Financial Ombudsman Service Warns of Romance Scams
Summary
The UK Financial Ombudsman Service has reported receiving over 500 complaints related to romance scams between January 2025 and March 2026. The service is issuing warnings and providing tips to consumers to help them avoid becoming victims of these emotionally and financially damaging scams.
What changed
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has issued a warning regarding a significant increase in romance scams, reporting over 500 complaints received between January 2025 and March 2026. These scams involve fraudsters exploiting victims' emotions and trust, often gained through social media or gaming apps, to solicit money for fabricated emergencies or personal needs. While not the most common type of scam, the FOS highlights the severe emotional and financial impact these incidents have on individuals.
Financial institutions and consumers should be aware of these trends. The FOS is providing tips to help consumers identify and avoid romance scams. While this notice does not impose new regulatory requirements, it serves as an alert to the prevalence and impact of these scams, underscoring the importance of robust internal controls and consumer education in preventing financial loss and emotional distress.
What to do next
- Review internal processes for identifying and handling romance scam complaints.
- Educate consumers on common romance scam tactics and red flags.
- Monitor trends in financial scams affecting consumers.
Source document (simplified)
Hundreds of people falling victim to romance scams, the Financial Ombudsman Service warns
25 March 2026
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- Between January 2025 and March 2026, we received over 500 complaints about romance scams.
- Romance scammers often target vulnerable people and exploit their circumstances to gain their trust.
- We are sharing tips to help consumers avoid falling victim to a romance scam.
We have received over 500 complaints between January 2025 and March 2026 from people who were victims of romance scams. Romance scams are where fraudsters convince often vulnerable people to send money to them, by gaining their trust and convincing them that they are in a relationship.
The Financial Ombudsman is a free and easy-to-use service that settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services. Generally, the cases that come to us involve scammers seducing victims on social media and gaming apps, and enticing them towards more private messaging apps.
The scammers will sometimes search for profiles of widowed people or divorcees. They manipulate consumers, preying on their emotions and often request money for time-sensitive and deeply personal things, such as medical care or emergency travel.
While romance scams are not the most common kind of scam that we see, they can have a huge emotional and financial impact on a person.
Patrick Hurley, Ombudsman Director at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said:
Being the victim of a fraud or scam can be deeply distressing, and sadly for many people the financial implications can be life changing. Romance scams particularly can leave an emotional scar and the impact on victims is often significant.
Our service offers free, fair and final answers to your financial complaints. So, if you’re unhappy with how your financial provider has handled your issue, you can bring a complaint to us.
Case studies
In one complaint that we dealt with, a woman met someone on a well-known social media platform, who pretended to have a romantic interest in her. The woman had faced difficulties in her personal life and the scammer zeroed in on her circumstances and, over time, convinced her to send over £70,000. He claimed he wanted to have a life with her but needed money to start his business in the UK first.
Last year, the FCA published its multi-firm review into romance scams and found that while there were some examples of good practice, there were instances of firms missing opportunities to identify suspicious transactions.
Training staff in early intervention and recognising the signs of vulnerability can prevent these kinds of cases escalating, sometimes even eliminating the need for consumers to take a complaint to our service.
Scammers can be incredibly sophisticated, making it difficult for even the most cautious individuals to recognise the deception. The rise of AI, and the increased popularity of social media platforms and dating apps, has made it difficult to differentiate fact from fiction.
As a result, the Financial Ombudsman has published tips to help consumers.
Tips to avoid falling victim to a romance scam
- Don’t send money to someone you’ve only met online. No matter how long you’ve been speaking to them online or what they promise.
- Pause and think. If someone pressures you into transferring money, stop and ask yourself if it could be a scam.
- Listen to your bank if they warn you about a scam and answer their questions accurately. Not doing so hinders their ability to protect you from financial harm.
- If someone tries to convince you to invest money with a firm, check the FCA’s register to confirm that it's authorised.
Notes to editors
About the data
The data in the press release refers to the calendar year.
All data in the press release has been rounded to the nearest 100.
The PSR’s rules
The PSR introduced new reimbursement rules for victims of APP fraud came into force in October 2024. This puts the onus on payment service providers to reimburse customers who are victims of scams unless the customer has been grossly negligent.
The new reimbursement rules cover scams up to £85,000 involving UK bank transfers – other payment types such as cash or card are not covered. The Financial Ombudsman Service can still consider complaints about the majority of APP payments.
Useful links
- Find out how to bring a complaint to our service if you were tricked into making a payment.
- For more advice on protecting yourself from scams, visit Report Fraud.
- For free and impartial guidance, backed by government, on money matters, visit Money Helper.
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