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Dating scams in the UK often begin like ordinary online relationships. The fraud comes later, after someone has built trust and starts asking for money, investments, gift cards, account access or secrecy.
Fraud information checked: 28 September 2026. Reporting routes and scam tactics change, so use current Report Fraud and police guidance if you are affected.
Report Fraud said in May 2026 that UK victims had lost more than £102 million to romance fraud in the previous year, across 10,784 reports. That figure describes reported cases, not every scam that took place.
What is romance fraud?
Report Fraud describes romance fraud as creating a false romantic relationship to gain trust and exploit someone financially. It can develop over weeks, months or longer.
The relationship itself can feel completely real to the person being targeted. Fraudsters may message every day, remember personal details and build routines over a long period before money is mentioned. That investment of time is why simple advice to ‘spot the scammer’ can be unrealistic.
Common dating scam patterns
An emergency that needs money urgently
The story may involve medical bills, travel, a stranded relative or another crisis. The details can sound plausible because the person has spent time learning what matters to you.
Urgency is part of the pressure. You may be told that a ticket must be bought today, a hospital will not act without payment or a relative will suffer if you do not help immediately.
Do not let the deadline make the decision for you. Step away, speak to someone you trust and verify the situation independently rather than through contact details supplied by the person asking for money.
Investment or cryptocurrency opportunities
Some romance fraud is combined with fake investment schemes. The relationship is used to persuade someone to transfer money into an investment platform or cryptocurrency arrangement they would not otherwise trust.
The investment may be introduced gradually after weeks of ordinary conversation. Screenshots of profits, polished websites and small early withdrawals can all be used to make a fake platform feel legitimate.
A romantic partner should not need you to transfer money to an unfamiliar platform to prove trust. Check any investment separately through regulated sources and never allow emotional pressure to replace financial due diligence.
Repeated plans to meet that never happen
There can be genuine reasons a meeting is delayed. A pattern of cancelled plans combined with requests for travel money, visas or emergency payments is more concerning.
One cancelled date proves nothing. What matters is the pattern: elaborate reasons for avoiding every meeting, especially when each new obstacle creates another request for money or personal documents.
You do not need to keep solving the logistical problems for someone you have never met. If the relationship cannot move beyond messages without repeated financial demands, step back.
Requests for gift cards or money transfers
Gift cards, cryptocurrency and transfers can be difficult to recover. A romantic story does not make an unusual payment method safer.
Scammers like payment methods that are fast, difficult to reverse or hard to trace. A request to buy gift cards and send the codes should be treated very differently from splitting a normal restaurant bill after you have met.
Never be reassured by a promise to repay you later. Once codes or cryptocurrency are transferred, recovery can be extremely difficult.
Using your bank account
Do not let someone use your account to receive or move money. What is described as helping with a temporary problem could involve money laundering or another fraud.
A person may say they cannot receive a payment themselves and ask you to accept it, keep a little and forward the rest. That can make you part of moving stolen or criminal funds even if you believed the story.
Do not share online-banking access, card details or one-time security codes. A genuine romantic relationship does not require control of your financial accounts.
Threats involving intimate images
Report Fraud’s sextortion guidance covers threats to release intimate images unless money or another demand is met. The image may be real or manipulated.
The demand may arrive suddenly after a private exchange or may use a fabricated image. Paying does not guarantee that the threat will stop; it can instead show the offender that further demands may work.
Save relevant messages and account details where it is safe to do so, stop negotiating about money and use the current reporting guidance. If you are in immediate physical danger, call 999.
Recovery scams after the first fraud
People who have already lost money can be targeted again by someone claiming they can recover it for a fee. Report Fraud specifically warns about this second wave of exploitation.
The follow-up fraud can feel especially convincing because the new contact already knows you lost money and may claim to be an investigator, lawyer or specialist recovery firm. They may even refer to details from the first scam.
Do not pay an upfront fee simply because someone promises they can recover lost funds. Verify organisations independently and be cautious about unsolicited contact after a fraud report.
Warning signs worth slowing down for
- Strong declarations of affection very early in the relationship.
- Pressure to keep the relationship secret from friends or family.
- Repeated excuses for avoiding an in-person meeting or live call.
- Requests for money, cryptocurrency, gift cards or investments.
- Stories that create urgency and make you feel responsible for solving a crisis.
- Pressure to move quickly from a dating service to private messaging.
One sign on its own does not prove someone is a fraudster. The important question is whether a pattern of pressure, secrecy and money requests is developing.
Look for combinations rather than treating one behaviour as proof. Fast intimacy plus secrecy plus repeated money problems is more concerning than any one sign on its own. If several warning signs appear, pause before sending money or documents.
What to do if you are worried
Stop sending money and pause contact while you get an outside view. Speak to someone you trust. Fraudsters often benefit when a relationship becomes isolated from friends and family.
If you have already sent money, contact your bank immediately. Keep messages, payment records and profile details rather than deleting everything in the moment.
Do not confront the person with every suspicion if doing so makes you feel unsafe. The immediate priorities are stopping financial loss, preserving evidence and getting support from your bank, the platform and the appropriate reporting service.
How to report a dating scam in the UK
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report fraud through Report Fraud or by calling 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report fraud to Police Scotland on 101. If there is an immediate danger, call 999.
Report the account to the dating or social platform as well. That can help the service investigate the profile and reduce the chance of someone else being targeted.
When you report, include the profile name, platform, phone numbers, email addresses, payment details and any transaction references you still have. Do not delay contacting your bank while you gather a perfect file; speed can matter when money has just moved.
Being scammed is not a sign that someone was foolish
Romance fraud is designed to exploit trust and emotional connection. People can be targeted at any age and from any background. Shame helps the fraudster, not the person who was deceived.
For broader practical precautions before meeting someone, see our online dating safety guide.
Professional fraud depends on normal human qualities such as trust, hope and the desire for connection. Blaming the victim can make people less likely to report what happened and gives fraudsters more room to continue targeting others.
