Valentine’s Day Scams: Spotting and Avoiding Romance Fraud

With Valentine’s Day tomorrow and fraud experts are urging the public to stay alert to romance fraud, an offence that surges at this time of year as criminals exploit people seeking companionship.

Greater Manchester Police’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit is highlighting the issue after an 81-year-old woman from Greater Manchester was conned into buying £5,000 worth of gift cards for a man she believed to be a well-known singer.

The victim was first contacted on Facebook by an individual claiming to be linked to the celebrity, a tactic detectives say is commonly used by fraudsters posing as celebrities or their representatives.

Over time, the conversation was moved to the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where the offender continued to build trust and manipulate the victim.

Several months went by, and the elderly woman was persuaded to buy the gift cards, believing the payments would help arrange a meeting with the singer in person.

She didn’t reveal the relationship or the transactions to her family, and the scam only came to light when her bank noticed unusual activity and notified police.

Detective Inspector Stacey Shannon, from our Cyber and Economic Crime Awareness Service (CECAS), said: “Our dedicated team works tirelessly to support victims of romance fraud.

“In this case, they spent several hours with the victim, helping her understand that the relationship was fraudulent and not genuine.

“From there, they put additional safeguarding measures in place to ensure her ongoing protection.”

Since the report, the victim has received extensive follow-up support from officers, who provided tailored fraud-prevention advice and invited her to local awareness sessions to help reduce the risk of being targeted again.

A care plan was also submitted for partnership safeguarding, and referrals were made to specialist support services, including Love Said.

Police additionally helped her submit a complaint to her bank to recover funds and worked with her next of kin to set up further protections.

From April 2024 to March 2025, there were 267 reports of romance fraud in Greater Manchester, with a reported £2.93m lost by victims. Since May 2025, CECAS has helped recover £2.8m of victims’ money from all frauds.

In one recent case, a woman in her 50s was conned into investing around £500k after meeting a man on a dating app, while another woman, also in her 50s, lost £2,000 after believing she was talking to a well-known soap star.

DI Shannon added: “Romance fraud is not just about financial loss – it’s about emotional harm and broken trust. Offenders deliberately exploit feelings to manipulate victims, often leaving them isolated and vulnerable.

“We are here to help and will do everything we can to protect victims and prevent further harm.”

Report Fraud via 0300 123 2040 or via the Report Fraud website Reporting cyber crime and fraud or phishing attempts – Report Fraud