Barclays warns of bank fraud that could cost thousands

Summer brings beaches, T-shirts and ice cream, but also something less obvious – and much less welcome.

Last year, people were most often cheated on while looking for true love, and that happened in July.

This month, far more people were scammed than last February, even though people may be using apps again on Valentine's Day to find someone to eat overpriced pasta with.

A new analysis by Barclays shows that the number of scams is increasing again as temperatures get warmer.

During the period May to June this year, there was a 139% increase in the total value of reports of romance scams compared to the same period last year, March to April.

They discovered this by examining data on fraud cases involving business and private current accounts.

While most reports of romance scams come from men, women tend to lose more money, Barclays found. On average, female victims lose £8,900, while men lose around £3,500.

In these types of scams, someone pretends to be interested in a romantic relationship, when in reality they are just trying to gain the victim's trust in order to get their money.

Barclays warned all online dating users to beware of scammers and to be cautious if they are ever asked for financial help by someone they do not know well.

They said that while scammers pose as potential lovers, they do not seem to place any value on romance as they also try to trick people into marrying others.

“They find out which venue or suppliers you are using and then send you a fake invoice with their own bank details,” the bank warned. “If you receive an invoice with new details, call to check it is genuine before paying.”

Kirsty Adams, a banking fraud and scam expert, said: “It may be surprising that men are more likely to fall victim to romance scams, as stereotypes often falsely portray women as more vulnerable.”

“This is supported 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 have not yet met in person.”

She urged people to “take the time to really get to know the person they are talking to and verify their identity before transferring any amount of money, no matter what the reason or how urgent the request may seem.”

Ms Adams highlighted the role of technology companies in fraud prevention, saying: “Only by working together can we curb the fraud epidemic – by working together across industries to stop fraud at the source.”

She added that no one should be ashamed if they fall for a romance scam.

“It can happen to anyone and scammers often use sophisticated tactics and invest enormous amounts of time in building a relationship and a sense of trust with their victims.”

“It is important that this stigma does not prevent fraud from being reported. We urge anyone who has been a victim of fraud to report it to their bank and seek emotional support from family and friends.”

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