Valentine's Day traditionally marks a surge in dating app downloads and romantic gestures, but it also creates a ‘perfect storm’ environment for an emotionally and financially devastating form of fraud. The occurrence of romance scams, where criminals pose as potential romantic partners to extract money from victims, is escalating at an alarming pace.
Recent research from TSB reported that money sent to romance scammers jumped 37% in 2025 compared to 2024, with case volumes rising 15% over the same period. UK Finance also reported that an approximate £20.5 million was lost to romance scams in the first six months of 2025, affecting around 3,000 victims.
In contrast, these figures provide a major opportunity for merchants. As romance scams become more sophisticated, now is the time to improve on security protocols, and place more focus on protecting consumers from romance scams.
Why romance scams are intensifying
The rise in romance fraud stems from a series of converging factors. Firstly, digital payments have made moving money faster and easier, while also removing the friction and traditional barriers that once gave victims time to reconsider these suspicious requests. As it turns out, the innovations in open banking and instant payment rails — which have improved transaction quality across the industry — have also provided new avenues for fraudsters to exploit.
According to data from payabl.'s fraud in Europe report, 11% of younger shoppers now express concern about romance scams, highlighting an acute awareness of this threat among digitally-native generations. However, this awareness doesn't always translate to increased protection. Gen Z respondents were the most likely to have been defrauded online in some form at 38%, compared to just 17% of Baby Boomers, who are more overall likely to fall victim to romance scams.
Fraudsters have also adopted generative AI to create realistic social profiles and personalised messages, which can sustain fraudulent relationships over extended periods. Research from Check Point identified that over 18,000 new Valentine's Day-themed phishing websites were launched last January alone, a 123% increase in newly registered domains. These new iterations of fraud allow scammers to operate at scale, while maintaining the guise of genuine emotional connection with victims.
How romance scammers extract money
Data from TSB found that almost half of fraudsters claimed they were experiencing financial difficulties, while 37% requested money for travel funds, often promising to meet victims in person. Then, once victims are emotionally invested, criminals escalate their requests for increasingly large and more frequent money transfers.
Some victims are even manipulated into acting as ‘money mules’, who receive funds into their own accounts before transferring them onward. Despite its seemingly innocent nature, this carries serious legal consequences for the victim, even when they don't understand what's happening.
Typically, financial institutions flag unusual patterns such as a customer suddenly transferring large amounts overseas or opening a new account without clear reason. However, this is being circumvented by fraudsters in increasingly subtle ways. Victims have reported requests for gift cards, wire transfers, or prepaid debit cards; all methods that make tracing fraudulent transfers much more difficult than traditional methods.
The demographics of vulnerability
Romance scams affect a wider demographic than many people assume. TSB reported that over-55s accounted for 58% of all romance scam cases, with 65-74-year-olds representing the most targeted age group at 23%. The platforms where these scams originate are also equally varied.
Social media accounted for 58% of romance scam cases, with Facebook alone representing 30%. Dating apps and websites made up roughly 40% of cases. This distribution shows that romance scammers don't just confine themselves to dating platforms (which most would expect); they operate wherever people can form connections online.
Looking at fraud holistically, the data from payabl. shows that 26% of consumers reported they had been a victim of fraud at some point, losing an average of £330. Additionally, the emotional toll goes hand-in-hand with the financial damage caused; 23% of victims blamed themselves for being scammed, and 20% felt embarrassed or ashamed.
These psychological impacts can also explain why romance scams often go unreported, with only 20% of consumers saying they would report suspected fraud to their bank or payment provider.
The industry’s response against romance fraud
The persistence of romance scams highlights the need for multi-layered prevention at merchant and consumer level. Payment providers are increasing their use of AI-powered transaction monitoring, like our partnership with Sift that monitors transactions in real-time, to identify suspicious patterns before funds leave customer accounts.
Elsewhere, two-factor authentication and security checks at checkout — cited by 33% of payabl.'s survey respondents as features that would make them more willing to complete purchases — apply equally to A2A transfers.
Financial institutions also have a responsibility to intervene when they detect unusual activity. In fact, payabl.’s The State of European Checkouts report revealed 44% of consumers believe fraud prevention is the responsibility of merchants, banks, and payment providers, and not the end user.
However, consumers also require clearer guidance on recognising manipulation tactics. In response to this, financial institutions are ultimately working on solutions, such as proactively engaging customers in conversation before transfers complete, along with pre-emptive identification and warnings of likely fraudulent recipient accounts.
Combating this fraud requires vigilance from payment providers, clearer communication from banks, and increased awareness among consumers. There’s good news on the horizon too. The underlying technology now exists to prompt a decline in the numbers, and also provides merchants and retailers with the tools to make consumers more aware of the threat.
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