Romance scammers turn sweet talk into £102M payday
Romance scammers stole £102 million from UK victims in 2025, averaging £280,000 in losses per day, according to City of London Police. The fraudsters build fake online relationships, often targeting those aged 55-74, before requesting money for fabricated emergencies. While men reported more incidents, women suffered the highest financial losses.
- ▪Romance fraud cost UK victims £102 million in 2025, amounting to around £280,000 per day.
- ▪There were 10,784 reported romance scam cases in 2025, a 29 percent increase from the previous year.
- ▪The average victim lost £9,500, with some individual losses reaching £1 million.
- ▪Nearly half of the total losses came from victims aged 55 to 74.
- ▪Women incurred greater financial losses overall, despite men filing more reports.
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Security Romance scammers turn sweet talk into £102M payday Victims losing £280K a day to fake profiles and sob stories Connor Jones Tue 5 May 2026 // 11:43 UTC Romance fraudsters scammed Britons out of £102 million ($138 million) last year, according to the latest police figures. That works out to roughly £280,000 ($379,000) a day, the City of London Police said Tuesday. The average victim loses around £9,500 ($12,866) per scam, though individual cases have reached £1 million ($1.35 million). Conman and wannabe MI6 agent must repay £125k to romance scam victim READ MORE The figures come from Report Fraud, a City of London Police service that logged 10,784 romance scam reports in 2025, a 29 percent year-on-year bump.
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