LONELY souls looking for Valentine's love are being warned not to fall prey to romance scams, after Lloyds Bank reported that such scams increased by over 30 per cent in the last year.

The rise of dating apps and social media has made romance scamming easier, as criminals can more easily fake their identity to gain a victim's trust before asking for money.

Men were slightly more likely than women to fall victim to a romance scam, accounting for 53 per cent of all cases, while those between 65 and 74 were the most widely scammed age range.

The number of cases among 65-74 year olds increased by 75 per cent from last year, the lender said, with the average amount lost to a scam standing at just over £12,000.

Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds Bank, said: "The convincing lies told by fraudsters mean that while romance scam victims think they are falling in love, they're actually falling for a scam. As well as losing thousands of pounds they also have to deal with this emotional betrayal.

"The sad truth is there was never any genuine connection, with criminals ruthlessly targeting multiple victims at the same time, and disappearing with the money as soon as they get found out."

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper