Money sent to romance scammers jumped by 37 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, according to new research by TSB.

The bank said that compared with the calendar year 2024, the volume of romance scam cases rose by 15 per cent in 2025.

According to UK Finance, around £20.5 million was lost to romance scams in the first six months of 2025, with the industry body receiving reports of around 3,000 cases over the same period.

TSB said that fraudsters will often groom victims for several months, building trust before making a request for money.

Once someone agrees to make a payment, fraudsters will keep creating reasons to ask for more.

TSB’s analysis of customer data found that victims send an average of 11 payments per case, losing £7,500 on average before discovering the scam.

Fraudsters use persuasive techniques to keep their targets trapped in relationships, alongside alibis to account for their absence.

According to TSB’s research, in 43 per cent of cases, fraudsters claimed they were “living abroad” while 29 per cent of bad actors claimed they were celebrities and 18 per cent pretended to be serving in the army.

To extract payments from individuals, TSB’s report found almost a half of fraudsters claimed they were experiencing financial difficulties, while 37 per cent requested money for travel funds, often with the false promise of paying for transport to meet in person.

TSB said that over 55s made up 58 per cent of all cases, with the most scammed age group 65–74-year-olds at 23 per cent.

Some 58 per cent of all cases stemmed from social media platforms, with Facebook accounting for around 30 per cent of all TSB’s cases of romance scams.

Roughly two fifths of cases started on dating apps, including both app-based and online dating sites.

TSB claims it prevents a high level of potential romance fraud losses by spotting likely fraudulent accounts and then having conversations with customers.

“Romance scams are some of the most emotional situations that we support customers through – due to both the devastating personal and financial impact on individuals,” said
Richard Daniels, director of fraud at TSB. “While online dating is an increasingly popular way of meeting people, it’s vital that we all remain guarded – especially now with the use of AI – until we can be sure it’s a real person we are speaking to.”

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