.
Victim paid £40,000 to fraudster
In one case, a woman was convinced she was talking to a soldier stuck overseas who claimed he needed money to return home for Christmas, the bank said.
In total, she sent £1,200 over six payments to the scammer, realising she had been deceived just four days before Christmas.
Another example lasted nearly two years after a female customer was approached on Instagram and carried on talking to the perpetrator on WhatsApp.
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